Bow Rehairs & Repairs

Rehair prices:

Violin - £80
Viola - £85
Cello - £95
Bass - £105

Please contact us for more details.

The Care and Maintenance of Your Bow
This avoids expensive future repairs. Bows are fragile and should be handled gently. The stick and tip are vulnerable to breakage, and the bow must live in a case when not in use.

Tightening and Slackening the Hair
Never over-tighten or over-slacken the hair. The slack hair should be straight (not flopping down) and virtually touching the bow stick at the mid-way point. Only tighten it to create a gap of about the same as width as the bow stick at that mid-way point. Never tighten the stick up straight which would over-strain it. After playing, always slacken the hair without letting it become floppy. If a bow is left tensioned over a period, the stick will warp, losing its “spring” (curve) and its playability.

Never Touch the Hair
Finger-grease or perspiration will cause the hair to slither silently over the string, negating the grip of the rosin. The hair would then need to be professionally cleaned or replaced.

Rosining
Check that old loose rosin has been gently wiped off the hair with a soft cloth. Do not swish the bow through the air, which sends rosin dust everywhere and risks breaking the stick against furniture etc. Rub the rosin evenly up and down the hair’s full playing surface, avoiding heavy snatching. For new hair, use a sharp knife to scrape up a layer of rosin dust on the rosin to give it a start. The rosining enables the hair to ‘grab’ and vibrate the instrument’s strings. Use just enough rosin on the hair without causing a ‘snowstorm’ on the instrument or bow. Lighter, harder rosins are good in hot weather whilst darker, softer rosins suit colder weather. Double bass rosins are softer still to grab the thick strings. Round rosins should be rotated to maintain a flat surface, avoiding making grooves in the rosin.

Cleaning your Bow
Firstly, keeping your hands washed and clean will help prevent the frog area of the bow from becoming greasy and dirty. Rosin dust on the stick and hair should be gently wiped off with a clean, soft cloth after playing. To clean the underside of the stick, pass a cloth between the stick and hair. Also gently wipe off any perspiration from the lapping and metalwork. Never use polishes or chemicals anywhere on the bow. If your soft wiping has not kept pace, we strongly recommend entrusting the bow to a specialist for a professional clean overall and for washing/reconditioning the hair. This transforms the bow’s playability.

Loose/Broken Hairs
Finding the odd one is normal. Never pull it out of the tip or the frog as it can loosen the whole bunch! Instead, trim each one off as short as possible with scissors of a sharp knife.

Rehairing
“Rehair once a year” is common advice, but busy professional players can wear out their hair in a few months, whereas a beginner might find it lasting for two or three years more. Whenever the bow hair has become sparse, worn, or stretched, an expert rehair is essential.

Avoid Extreme Humidity and Temperature
Never expose your bow to direct sunlight. For instance, leaving the outfit inside a case in the sun on a long car journey or next to a room heater can “cook” the instrument and bow. Hair shrinks when dry and stretches when damp. Prolonged damp conditions can also cause the adjuster screw to rust and seize up. Never oil the screw as this becomes very messy but lubricate it with graphite by rubbing a very soft lead pencil along the thread now and again.

Protecting your Bow Stick from Any Damage
Keep your nails properly trimmed to avoid scratching the bow and ensure that the bow’s leather thumb grip is replaced when necessary to prevent your thumb from wearing a dent in the stick. Never pick up your bow by its tip or tap your bow against a music stand or furniture or drop it on the floor or use it for a school swordfight! Never perch it on your music stand shelf to be knocked off or on a chair to be sat on or on the floor to be trodden on. Nearly all breaks to bow sticks are caused by these ways. Always carry/send the bow in a case or a tube.

Professional Checkups, Maintenance and Repair
Give your bow an annual or bi-annual check-over by a reputable specialist bow shop or repairer. It may need re-hairing, re-lapping, frog or screw adjustments, replacement screw, eyelet, shell dots or even straightening or re-cambering etc., plus an overall clean and hair reconditioning. These repairs need specialist skills and tools and should never be attempted by anyone other than an experienced bow restorer.

Replacing your Bow
Inexpensive brazilwood and even basic Pernambuco wood sticks often tire after a few years, losing their camber and giving an increasingly weak, feeble performance just when the player should be forging ahead. Whenever a player outgrows their bow and invests in a better one, their playing is transformed. The original bow can be kept as an emergency spare.