carlb - Posted - 05/21/2012:  12:26:22

In conjunction with the topic

fiddlehangout.com/topic/28016

I present a quick fix when your bow hair is loose and the frog screw had been tightened to the end. A bow maker friend of mine described this fix. In the picture, I've just used a small piece of wood, but originally she described it as a match stick. The thickness, of the stick used, depends on how loose your hair is. It works great for me.

Bow with wood insert for humid conditions

mudbug - Posted - 05/21/2012:  14:04:32

Nice tip.  Thanks.

SamY - Posted - 05/21/2012:  19:55:25

Thanks. Very simple, but I probably wouldn't have thought of it when I needed it.

bowbag - Posted - 05/22/2012:  04:24:22

Neat, that proly wouldn't have crossed my mind either.

TimK - Posted - 05/22/2012:  05:26:08

I do a number of outdoor events each year (Civil War reenactments) where the weather is not always optimum for fiddle & bow. Bow hair will take on moisture and become limp. This can be reversed with heat. I have found that a camp fire provides a good heat source to shrink bow hair if extreme caution is taken! By holding the bow about 18 to 24 inches above the coals (not the open flame) and moving it from frog to tip, the hair will guickly shrink back to a playable condition.

carlb - Posted - 05/22/2012:  05:54:04

`quote:

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Originally posted by TimK

I have found that a camp fire provides a good heat source to shrink bow hair if extreme caution is taken! By holding the bow about 18 to 24 inches above the coals (not the open flame) and moving it from frog to tip, the hair will guickly shrink back to a playable condition.

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 I did this with a heat gun set on low and the bow protected with a double terry cloth towel. It did work but it wasn't permanent and the hair, over about a week or two, returned to its original length.

Dick Hauser - Posted - 05/22/2012:  06:41:02

Humidity isn't the only cause of loose bowhair. You may need your bowhair reinstalled or replaced. I have never met a anyone who had bowhair reinstalled, but can probably be done.

Diane G - Posted - 05/22/2012:  10:23:15

Hi Carl. From your picture of the bow tip...the hair on your bow is WAY TO TIGHT and the camber on your bow (as shown) has been pulled straight. So, if you tightening the bow hair down to take out the "floppy" characteristics of your bow with added humidity...your doing your bow a big disservice.
I have to agree with Dick above, sometimes you need to have your bow rehaired if the hair is old and stretched out...have your luthier make the hair a bit tighter when they rehair. Also, tightening your bow screw to the max will strip the threads on the eyelet of the bow's inner mechanism...with the camber pulled down straight and the hair so tight your looking for disaster with many components of your bow...I hope it's not an expensive bow.
Also, bow hair that is still good can be re-installed so to speak...if it needs to be re-installed chances are that the person who installed it rehaired it to loose to begin with. The are my opinions of course, but I wanted to pass that along to you and other.
A bow's hair that is too tight will bounce alot more as well.
Diane in SoCal

carlb - Posted - 05/22/2012:  10:47:25

quote:

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Originally posted by Diane G

Hi Carl. From your picture of the bow tip...the hair on your bow is WAY TO TIGHT and the camber on your bow (as shown) has been pulled straight. So, if you tightening the bow hair down to take out the "floppy" characteristics of your bow with added humidity...your doing your bow a big disservice.

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 The bow was tightened for picture purposes, not for playing purposes. The only bow that I had, in which I didn't have to use this quick fix, is when I told the bow rehairer to make sure that the hair was just a little tight when the screw was at its loosest. Over the next week, the hair stretched a bit so that it was completely slack when stored. I don't always remember to tell the bow rehairer to do this, but if you do you'll probably never have to use this quick fix.