Some years ago I visited Thomas Norwood a luthier in Paris. He has made 48 superb Baroque hurdy gurdies up to now. Lignum Vitae was the material he chose for his bearings. He told me that after a few years went by he began to have trouble with them seizing up. he took back all the instuments made this way and changed them to something else. He then discontinued the use of Lignun Vitae as his bearing material.
In my own experience I was restoring a 1749 Pierre Louvet. The knob was completely frozen. In trying to free it the axle and knob came out as one. It was as if the axle was epoxied to the knob. I was forced to chisel out this material which turned out to be an old Lignum Vitae bearing. Curtis Berak --- Chris Nogy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > The bearings are already prepared, Lignum Vitae > (from my oldest stock, 4 pieces that made up a shaft > bearing in an old steamship. This wood is pressure, > oil and steam 'seasoned', and is tough and stable. > I made a roofing hammer head out of a piece, had to > use metal milling equipment to make the hammer head, > and used it through a whole season of building a > large addition on my parents house. It was an > amazing hammer - it is now the property of a close > friend who still uses it to this day. > > I have some new Lignum Vitae on the shelves for > not-so-critical projects, but this one gets only the > very best. > > Was Lignum Vitae a European wood available at that > time? I thought it was indigneous to the West > Indes, so at that time (The late 1300s - early 1400s > in Europe it probably would not have been known. I > was thinking perhaps oil soaked linden or ash, as > both were strong and common woods of the time, might > have been used as bearings. I will use Lignum Vitae > because it maintains the spirit of the build, and I > think that it will start out similar to what might > have been used, only maintain that standard longer. > > Again, I am not going for the experience of being a > medieval owner of a medieval instrument. I want the > sound experience, and I want to be able to maintain > that experience over time without a lifetime of > mechanical maintenance. > > Chris > > > *********** REPLY SEPARATOR *********** > > On 2/7/2008 at 9:02 AM Reymen Marc wrote: > Doing this and wanting only the best, I think you > MUST use lignum vitae bearings...like in those > days... > marc > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Chris Nogy > To: [email protected] > Sent: Wednesday, February 06, 2008 9:45 PM > Subject: Re[2]: [HG] purpose of my new project. > > > I will likely build with a laminated wheel. I know > by firsthand experience what a solid maple wheel can > sound like when true, and what it can sound like > when off. And if it is rosined properly, the > end/edge grain difference is minimal. > > I fear I have been misunderstood - I fear people > think I am after the shabby, almost unlistenable > sound of the average early peasant gurdy. I don't > think that all medieval instruments had to sound > bad, in fact, I believe that just like today there > were all sorts of levels of instruments and > builders, and that there was a Nagy or a Hackmann > back then, doing exceptional work with the materials > and techniques available, and turning out > exceptional instruments limited only because the > technology of the time didn't include all the > adjunce techniques we now can use to further mold > the sound of a good instrument. > > My point in all this being that it was possible to > have a good, or even great, sounding instrument in > the middle ages, but we tend to spend a lot of time > learning how to make changes to an instruments tone > by materials choice, preparation (top carving and > using depth calipers to perfect every thickness, > nylon or roller bearings, things like that). The > technology available in period could produce a very > precise machine. But it would be limited to a > certain type of sound because builders had not yet > discovered all the adjunct technologies that we use > today to affect and fine tune the instruments. > These options simply were not available in earlier > times. > > Thus my question about curved vs flat top. There is > a significant difference in the sound between the > two. If the curved top would have been an option at > the time gurdies first were fitted with trompettes, > then a great builder, recognizing that this was a > way to improve the sound, would have fitted the > instrument with a curved soundboard. But if the > knowledge stopped at flat tops, then the builder > would have built the best flat topped instrument he > could, and the instrument would be limited by that > design characteristic, but could still have had a > nice, pleasant, workable and usable tone. It just > wouldn't have sounded like a curved top instrument. > > A person performing at a high state function for a > Crown would have spent time preparing his > instrument, greasing and truing and doing what > needed to be done to make it sound right. It might > not have stayed that way, but it would have been > able to sound good for at least a while. The 'best > that the instrument could sound' is the sound I am > wanting to recreate, and if using modern materials > and techniques can allow me to kind of 'lock in' > that sound, then I am not against doing so. But an > instrument that has the visual and accoustic > properties of the very best instrument of the period > at it's very best sound, that is what I am after. > (Oh, and it simply cannot be a Henry or a Bosch. It > just can't. Non-negotiable.) > > It is a rather stuck-up and elite pursuit, but I > want to have the very, very best medieval gurdy > around, and to be able to truly and accurately > demonstrate how good that instrument could sound in > a period atmosphere playing period music in a period > way. > > Chris > > *********** REPLY SEPARATOR *********** > > On 2/6/2008 at 1:31 PM Roy Trotter wrote: > Confidential to Chris, this is not the worst (not > the Best either) of the old recordings. I don't own > any of the field recordings under discussion. I have > heard enough to lose interest.... The biggest > problem in the early recordings is lumpy wheels and > squeal. There was something on Youtube of a very > pretty girl playing fairly well, but the poor > machine was squealing like a pig in a fence. I > didn't run that one much, and can't find it now. > It sounds to me that Mr. Hogwood is not a HG player, > just somebody that was playing at the moment. (Is > this this was the same Sir Christopher Hogwood that > went on to fame as fortune as a conductor? ) The > notes are too passive. I may be spoilt to that > zesty, emphatic, precise playing of MM Imbert, > Bouffard, Chabenant, et al. > > I understand and appreciate your project, but unless > you really like scraping the wheel everytime the > humidity changes, you really want a twencen > laminated wheel. In some of the old instruments, > there is some evidence that the shaft was pounded > into the wheel... I hope into a pre-drilled hole.... > Players that have seen me build, comment on the > violence involved, but driving a shaft (pig-iron or > wood) into wheel like a nail is too much even for > me. I'm not trying to discourage you from something > you really want to do, but personally, I wouldn't > want an instrument that took all my playing time up > in maint. Carved body sounds interesting though. > > Doing a re-rosin during a performance is par for the > course. I never liked performing solo, My first > choice for a partner is a good storyteller that can > keep an audience enthralled during an emergency > re-cotton. I refuse to true an oval wheel on stage. > OK call me a snob... > > Roy > > > On Feb 5, 2008 11:46 PM, Kathy Hutchins > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > From: "Thomas A. Frank" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > >> and dogs and cats will run from it > > > > Is this a common occurrence when playing the HG? > > > > I ask in all seriousness, because I am quite > interested in getting an HG, > > but if it scares the cats, it won't be welcome in > the house. > > > We have a number of odd instruments in the house. > Besides my harp and > embryonic HG, I also have a circa 1870 Erard grand > piano. My husband plays > viola, accordion, tenor saxophone, Irish flute, and > smallpipes. My older > daughter is a cellist. My younger daughter is a > percussionist, and has in > addition to the standard school-issue snare drum, a > bodhran and a medieval > rope tension drum. We have a wooden bucket full of > pennywhistles, recorders, > and bamboo flutes. Out of all these instruments, the > only one that affects > the animals (two dogs, eight cats) is a Generation D > tinwhistle. I don't > know what it is about this particular whistle, but > the minute I start > === message truncated === ____________________________________________________________________________________ Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your home page. http://www.yahoo.com/r/hs
