Arle please post some sort of tutorial (even with some video if possible) about shimming and all sorts of adjustments of string pressure!
how often is it necessary to re-rosin the wheel? On Tue, Jun 2, 2009 at 5:25 PM, Arle <[email protected]> wrote: > > Hi Barbara, > > If at all possible, get an experienced player to show you how to apply > rosin very soon. Scraping the wheel should be a *last* resort when all > else fails, not a routine maintenance task. Over the long run it can > create real problems with your instrument. The only time you should > normally scrape the wheel is if it is out of round. If you really need > to remove rosin that badly, then you can do it much less invasively > with a little bit of rubbing alcohol on a rag. Scraping is a > destructive process because a good wheel relies on building up a > coating of rosin over time and scraping it destroys that and takes off > some wood. > > If you're getting ridges of rosin, you're definitely applying it > wrong. (This is something of a hobby horse of mine on the list, so > bear with me.) If you apply it correctly, it is almost impossible to > apply “too much” rosin. Most people who get too much rosin have > misapplied it (and this pertains, in my experience, to some very > experienced players!). > > First, make sure your rosin block is perfectly flat and smooth with no > sharp corners or edges. If it is jagged or broken, get a new one: it's > not worth using a block that isn't right (although I have seen many > players with ridiculous little bits of rosin that look like they could > be used as implements of torture. > > Then take the block and, while turning the wheel slowly, gently move > it back and forth perpendicular to the wheel motion keeping the > surface of the rosin parallel to the face of the wheel. *Don't* hold > it on one place as you turn it as that will result in uneven > application with broken ridges (which is what “too much rosin” really > is in most cases). > > If you end up with uneven application (it happens to all of us > sometimes), use a cloth and turn the wheel while pressing down on the > surface fairly firmly. That will resolve all but the most stubborn of > problems. You should feel the surface get warm from the friction and > you'll probably find that it's left a glassy looking spot of fused > rosin on the cloth. > > If it helps, I can make a video about rosining wheels later on and > post it to YouTube. Since this seems to be a consistent issue for many > list members, it might be worth it. Maybe I should do a tutorial on > shimming and cottoning as well. > > -Arle > > > Have I told you what I use to scrape my wheel? I have an Allway mini > > glass scraper (like this one: > http://www.castlewholesalers.com/ALLWAY-GSM-Mini-Glass-Scraper-w-1-Bl... > > . I believe Craig got it at a home show). I drag the single-edged > > razor blade across a steel and I get a nice little curled edge, very > > delicate. When it gets worn, I toss the blade and put in a fresh one. > > This is particularly useful to me, as I do not have the hang of proper > > rosining (being a beginner with a shiny, fresh disk of rosin) and I > > have to shave off the high points, even after running the wheel > > against a cloth. It is also quite lightweight and I can hold it > > against a cottoned chanterelle to get the proper angle. Don't worry, I > > am very, very slow, careful and conservative, mainly because the whole > > process scares me. I tried sharpening a plane blade (spent hours with > > the whet stone) and dragging it across a steel, and tried using broken > > glass. I'm just not good enough and those were too gross taking too > > much wood and sometimes leaving little shallow grooves as I was truing > > my new wheel. The single-edged razor blade is just right. Craig and I > > had the same idea at the same time and he found me this tiny plastic > > scraper instead of the larger, heavier metal one I was using. > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "hurdygurdy" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/hurdygurdy The rules of posting, courtesy, and other list information may be found at http://hurdygurdy.com/mailinglist/index.htm. To reduce spam, posts from new subscribers are held pending approval by the webmaster. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
