US1912961A - Bow for stringed musical instruments - Google Patents

Description

June 6, 1933. 1 M ALLlsoN BOW FOR STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Filed `April 8, 1932 son Patented June 6, 1933 UNITED STATES Pareti/rl OFFICE -BOW FOR STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Application filed April 8,

r1`his invention relates to bows for violins and similar string instruments, as the cello and viol.

The usual bow is hand-1nade of solid wood. If of good grade and well made, it is quite eX- pcnsive. If of cheap grade and poorly made, its use imposes a tremendous lun'den upon. the artist. In either case, the factors which are controlling include such delicate and elusive considerations as weight, balance, proper tension, and tone, for which there is no real standard of measurement other than the personal feeling of the artist himself.

With wooden bows, even of the most expensive make, therefore, it is impossible to obtain any real uniformity of product, and this is even more true of the cheaper article. N o two bows of the same grade or price have the same qualities in exactly the same degree. The result is that the skilled perfornier, who must always have a supply of bows, at least two, on hand at all times, because of the ever present danger of breakage, is apt to be seriously handicapped if compelled to change bows on instant notice because of dropping and snapping the tip, and remains under such handicap until he has accustomed himself to the different weight, balance, tension and feel of the substituted bow.

Various metal bows have been proposed, but none of them has found favor in the profession. One reason may have been that the bows themselves were either frealish in appearance or were made in some impossible weight, tension, flexibility or balance.

The object of my invention is to provide a metal bow which will faithfully duplicate appearance, weight, tension, balance, and flexibility of the most expensive hand-made wooden bow and at the same time will avoid all of the objections which have prevented the metal bows of the prior patented art from being adopted by the profession.

bow may be mad-e commercially as a quantity product by manufacturing methods which are at once simple and relatively inexpensive. Although a` quantity product, my bows nevertheless are of uniform characteristie, so that the artist can always replace 1932. Serial No. 604,096.

his favorite bow by another of practically exactly the same weight, flexibility, balance, and feel,

Recognizing however, that a bow which appeals to one artist may not please another, l have provided for selectively varying the weight and balance of my bow to suit the individual taste of the individual artist. This variable factor, however, has been arranged on the basis of a predetermined departure from standard weight and balance through the use of replaceable and inter-Y changeable balancing weights and/or tips of known mass.

1 As illustrative of the principles involved, l desribe and show in the accompanying specification and drawing a form 'of bow which has been widely approved by leading artists and which at the same time represents an embodiment which is capable of produc- 5^' tion in commercial quantities at the minimum manufacturing expense consistent with a product of its demonstrated quality.

ln the drawing Fig. .l is a longitudinal section through a bow in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is ran elevation of the staff of such bow, removed.

Fig. 3 shows in fragmentary perspective several modilications in cross-sectional configuration of the staff. n

Fig. 4t is a perspective view of the tip, removed.

Fig. 5 is a cross section on the line 5-'5 of Fig. 4, and

f Fig. 6 is adetail view of a balancing weight, removed.

l have indicated at l the staff of Lmy novel bow which according to my invention is a hard-drawn seamless tube of a. metal which is light enough to satisfy the requirements as to weight and while flexible is nevertheless strong enough. and stift' enoughto avoid the defect of being over-flexible or unduly limber.

By using a. hard-drawn seamless tube, I obtain thetemper which is so necessary to give the proper tension on the hairs and to eliminate the jumpiness which is due to variations in the hardness of the wood and the peculiarities of the grain and which causes the musician to lose control of his playing.

I also avoid the disadvantages which follow when it has been attempted to roll a thin ribbon ot' steel around a mandrel and then braze it, as has been proposed in the art. This results` in a bow which is not only of poor temper because of the excessive heat in brazing. but is so flexible as to be practically limber, if made in any thickness of wall which would give a bow of standard weight. There wall thickness is increased in order to stillen the bow, the weight ot the bow is correspondingly increased so that when the proper stitlness is eventually attained, the bow is of some impracticable weight.

I also avoid the disadvantages which follow where it has been attempted to bore a solid metal rod from end to end and afterwards mill it to corrugated form, as has also been proposed in the art. This is not only i, prohibitively expensive manufacturing method but necessarily results in a bow ot' excess weight, and unusual stitl'ness, due to the impossibility of boring and corrugating a rod thin enough to give the required weight and tension without breakingl out the rod wall. It the rod is also tapered, as is necessary to give proper balance ot weight, this method ot' manufacture is even more expensive.

In my invention, the hard-drawn seamless tube or statt' is uniformly tapered from its tip towards its butt so as to lighten the bow at its tip and reduce its springiness. Such statl'1 may be ot any desired cross section, as appears in Fig. 3, and is made in such shape that it will straighten ont uniformly from end to end when the hairs 2 are drawn to tension.

Preferably, the statl' tapers from tip to butt at about .110 ot an inch in thirty inches. This allows you the proper degree of spring at the tip end ot the statt when the statt is initially shaped to the conventional sha )e of the best wooden bows, so that when the hairs are drawn to the proper tension for playing, the stalrA is brought back to the curvature ot' the best wooden bow when similarly tensioned.

I preferably use aluminum or duralumimnn as the material for the staff. This metal recommends itself on account of its lightness and strength and gives a stillness and rigidity comparable to the solid wooden stall" of equivalent weight. The staff is made in standard length and if anything is slightly lighter than the usual wooden stall of equivalent length but this slight under-weight according to my invention may be compensated for according to the particular fancy of the purchaser by the use of interchangeable and replaceable balance weights, as will be later described.

The staif when drawn has a wall thickness of approximately .020 for violin bows. Such thickness, however, may vary from .O15 to .032, these representing the minimum and maximum thicknesses. For celles and bass viols, the wall thickness is correspondingly heavier, but in any case is no heavier than a solid wooden bow of corresponding purpose.

Regardless ot the type ot' bow, however, the stalf must not be so thin as not to retain its shape nor so tlexible as to be practically limber. Nor must it be so thick as to have some impracticable stiffness or weight.

lithin the limits of fall thicknesses given, I find that the stall of my bow is entirely satisfactory both as to weight and rigidity.

I have indicated at 3 a tip which is of generally conventional form. It is, however` provided with a solid stem 3 which is inserted into the adjacent end ot the stall1 and detachably fastened therein in any suitable manner as by pinning or by a drive fit. The stem projects f'ar enough into the tubular statt' to give suliicient bearing and this stem extension becomes a factor of balance, the extension being purposely made long enough so that it may be partly cut off when desired to lighten the how at its tip, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 4.

The hairs are anchored to the tip in any suitable manner. At their opposite ends they are anchored to the usual frog 4. This frog is provided with the usual concaved seat on its upper face for receiving the tube l, the tube being longitudil'ially slotted on its under side as indicated at 5 and the upper face of the frog being provided with the usual stud (i which enters said slot and constitutes a bearing for the usual screw 7 by means of which the hairs 2 are tightened or loosened.

Said screw 7 enters the tube troni the rear and is provided with a suitably shaped head 8 by means of which it may be grasped and rotated. I conveniently utilize such threaded stein as a retainer for a series of intel-chang able and replaceable balance weights. One ot these weights is indicated at 9 and is shown as slid into the rear end of the tube. The tension screw 7 is passed through an axial hole in said weight and the head 8 of the screw abuts the adjacent end ot' the weight and retains it in place within the tube.

By removing the tension screw 7 and replacing such weight with a weight of ditl'erent mass I may conveniently alter the weight and balance of the bo f at this end. i

The balance of the bow at its tip end may be varied by the use of replacealile and interchangeable tips ot diferent weight, or by cutting of the stem extension 3 of the tip shown whereby to reduce weight.

Before heilig balanced,` as described, my bow, as a violin bow, weighs approximately one and one-half ounces. (Troy weight.) Its weight may vary, however, from perhaps one and one-half ounces to two onnces-three pennyweight.

Being of one-piece construction, my staff avoids uneven tension and breaks in vibration, as in the case of a sectional staff.

If desired, the staff may be colored, as by electro-plating, to simulate the coloring of the y best woolen bows.

The method by which I obtain my harddrawn seamless tube is neither a brazing nor a reaming operation. Instead I start with a seamless tube of initially cylindrical crosssection and by means of a tapered steel arbor, draw such tube into a tube of the desired weight, taper, and shape.

What I therefore claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A stad for a musical instrument bow, consisting of a unitar hard-drawn, tapered seamless metal tube o substantially uniform wall thickness from end to end.

2. A staff for a musical instrument bow, consisting of a unitary hard-drawn, tapered seamless metal tube of substantially uniform wall thickness from end to end, said wall thickness in a violin bow being between .015 and .032 of an inch.

3. A staff for a musical instrument bow, consisting of a unitary hard-drawn, tapered seamless metal tube of substantially uniform Wall thickness from end to end, said wall thickness in a violin bow being approximate- 1y .020.

4. As a vnew article of manufacture, a metal stafl for a musical instrument bow which substantially duplicates the appearance, tension, balance, shape and exibility of an expensive hand-made wooden bow, said staf consisting of a unitary hard-drawn tapered seamless metal tube of substantially uniform'wall thickness and taper from end to end, said staff being slightly less in weight than an equivalent wooden bow, and being provided with adjustable and replaceable means whereby its weight may be accurately increasedk at the o tion of the user.

5. In a bow, a ollow staff, a frog adjustable thereon at the butt end of the bow, a screw for adjusting said frog, a tip at the opposite end of the sta', hairs between said tip and frog, and a removable and replaceable balance Weight loosely mounted on said screw and concealed within said hollow staif for varying the weight of the bow at its butt 6. A staff for a violin bow, consisting of a unitary tapered seamless metal tube of substantially uniform taper and wall thickness from end to end.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature.

L. MONT ALLISON.

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