Sheila's Bow

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Sheila's Rodney D. Mohr Gold Violin Bow

This is the story of my Rodney D. Mohr bow #623.
It is a gold mounted pernambuco wood bow and will create beautiful violin music.

The wood chosen was a highly flamed piece of pernambuco. The flame will dance to the music.
The bow was born in Oberlin, Ohio in July 2000. This picture shows Rodney D. Mohr with the tools of the of the bowmaking trade resting on the workbench. Other Oberlin workshop participants watch as the tool to be chosen for the task at hand is chosen.

Many gathered anxiously awaiting the outcome. The Violin Society Of America has sponsored the Oberlin Restoration Workshop with Oberlin College since 1986. It is offered every summer for violin and bow makers to learn methods and subtleties in the art of making fine stringed instruments and bows.
Rodney D. Mohr taught a bowmaking class during the summer 2000 workshop. This is one bow he made while teaching a class.
My bow is stamped Oberlin 2000 on one side and Rodney D. Mohr on the other.

The bow was made and I selected it from a field of 6 other bows. You might ask, "How does it play?" It plays very well. It is well balanced and that is important to me. Another really good feature it has is its ability to play pp and ppp. I find many students who think to play loud and forceful is the only goal. I like a bow to be able to create whatever mood I wish to portray as I play my violin. After selection was made I used the bow for several weeks. Then the time arrived to have it remounted in gold. I was concerned about the bow's characteristics changing, but I had confidence that Rodney would know how to keep the weight and balance the same.

You can in the next set of pictures see the process that is used in creating an ebony and gold bow frog.
The first picture shows the frog blank and flat and round parts of the ferrule before they are soldered. In the next view you can see how the frog blank is fit with a ferrule.
The frog is then ready for the bowmaker to shape the throat.

Rod holds the frog in his fingers as he readies to carve the throat for my bow.
You can see the knives and tools in the background.

The ebony is then carved into the shape of the frog. The ebony chosen to be used in the frog for my gold bow is a very fine grain. The grains are so small the naked eye cannot descern them.A slide track and a hair track and a mortice were completed and a heel plate was fit and was ready to glue. My bow has a special feature on the heel. It has an inlay of abalone shell along with the gold. I think this makes it special. I always enjoy a special flare to a handmade item.

weight 59.8 grams
The wrapping is gold wire and shades of blue thread.
All woven together for a beautiful effect

These are not professional photos and do not do the bow justice as to how beautiful it is.