Hi,

I've got a little problem, and wondered if anyone can suggest anything. My cat managed to drop half a ton of his food on my bow (I'd put it on the bed briefly...). It is stained, despite me taking a tissue to it immediately. Moreover, I'm finding that my bow is now sliding, squeaking, and has the effect of playing two notes when I go over the patch. I'm loath to buy another bow right now, what with the credit crunch and all. Any ideas on whether I can save my bow - the space is migrating across it.

Thanks

It's a good job some of us know you - otherwise we'd be thinking you were a new person who'd joined the forum as a joke! (and we've had a few...)

Don't have any suggestions other than to feed the cat in the kitchen well away from your violin. I don't think I really want want to know why the cat was eating his food on your bed...

Perhaps it will just migrate to the end of the bow...

i've heard you can clean a bow using methylated spirits -- unscrew the end of the bow until the screw comes out, then remove the frog from the stick, and carefully clean it, making very sure not to get any on the varnish. then leave it for a day or two to dry. you'll have to re-rosin it afterwards.

(never tried this myself, though.)

I remember the horsehair on my bow getting into a state when I was a child (not cat food, though!). My Dad unscrewed the nut so that the frog lifted away from the stick and washed the hair very gently in luke warm water with baby shampoo. Rinsed and dried naturally away from direct heat, then rerosined and it was fine. I do remember it needed two people - one to wash the hair and the other to hold both the frog and the bow stick well away from the water.

I have just read this thread
. I think that you can blame the cat!

I do this occasionally to clean off excess rosin. I use a shallow plate or lid of a pyrex casserole, and add enough meths that I can coil the hair in it to soak for a bit, then swirl it around gently. I may need to do this twice. Pat dry with kitchen towel and leave overnight to dry.

In the case of the cat food I think I would go with the shampoo suggestion first, using the same method, and then finishing with meths to get rid of any remaining detergent and also the rosin, which has probably gone all horrid....

It is not really that difficult if you are careful. Don't put any strain on the hair at the tip end in case you pull out the wedge that holds it in. You might find it easier with someone else to help.

I remember doing this as a peniless teenager between rehairs when the hair had got especially dirty. The main thing is to be extra specially careful not to let any of the meths get anywhere near the stick and especially the varnish as it will strip the varnish in less time than it takes you to realise you've even got it on the stick. I used to rig up a Heath-Robinson structure , fixing the stick of my bow to the top of the back of a kitchen chair so that the hair could come completely and as far away from the stick as possible (after releasing the frog completely from the screw, of course. Swish, rinse and wipe the hair as much as you need to to get all the gunk off, change the meths then do it a couple of times to make sure that you really have rinsed all the mess out. Leave loose overnight, re-rosin carefully then BANISH THE KITTY !!!!

However, if you prefer and it is a reasonable bow, why not just get it rehaired? My luthier charges £30 for a rehair, including checking and cleaning the stick and frog as necessary. If you've been playing with the same bow for a long while and not had it rehaired it may be a good idea as the hair does wear out and loose it's natural grip very gradually over time.

Edit - if you go down the meths route, keep it away from all polished furniture too - protect the table with plastic as well as newspaper.

How can a cat drop food?

Um... hope you manage to salvage your bow!

Good luck with it, im not sure how u managed 2 do this, but i would go with the advice for the meths, i done it last year and managed it fine. Although do be careful.

I practise upstairs whilst sitting on the bed. I'd put the bow on the bed and the cat jumped up - he's had a collar on and managed to deposit what was in the collar on the bow.