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The Ultimate Resource for Violin Bow Making Supplies
If you are coming to this site because you saw the bow maker Steven Beckley on the DIY Network's "Handmade Music " show, you can see his handmade violin bows on his violin bow maker site.At BowWorks we supply all of the materials required for the people who make, repair and restore Violin bows, Viola Bows, Cello Bows, Bass Bows and other bows for stringed instruments.
BowWorks was started in 1986 by Steven Beckley, who is also a bowmaker, when he realized that a central source of quality bow making materials was needed so he could concentrate on his work of making bows and spend less time hunting down the materials that he used.
Over the course of years, he has discovered the finest sources of shell, silver, exotic leather, horse hair, and the other supplies needed for the making restoration and repair of violin bows, and other bows for stringed Instruments. He has gathered all of these materials into a single source so you can concentrate better working on bows and spend less time finding the quality bowmaking materials that you need to practice your craft.
Here is the index to our online catalog
Take a look at some violin bows made by Steven Beckley.
News!
The new BowWorks bow screws are here!
After over 150 years of bow screws being compromised, (by adopting the standardized thread form that was designed for the purpose of fastening, as opposed to transverse transport, and abandoning the tradition of custom designing a thread form for the job at hand) my years of studying bow screws and thread forms, has finally paid off.
We are delighted to introduce a thread form just for the purpose of moving a bow frog back and forth against the tension of the bow hair. Our first offering is available in screws of stainless or titanium, with eyelets of bronze, in lengths for violin/viola and cello. The pitch is .8 mm (31.74tpi) with a shaft size of 3.2mm (.126”) and an overall crest to crest diameter of 3.1 mm. The back end is left unfinished so you can cut them to length, and file in the flats where they are needed. The front is turned down so if you are lathe-less, you can use them as they come, otherwise you have plenty of threads to cut back so that they just fit the mortise.
Why do eyelets wear out?
It wasn’t until 1841 that the first thread standard was introduced by Sir Joseph Witworth, and not until 1857 that this standard had sizes that went down to sizes that could be used in bows. In the 1860’s, the American John Sellers introduced another standard that was the basic for what is now the UNC/ UNF and the metric ISO thread form. These thread forms are best suited for a general purpose fastener. The 60 degree combined angle gives high friction, helping resist threads working loose, and the rough cut threads and sharp edges aren’t a problem since the fastener is not tightened and loosened every day. But what we need in a bow is a thread form for repeated lateral transport, with steep angles for low friction and polished rounded crests and valleys, to avoid cutting into the softer metal of the eyelet when the screw and eyelet become out of alignment with each other. As can be seen from the thread at the bottom right, once upon a time using the right thread form for the job was understood. We feel confident that our new bow screws are the right thread form for the job and will also still be in service 200 years form now.
Our New Eyelets: In addition being made of the finest material our eyelets also have tapered male threads to aid in the starting of the eyelet into the frog, as well as having a centered dimple to be used with a tap guide.
The Compass bow gauge by BowWorks has arrived!
Bow maker Steve Beckley, after years of working with prototypes in search of a better bow gauge, is happy to announce that The Compass is now available for purchase through BowWorks.com.
The Compass Gauge is made of 6061 aluminum. It is precision laser cut, bead blasted and clear anodized and then the text and graphics are laser engraved and acid stained for a tool that will give a lifetime of service. It is calibrated in half-millimeter increments from 5.5 mm to 11 mm.
What can the Compass do that other methods can't?
Light weight, under 23 grams.
- Fits in your pocket or on a string around your neck.
- Because of its octagonal shape it balances on the stick allowing your hands to be free to mark the gage's location or sight down the stick.
- By sighting through the hole it allows you to check head alignment with your facets.
- It not only tells you the height or width of your stick but also compares five facets at once to tell you how your facets compare to a proper octagon.
- Because of the octagonal outer shape when measuring width it also shows if the sides of your stick line up with the bows head plate.
And after it has worked for you all day just slip it on the optional Bow-Low tie accessory and the Compass can work for you all night, navigating you away from the squares towards those perfect octagons that round off so nicely. (But really I use mine in the shop, the gage just slips on and off so I don't have to try and remember were I set it down)
The Compass $75.00
30-day money back guarantee (so for those of you with 30 day net terms, that's a 30 day free trial!)
Optional Bow-Low tie $75.00
