AD Bows, LLC

With little ones at home, we are thankful for the livestreams that the Detroit Symphony Orchestra does. I get to watch some of my clients and listen to great music with my rambunctious boy.

Early morning quiet time at the oberlin workshops. .

Tools all packed up for the Oberlin bow making workshops.

Did a few mods to my lathes this week. The Southbend got a solid tool post mount. This lathe has plenty of power and can take some serious cuts. The standard compound isn’t quite ridged enough for what the machine can do and replacing it with a solid tool post will improve rigidity and surface finish. I also took the opportunity to swap out the import quick change tool holder to a high quality Dorian. The Emco didn’t come with a compound and only had a tool holder that required shims making it time consuming to swap out tools. So I added a quick change tool post and had to raise the surface of the saddle. The dials are useless on this lathe so I plan on adding a DRO and the extra room will make it much easier to mount. I also mounted an ER collet chuck to the spindle and the runout has been improved a considerable amount. I enjoy improving these machines and geeking out with possible modifications and upgrades.

I just finished up this 3/4 (or 7/8) size violin bow. It started off as a full size bow but ended up having a defect in the stick by the handle. The stick was too nice for me to set aside so I cut it down and made a nice 3/4 size bow. This bow would work great for anyone playing a 3/4 or even a 7/8 size violin. It’s on the longer side and has a nice weight and balance. I don’t have a client lined up for this bow yet so reach out if you know someone that this bow would be perfect for!

I’ve been holding out until I found a good one. I ended up picking up this Brown & Sharpe 530 knife straight edge, it’s like in mint condition! The gold lettering on box still looks like new and the straight edge itself has all the gunk on it from the packing paper. It’s so cool to find an old tool in such pristine condition!

I just made and delivered this bow winder for my friends at . has been working on sustainable bows utilizing bamboo. They play great and look super cool. Check them out sometime if you get a chance. Plans with part numbers for the pulleys, bearings, etc. are available in my book “Toolmaking for Bowmakers”. The book is available from my website and ships to over 55 countries worldwide.

Viola bow gets a new screw.

Every step to the best of my ability. I have the stick roughed out for my next violin bow. Ready to camber first thing in the morning.

Made a replacement button for this German violin bow.

Having a good frog fit is not only important for the functionality of the bow, but the longevity as well. A frog that moves around will cause the stick to wear prematurely and exacerbate the issue.

Just gonna leave this here.

Just finished up this Simon bench copy I worked on while at this summer with .

We had a wonderful father and son trip last week.

Had a great week at with and friends!

We all worked on different projects. I personally worked on a bench copy of a Simon violin bow. Started completely from scratch when I arrived and made good progress over the course of one week. Just needs some finishing touches but you get the idea.

The Mohr’s were so kind and got our little baby a super cute romper!

Finished up a new cello bow before the holiday weekend. Can’t wait to put the final hair in it and for to have it in her hands!

New octagonal mandrel for making octagonal button rings. Formed out of O1 tool steel and heat treated. Still needs a little clean up but it’s very precise!

Very crisp right off the liner forms.

A batch of fresh certificates going out today for the last bows. I don’t regularly provide certificates for my bows but the client requested it and I’m thinking it’ll be a nice thing to send along with the new bows.

Some quick phone photos of a pair of special order his & hers violin and viola bows.

Made some Delrin mandrels for spiral bushings of peg holes for my business partner . Glue doesn’t bond to acetal so I thought the material would be a good option to try out. I made matching pairs of a few sizes to cover a range of possible sizes with a little overlap.

With a pair of recently finished bows in the light box, I made some new steel underslide form tools. The fresh edges will crisp up the silver nicely.