Giving my bow some TLC

While tightening my bow at Tuesday's lesson, I heard a distinct "pop", and quickly realized something was amiss. Pall disassembled my bow, and gave his diagnosis: a brass fitting's threads were stripped.

Thankfully, my friend Joan had a spare bow for me to borrow so I could continue practicing for the informal cello house concert we have planned for this Saturday in my living room. (A variation on my beloved 'wine, women, and song' theme - only with cellos instead of voices)

To the rescue: Dave Nerad, local Bellingham luthier. I could easily while away the day puttering about in Dave's wonderful workshop, strewn with tools, spare parts for the instruments Dave repairs (bowed instruments, such as violins, cellos), and a special project - some custom banjo necks that he is building for a customer.

Dave knows his stuff, so my bow was good as new in no time. We've determined it's time for a rehair, so I will soon be back for that!

NOTE: I am grateful to learn there were no fatalities in the Skagit River Bridge collapse (which occurred just a couple hours after I drove over it!)

Check out that brass fitting.