I found a very interesting article today on the 'Net, entitled
"Violin Varnish Experiment # 58, And a method for making a
Waterproof Hot Hide Glue", by Keith Hill, copyright 1990.

Author Hill seems to be both an avid researcher as well as an
accomplished Luthier.  He writes:

  "The foundation for my varnish recipe is one simple principle:  The
  violin must be a great sounding violin before it is varnished.  If
  it is not, the varnish will not make it so.  The varnish is there
  to assist in preserving whatever sound the fiddle has, protecting
  the wood of the fiddle, and enhancing the sound of the fiddle by
  the effects of its mechanical properties.  In other words, the
  quality of the overall result from the effect of a finished violin
  is roughly 90% due to the box and how all of its parts are propor-
  tioned and the remaining 10% is due to the varnish.  When both are
  right, whatever quality remains wanting comes with playing-in of
  the fiddle.  How good the fiddle sounds depends on these factors.
  When all factors are at optimum, the result is what we can hear in
  a Strad or del Jesu fiddle or their equivalent."

His recipe begins: "[Get a] few pounds of the dirtiest, crudest,
darkest, ordinary rosin available."  Then he explains that the local
sporting goods store sells it as 'Batter's Bags': "Baseball batters use
the dust from this rosin to give themselves a better grip on the bat."

The article is thorough and well-written, with adequate history, and
the methods are justified.  Topics include

  My standards for varnish
  Physical and mechanical properties required
  Making a Waterproof Hot Hide Glue

Hill recounts an interesting dialog about "antique finishes":

  "I showed one of my fiddles to Ruggerio Ricci about 12 years ago.
  He played it and complemented it highly for its tone.  When he
  finally stopped playing, he asked me why I did not distress the
  finish of my fiddles as most other makers do and why my varnish
  was so blond?

  "My answer to him was a question.  That was, Had he ever in his
  life seen any paintings made in the 17th or 18th centuries that
  showed a violin or cello that was either distressed or brown?

  "No, he had not.  Neither have I.  If the varnish is right, which
  is my point of view, it should look like the varnish as seen in the
  iconographic record.  To tamper with the varnish by distressing and
  using coloring additives designed to give violinists of today the
  delusion of playing on an antique, will result in a product that
  ten years hence looks stupid and fake.

  "His answer to that was that I would not be able to sell my instru-
  ments because no violinists would buy them.  In this he was and is
  absolutely right.  I don't sell them.  But then I don't need to
  because I took up violin making to help improve my harpsichord and
  fortepiano making -- which it did."


See the whole article at

    http://www.dioptra.com/khill/articles/varnish.html

Robbie Rhodes