Stradivarius finish (was: Re: heretical on soundboards)

[Richard Moody]

Wondering if the "gems" might have come from garnet sand paper.  OK
maybe they didn't have garnet sand paper in the old days, actually
they probably used scrapers.  But It makes me wonder how and when
sand paper was invented.  

Richard Moody 

----------
> From: Steven Richardson <sjr@bb.rc.vix.com>
> To: pianotech@ptg.org
> Subject: Stradivarius finish (was:  Re:  heretical on soundboards)
> Date: Friday, August 22, 1997 6:45 PM
> 
> Hi!
> 
>   While catching up on some of the digests, I noticed the talk
about the
> finish on Stradivarius violins.  I was surprised to not see any
mention
> of the work on this which was reported on NOVA (I think).
> 
>   A scientist who was trying to figure out the secret of the
Stradivarius
> finish decided to look at what was in the water where the wood used
to supply 
> the maker would have been warehoused.  He found that there were gem
fragments 
> (ruby?) in the water, and he got some cheap (industrial, I think)
rubies, 
> ground them up, and painted a thin solution of this over a cheap
violin. 
> Some reasonably well-known violinist played it (before and after,
if I
> remember correctly) and gave his opinion--a _vast_ improvement in
the
> sound.
> 
>   >Date: Tue, 19 Aug 1997 01:54:34 -0500
>   >From: "Richard Moody " <remoody@easnetsd.com>
>   >Subject: Re: heretical on soundboards
>   >
>   >- ----------
>   >
>   >And then there is the old story about some one who had a speck
of varnish
>   >from a Strad analysed according to the latest and most
exhaustive
>   >methods known. The report came back stating that one of
>   >the ingredients indicated the horse had a urinary infection.
>   >
>   >rm
> 
> 
>   Steve Richardson
>   sjr@vix.com
>   sjr@leland.stanford.edu
>