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Trade Secrets: Repairing a bow stick

2024-12-12T21:32:00

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François Louant presents a method for attaching new wood to the stick at the frog end, when the original material is unsalvageable

By François Louant

Luthier based in Fernelmont, Belgium

Saving the bottom end of a valuable bow can be tricky. When the entire end of the stick has broken into multiple old splits, the only option is to replace it with new wood. In my career I have come across numerous bows that have had a new lower end grafted on. They were perfectly playable, but all had lost their signature stamp and original look…

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