INJURIES TO THE HEAD OR SCROLL--INSERTION OF FRESH WOOD--COLOURING OF
WHITE WOOD--SEPARATION OF HEAD FROM PEG-BOX AND RE-JOINING--STOPPING
MATERIAL FOR SMALL HOLES OR FRACTURES--THE PEG-BOX CRACKED BY PEG
PRESSURE.
Leaving this part now, we can turn our attention for a time to
reparation of injury to the head or scroll. This interesting and often
highly artistic part of the general structure of the violin, and in
which no man since the time of the old Brescian, Gasparo da Salo, has
succeeded in effecting any permanent change of fashion, is subject to
as many knocks as any other part. A piece out of the ear or first turn
from the axis is, with a delicately carved scroll, so frequently seen
as to be almost fashionable; little pieces out of the edges further
off from the central part, are common disfigurements. Modern vandals
rub these parts down with a file or glasspaper, to make it nice and
even to their vision, saving themselves time and trouble. Many a
graceful scroll, carved with loving care and enviable dexterity by a
master of his art, has thus come to an untimely end. Should your
cherished Guarneri or Stradivari scroll got chipped or fractured by
accident and the piece drop, search for it at once, and when found,
if you have not good mechanical ability and experience in fitting such
delicate parts, it should, while fresh and free from soiling, be
entrusted without delay to the care of a professional repairer of
repute, but not to a provincial amateur or rough carpenter who would
probably make matters worse. On setting to work after a preliminary
inspection, the careful repairer will fit the parts together as they
are, to ascertain that there is nothing to prevent a close join of the
surfaces, sometimes a splinter will prevent a close fit of the
surfaces; this must be pushed into its right position or, if in the
interior, it may be better to remove it altogether. If the part is lost,
then the bare space must be carefully examined and the direction of
the grain and quality of the surrounding wood matched as closely as
possible; otherwise the most accurate fitting and finishing off will
not make a good restoration. The repairer of experience will have at
hand a large quantity of odds and ends of different kinds of maple,
curled or plain; perhaps old worn out necks or otherwise useless
fragments of relics of a bygone age, and not necessarily of musical
instruments. But sometimes these are not to be obtained, nothing but
new or modern wood, and it may be of good appearance and applicable
excepting for the colour. What is to be done? There is the drawback
to new white wood, that it is difficult to colour down to match the
surrounding wood, when it has been fixed, and besides, if the part
happens to be where there is any friction, the white wood soon makes
itself apparent, if not very conspicuous. It is advantageous,
therefore, to colour the wood artificially before placing in position.
There have been many ways adopted at times for meeting this requirement.
It must be remembered, however, that there is no perfectly successful
mode of artificially colouring wood so as to defy detection, but small
portions such as are under consideration at the present moment may be
treated so as to look tolerably well. Firstly, a well known, often tried,
but very bad method is to steep a piece of white new wood in a solution
of nitric acid and water. When dry, old age will seem to have crept
over and through it, but of a delusive and unnatural kind. The corrosive
properties of the acid still remain and gradually disintegrate the
fibres until the whole mass becomes rotten. It may be fairly termed
premature old age, as the lowering or toning down of the colour in wood
and other materials seems to be caused by similar, if not identical,
constituents of the ordinary atmosphere, but under different
conditions. Another way is lay the pieces of wood upon a stove with
a regulated heating power and watching for the exact degree of change
in the colour with continued heat. There is very little to be said
against it for small repairs, the degree of heat required for the
desired tint is insufficient to damage the wood but enough to harden
it, and if not too hastily done the colouring will go quite through.
Among other methods is tinting the wood by any of the various stains
sold for the purpose. Few of them are of any good to the violin repairer,
some choking the softer parts and leaving the harder ones or threads
standing out lighter when they should be darker. Their colour, if it
were not for this drawback, is sometimes good. Some of the
manufacturers of new musical instruments on the continent lower the
colour of the wood before varnishing by staining it with a solution
of bichromate of potash. Sometimes when dexterously applied the colour
is very good, but the stain is liable to make itself too evident in
parts where the wood may be a little more spongy than at others. Most
of the instruments treated in this way may be recognised at a glance,
the curl of the maple is brought out strongly, in fact overdone. With
small portions of wood for repairing this stain may, with much caution,
be used to advantage. It has the property of throwing up the threads
of the pine and the nutmeggy parts of the maple without impairing
seriously the clearness of the grain under the varnish. The preparation
of the solution is as follows--some pieces of bichromate of potash can
be put into any ordinary bottle of a convenient size and water poured
on to them. The water will take up a certain quantity in solution which
will be too strong for the repairer's use; some of it, say a gill, can
be put into an equal quantity of clear water, and then painted over
the wood to be coloured down. There will not be any perceptible
colouring for half-an-hour or so, but further exposure to good or
strong sunlight will gradually bring about a change from the slight
orange tint to the dull light brown approaching that produced by the
slow secret process adopted by "Old Father Time." It must be kept in
mind that bichromate of potash is a poison. There are other stains that
will bring a good colour to the surface of the wood, but are likely
to change colour when the varnish is applied. The whole work of careful
restoration may thus be upset in a moment. All stains should be
carefully and repeatedly tested before being applied to any work of
importance. Some repairers use a hastily made solution of powdered
colour such as burnt umber, and paint or rub it into the wood. This
process is to be condemned as resulting in opaqueness and giving a
tinkered aspect to the wood and work.
There are doubtless many substances or liquids capable of imparting
a tint resembling that alone caused by age, but experience only will
enable the repairer to decide which is best. It may be as well to point
out that some tinting substances are more suitable for colouring wood
of a dense quality than for a more open grained or spongy one. Much
will depend on the judgment exercised and skill in matching tints. When
it becomes absolutely necessary to use fresh white wood, this will
require more colouring than an older piece, but a rather strange thing
in connection with this is that if some of the varnish has been removed
from the parts adjacent to the freshly inserted wood, the old material
will require colouring down as well as the new, but not so much. This
seems like some indication that varnish does get lowered in tint as
age progresses; it may be, however, that the top surface of the wood
gets darker than the under parts from the action of light.
The final touching up or finish of the newly inserted wood and its
varnishing will have to remain over for the present, and will be taken
up after the mechanical work is concluded.
Having thus far got to work upon a fractured or lost piece that may
have been knocked off a projecting part of the scroll, there are other
injuries likely to occur to this part of the instrument and caused in
a variety of ways, some occasionally seeming mysterious in their origin.
Thus from a weakness or flaw in the grain of the wood, or it may be
from a blow having first started a crack and successive ones gradually
increasing the fracture, the scroll itself will come away bodily,
separating at the weakest part just behind the second turn. This is
a delicate matter for manipulation. If the fracture is quite new, the
raw surfaces uninjured and some properly prepared rather strong glue
is handy, then an almost instant application of it to both surfaces
and pressing them together, exactly fitting, will result in an
effectual and lasting junction of the parts. But supposing the breakage
to have occurred some time back and the parts to be separate and soiled,
the difficulties are much increased, as in the majority of cases no
purchase can be obtained whereby a good pressure can be directly
applied. Cramps cannot be applied, therefore, with any degree of safety,
even if a good grip can be obtained and with the safeguard of some
padding, as the first is bound to injure the wood around, leaving an
ugly imprint of the grip, and thus making things worse in appearance
instead of better. The other is likely to be productive of slipping
out of position, the hold not being retained, and vexatious results
ensuing with the accompaniment occasionally of unprintable language
coming from the repairer. The best way on all occasions will be found
to be that in which patience is not taken as a virtue but as necessity,
and the presence of Old Father Time altogether ignored, which may often
mean time saved. Constant practice may give facility in keeping pace
with that steady old party with the hourglass, but a good result is
seldom obtained when the clock is much consulted during the progress
of the work in hand. It is this which has caused the complete ruin of
many a damaged gem from Cremona's workshops of the olden time. We will
therefore suppose the repairer to be unfettered by time and that he
will be properly paid for work that will tend to restore the commercial
value, as well as the usefulness and beauty.
The main consideration will be the manner of getting a proper
attachment of parts that cannot be wedged or forced together at once,
in fact, to get a good purchase or leverage. This must be either
obtained indirectly or dispensed with altogether. For the former,
building up or "making," as it is termed, must be resorted to, and which
may include temporarily glueing fresh wood on to the old parts to be
separated or cut away afterwards. Many inexperienced repairers are too
apt to look upon all glueing as for permanency, but practice should
soon make it plain that all joinings are effected only for such length
of time as may be desirable. In making or building up a part from which
we can obtain a stand or commanding point from which to get a more direct
purchase, it may be necessary to glue one or more pieces of wood, cut
to a proper shape and stuck with a dab of thick glue and left until
dry. For this purpose the soft white wood or poplar referred to at the
beginning will be found useful, it is so easily cut with a chisel or
knife keen edged--this condition is an essential at all times. By the
bye, some readers may be thinking of the best means of getting a nice
clean edge to their knife or chisel. There are several kinds of oilstone
or hone in repute for giving a finishing or sharp cutting edge, England,
America and the European continent supplying them, the "Chalney
Forest" being the commonest known in England; the American "Arkansas"
or "Washita" are expensive when very good, but there is nothing that
can beat a well selected piece of "Turkey stone" with a nice even
surface to begin with. For obtaining a clean cutting edge, a few drops
of oil before rubbing will be sufficient. Olive or good mineral oil
will do, the latter preferably as it gradually evaporates; whereas
vegetable oils acquire a siccative property from contact with the
minute particles of steel; the stone then gets clogged and unworkable
till thoroughly cleansed. Mineral oil disappearing gradually leaves
but little residue, which can be now and again wiped off. In cases where
the utmost delicacy of surface cutting or close fitting is required,
and where no other tool but the chisel can be used, it may be as well
to have at hand a stout, smooth leather strap fixed at each end over
a piece of wood about twelve inches in length. The residue on the Turkey
stone can be taken off with a knife--care being taken that no dust or
grit is with it--and smeared on the strap with a little olive oil. The
chisel or knife used briskly and gently on this will after a few passes
become as near perfection of keenness as possible. After getting
everything in readiness, which will include the carving to shape, of
any wood that is to act as a support or fulcrum, these parts must be
made to fit as accurately as possible, and may not require glueing but
at one or two places and those selected to come in contact with those
of the original structure least liable to be affected or damaged. Thus
the interior of the peg-box will be found a convenient position from
which to build a support that shall reach up underneath the volute or
under turn of the scroll. Having well tried the parts as to the fitting,
the support or prop may be secured or glued in roughly to the lower
surface of the peg-box--presuming of course that the pegs have all been
removed--and left to dry hard. When so the parts had better be tried
for fitting again, and if any little inaccuracy shows itself, or the
pressure in glueing the fracture is likely to be uneven and the junction
be untrue, a little paper or card may be inserted or even glued in
between, or where judgment may dictate, to enable a good distribution
of the balance of pressure necessary. There can be no certain
description given of the size or form of the supports or made up parts
to be temporarily fixed; all must depend upon the estimation of what
is best to be done under the circumstances; it can be likened to
engineering on a minute scale, quite as interesting, but less dangerous,
while more comfortably conducted in your own home without exposure to
the baleful influence of unsympathetic elements.
The next and most necessary proceeding will be the cleansing of the
surfaces that are to be permanently joined. In most instances the
application of clean cold water in a sponge will be sufficient, but
where much grime and grease have accumulated different means must be
resorted to. Soap is not to be recommended but, and especially if the
surfaces are irregular, some pure benzine, applied or slightly
scrubbed in by a stiff brush, not too large, and the parts then wiped
repeatedly on a clean cotton or other absorbent rag. Pure benzine, if
not rubbed in too hard or too long, will not injure the adjacent varnish,
be it the delicate film on a thousand pound gem of Cremona or the flinty
covering of a less presumptuous output from Naples. When evaporation
is complete, it will be so in a few minutes, some clean water brushed
in and wiped away, will leave the surfaces in a state for receiving
glue.
The glue should be of good strength--the junction being intended to
be permanent--and applied in a warm atmosphere or the parts warmed a
little, as, under different conditions the glue will coagulate or "set"
(diagram 18). When the parts are placed properly in position, and the
outside blocks or buffers adjusted for opposing pressure, the cramps
may be applied and screwed fairly tight. If the surfaces meet well and
the pressure is properly distributed, the glue will ooze out at the
juncture of the fractured parts. This can be wiped off with a cloth,
but occasionally mended parts cannot be got at easily, if so the glue
must be rubbed away after cramps and moulds have been removed, by a
damp sponge or cloth and then wiped dry. Sometimes differently to the
above mentioned simple fracture, it may be of the kind described by
surgeons as comminuted or split into small fragments. This will be
found to be much more troublesome than the former; after cleansing as
usual, if the injured parts are actually separated from the main
structure, judgment must be exercised in selecting those portions--the
largest if possible--that when glued in, will act as a support for
others to be afterwards inserted. The same attention in kind and amount
will mostly bring about a satisfactory result, but frequently with this
class of fracture minute pieces may have been lost past recovery,
leaving a small gap here and there to be filled up somehow. These places,
if large enough, should have pieces let in according to the manner
before described. If they are too small for this treatment--a little
experience will enable the eye to judge at a glance--then the only
course will be to fill them up with some kind of paste or improvised
mixture. For this purpose a good "stopping" must be made. This has,
in olden times as well as the present, been a difficulty to meet. Many
kinds of material have been used, most of them having some
objectionable quality; some repairers keeping some kind, others
generally making further experiments. Among the various materials
plaster of Paris or common chalk worked up in glue has been frequently
used; it is certainly strong for some time after use, but gradually,
as age creeps on, contraction takes place towards the central portion,
and a small fissure all round is seen more and more evident, and which
gets filled with grime causing a very distinct black line, which draws
attention to the spot, the substance also being so much harder than
the surrounding wood, gets polished with a little friction and usage
and declares its unsympathetic nature; further, it is difficult to
colour successfully, or even well, and for these objections it should
never be used. Wax is another material that has been extensively in
use among the older English repairers, but it has very little to
recommend it except handiness, and that quality ought not to be placed
in the balance against much more important ones. It is not easily
colourable; with usage the top surface gets wiped off, leaving a hollow.
Powdered wood with shellac, or the latter with some heterogeneous
materials have also failed, as the alcoholic solution destroys the
surrounding varnish.
[Illustration: DIAGRAM 18.]
Sealing wax has also in turn been used with no better result. Other
substances are met with whose precise nature is not known, odd mixtures
made up in a hurry at the moment of requirement, but no material or
mixture has been found to excel that made with wood and glue. Many,
perhaps the majority of instances in which this has been used, have
also been failures; not from any inherent defect in the substance, but
from lack of proper management. Different varieties of wood have been
tried, a great drawback being the contraction when the glue dries; this
is markedly the case when a hard wood, powdered by glass-paper, is used.
The granulations and their hardness are also objectionable, and if
ground up too small, contraction to a greater degree takes place, and
the repairer's object is defeated. Long experience has shown that the
disintegrated fibres of soft pine, not powdered, offer the best
security against contraction, it can be made strong or weak according
to the thickness of glue used, is always at hand, and on the whole gives
the least trouble. It requires little or no colouring, and moreover
approaches nearest in character--or can be made to do so--to the
surrounding material. If there is a selection possible, the well known
soft grained American pine should in preference be used. There is a
good and a bad way of managing the process to ensue. To roughly seize
a chump of wood and begin filing it away anyhow, collecting the residue
and making a rough paste, will bring disappointment, as sure as houses
built with wrongly mixed mortar. To put method into the matter, a piece
of clear, knotless, soft, grained wood should be obtained and cut to
a cylindrical form (diagram 19). A flat file of rather fine
texture--this may be according to the size of the instrument to be
repaired--should be worked against it at right angles. The file (not
glass or sand-paper) must not be of the toothed kind, but grooved. The
shower of particles sent off during the action of filing, will consist
of a number of minute silky fibres, which, of course, must be collected
together, placed upon a clean porcelain dish, or palette, and worked
up with glue--strong--for filling spaces in the maple, and weaker, if
used for the pine of the front table. It can be tucked into the crevices
as required by the end of a small, worn, or pointed knife. Some portions
will remain above the surface and, in fact, will not go in completely,
owing to the fibrous, or threadiness of the mass, but this constitution
is the safeguard against its contraction, the glue in drying clinging
round the fibres instead of to itself. When dry and hard the projecting
portions can be neatly levelled off. If, as will sometimes happen, a
little hole or two can be perceived, perhaps under magnifying power,
the process can be repeated on a minute scale. By attention to the above
there will be but small risk of contraction, and if cleanly done there
will not be much trouble in colouring the part to match the
surroundings.
[Illustration: DIAGRAM 19.]
We can now advance another step and notice a frequently occurring
fracture that is caused by the constant pressure and tuning up of the
A peg, at a part which in many violins, owing to the peculiarity of
design, is a very weak one, the grain of the wood above the peg being
short and liable to overstraining by impetuous performers. Being one
of the most inconvenient positions on the instrument for working upon,
if the repairing is not effected in a methodical manner, it is nearly
certain to come undone again. The crack is more often than not
unperceived for a considerable time by the performer, and meanwhile
grease and dirt work their way secretly into the pores of the wood.
A repairer may take a glance at the state of the fracture, whip out
some glue, paint a little on each side, wriggle the whole well at the
risk of extending the wound, get in a little more glue, and let that
harden under pressure from the cramps, which--unless extraordinary
care and skill is exercised, damage other portions of the work--replace
the peg and send the instrument home again apparently as sound as new
(diagram 20). This treatment, if resorted to immediately after a sudden
and clean fracture, may be effectual for some time, but if, as above
mentioned, it has begun secretly and enlarged by degrees, the kind of
repairing described will serve but a few turns of the peg, when crack
it goes once more. Off to the fiddle hospital again, where it may be
possibly subjected to a repetition of the treatment, especially if the
owner is of an economical turn of mind as regards "bill of costs."
[Illustration: DIAGRAM 20.]
Under the above circumstances of combined age and dirt, some repairers
would dare to increase the fracture or pull the scroll quite off in
order to get at the part, cleaning it well before glueing it on again.
This is making things worse, particularly as this part of the violin
is one of the most awkward at which to apply direct strong pressure
on a good and neat junction.
Sometimes the first mode is resorted to with the addition of what is
called bushing the peg-hole, that is, after the glueing performance
has been gone through, it will last strong enough while the hole is
being enlarged, a cylindrical plug of wood being inserted, and glued.
This is levelled down and re-bored, to suit the peg or a fresh smaller
one. This treatment is to be avoided if possible, as it is accompanied
by a more or less disfigurement of the "cheeks" of the peg-box, and
at the best is uncertain. A much more sure and neat method is, in the
first place to clear all dirt and grease away possible, and gently work
some clean water into the crack, repeatedly wiping with a clean cloth.
When sufficiently done, some strong glue may be worked in, in like
manner, cramps and pads applied and the parts brought neatly in
contact.
When the glue is thoroughly hard and dry, on the inside of the peg box
extending each side of the crack and beyond the peg hole, a space must
be cut away having straight sharp sides to the depth of about 1/16 of
an inch, perhaps a trifle less. It must be done with keen edged
chisels--size according to requirement--and the walls made as even as
a piece of plate glass. Sometimes, in consequence of the shortness of
the peg box, it will be necessary to make the cut away space extend
further upward, and into the solid part. In all instances it will test
the mechanical dexterity and patience for cutting in confined spaces.
When this has been accomplished to satisfaction, a piece of maple
without curl or knot must be cut a little thicker than what has been
removed, but as to superficial area, fitting to a hair's breadth if
skill will allow.
Some old scrolls, particularly among the old Italians, are made of
beech or other tough woods; in these instances the material must be
matched according to the means at the disposal of the repairer. In
cutting the small veneer of wood to be placed in position, care should
be taken that when fitted in, the grain should run as nearly as possible
at right angles with that of the part to be repaired. If this is attended
to, with all other necessary precautions, there will be little cause
for fear of the part going bad again, in fact it should be actually
stronger than before.
It may occasionally happen that both sides of the peg-box have been
strained and split, with accompanying conditions of previous bad
repairing and dirt. The same treatment will suggest itself for the
"double event" as sportsmen say. But the two fractures are really as
easily repaired--that is, with proper care and skill--as the single
one. This is because the same cramps can be used for joining the two
fractures simultaneously. For this operation the cut out space
referred to close by, if not covering the peg-hole, will have to be
repeated on the opposite side with great exactness, so as to allow of
a single fitting up and filling the intermediate space, the grain
running as described before, and which will therefore be--when placed
in position--with the end of the grain towards the spectator--looking
towards the front of the peg-box. It should be neatly and very closely
fitted (diagram 21). In carving the blocks that are to be used outside
the peg-box for evenly distributing the pressure, precautions must be
taken not to cut them of equal thickness, or when the pressure is
applied, they are likely to slip, particularly when the peg-box
diminishes rapidly in width under the volute. They must therefore be
cut more or less wedge like, according to the modelling or proportion
of the parts, so that when placed on, the screwing of the cramp will
be direct. When this is done to satisfaction, the usual process advised
for the glueing may be proceeded with, and being carefully seen to be
in proper order, the cramp with pads against the outside cheeks of the
peg-box may be screwed on rather tightly. When quite dry, the cramp
being unscrewed, the side block of wood will be found firmly adhering,
with the superfluous glue squeezed up from between the surfaces by the
pressure.
[Illustration: DIAGRAM 21.]
The next proceeding will be to level down the projecting parts of the
block in front, to the line of the throat. This being accomplished with
great neatness--the line of old work and new wood being exactly level,
a line may be drawn with a pencil or cut with the point of a knife over
the block as a continuation of the inner surfaces of the peg-box. If
carefully managed the knife point is preferable, a piece of stiff card
or very thin veneer may be cut to the width, bent over and the point
run down each side. The advantage of the knife line is that you have
already a cut to work up to. After this the chiseling out or mortising
can be proceeded with. The tool must be very keen edged, and as the
cutting has in great part to be done against the grain, no violence
must be exercised; rapidity will only come with regularity in taking
off thin shavings. When all the surfaces have been carefully pared down
until, as regards thickness and evenness of line and surface, the
peg-box is just as it left the hands of the original maker, there will
remain to be done the clearing of the wood at each of the peg-holes
which will have been covered by the block perhaps wholly or more than
half way. In the case of the double fracture this will be found to be
in the same condition on both sides. The hole will require continuing
through the fresh wood, in fact re-boring so far as this is concerned.
It will be a more or less delicate operation to prevent splitting the
wood, especially if from shaving down to the surrounding levels, it
is not very stout.
To guard against catastrophy, a small hole should be bored exactly in
the centre. Particular attention must be paid to this, or the whole
work may be spoilt and a fresh block or bushing of the hole be found
necessary, and much of your work to be done again. The small hole may
be drilled if you have the necessary means at hand, if not a small
brad-awl may be used, not of the usual round kind, but square. Such
brad-awls are, I believe, known as chairmender's brad-awls. If one
cannot be obtained, an ordinary round one can, with a little trouble,
be filed square. The advantage of this form of awl is that it does not
split the wood and can be used with safety and certainty where one of
the ordinary pattern would be certain to split and spoil the work.
Several sizes may be used to enlarge the aperture, the square edges
breaking away the sides without causing an extended crack in the
direction of the grain. When sufficiently enlarged, recourse may be
had to the rat-tailed or circular file. Here again much care must be
taken, as the toothing of the file is arranged somewhat in the fashion
of a screw, and if the tool is used one way it soon buries itself,
becomes tightly wedged and will inevitably split the surrounding wood.
It must therefore be turned in a direction that may be called backward,
the revolutions to the left instead of to the right. It will take a
little more time than might be expected, but the result will be more
satisfactory, free from danger of splitting and the interior surface
of the hole be made smooth. The use of one, a degree or two finer in
tooth will give enough finish. A constant look out must be kept that
the tool is working properly in the centre; should it be found working
a little too much to one side, it must be removed and the opposite part
gently cut away by a slender sharp knife so that the equality may be
restored.
Caution must be exercised that the action of the tool is arrested at
the right moment, that is, when the opening made in the fresh wood is
worked closely up to that of the old; the tool should not be allowed
to work against the walls of the old aperture, as there is much risk
of damage or enlargement and the necessity of a fresh peg, which is
to be avoided, if the set of pegs have been doing their duty well and
are free from splits. In the fitting of the peg, a degree of tightness
into the new wood will be found advantageous; the surface being fresh
and softer than that of the old, soon accommodates itself during the
insertion and revolution of the peg, whereas the process will have been
going on a long time with the old walls which have become hardened.
After a few turns with the inserted peg, the fitting of it will have
been tested, and if satisfactory, it may be taken out; a piece of soft
chalk stroked down and followed by a piece of very dry old soap in the
same manner at the parts coming into contact with the interior walls
of the aperture and will stop any squeaking or catching. The proportion
of soap to chalk must be varied, the one, soap, being increased
according to the catching or jerking and lessened if there is too much
slipping and no grip. It may be as well to note at the same time that
the peg should be quite circular, or it will revolve by fits and starts
notwithstanding soap and chalk, or any other mixture.