Egg white ground

[cfiddlemls]

I have been searching for a recipe for the egg white ground.

The three componets that I have been able to identify are;

3 egg whites
2 oz powdered pumice
2ml linseed oil

Anyone have more info on this?

[ChuckH]

Carl,
I have a recipe for Vernice Bianca from Sacconi.

The following is taken directly from American Lutherie #10 in 1987 when interviewing Jack Batts. It is also in The Big Red Book vol 1 from Guild of American Luthiers.

25g of gum arabic,
1/2 teaspoon of honey,
1/4 teaspoon of rock candy,
about 100cc of water,
albumen from one egg white.

"Crush the rock candy. Warm the water but do not boil. Slowly add the gum arabic, stirring constantly until dissolved. Add honey and rock candy. Strain the mixture through a fine cloth (handkerchief or sheeting) and let cool. While the mixture is cooling, whip an egg white into a meringue and turn the bowl on edge. Allow the mixture to settle out and remove the liquid that separates. This is the albumin. Add the albumin to the cooled mixture and stir well. Use this Vernice Bianca immediately and discard the rest. Sacconi advocated that after potassium silicate had been put on very sparingly, you should cover it completely with the vernice bianca before varnishing."

Hope this helps,
Chuck H

[cfiddlemls]

Thanks for the info Chuck, I Knew that I have seen it somewhere. My volume one was lost in a move. I guess I need to replace it.

[Fbranco]

My apologies for being an ignoramus on the subject, but can anybody explain what you're talking about?
Really!

[cfiddlemls]

FB

The ground for instruments is Basicly the sealer that is put on the wood.

When this is dry it allows the oil varinsh to be applied with out penentrating into the wood pores.
(like wood sealer)

Different grounds effect the tone of the instrument.

I was thinking of an oil varnish in a few months on 56 or 57.

Carl

[Fbranco]

Originally Posted by cfiddlemls

FB

The ground for instruments is Basicly the sealer that is put on the wood.

When this is dry it allows the oil varinsh to be applied with out penentrating into the wood pores.
(like wood sealer)

Different grounds effect the tone of the instrument.

I was thinking of an oil varnish in a few months on 56 or 57.

Carl

Wow.
Thank you

[boboreilly]

I'm actually a bit confused with the terminology. Using egg whites as a pore filler is not foreign to me as it is often used on acoustic guitars.

I did read the wikipedia article on Vernice Bianca and it made it sound as if it was actually the varnish itself.

[cfiddlemls]

I will have to go check that.

I read about it years ago and a friend from Iowa is using this method with good success.

I am still in the research phase.

[ChuckH]

Originally Posted by boboreilly

I'm actually a bit confused with the terminology. Using egg whites as a pore filler is not foreign to me as it is often used on acoustic guitars.

I did read the wikipedia article on Vernice Bianca and it made it sound as if it was actually the varnish itself.

Hi Bob,
Using Vernice Bianca (Glair) and egg whites for pore filling is as you know are two different techniques for two different uses. As you said, with pore filling, you apply glair or albumin of the egg white to the wood and then sand off leaving the pores of the wood filled for a nice flat surface for finishing.

Vernice Bianca is mixed with water (and other ingrediants) and could cause warpage in the large flat surfaces of guitars if used as a pore filler. It is used as a ground before varnish is applied. Sacconi believed that Stratavari also used vernice bianca on the innards of his fiddles too. Simone Sacconi has a book called Segreti di Stradivari or Secrets of Stradivari. You may already have it, if not you may be able get it at your local library. It's quite expensive to buy. Anyway, he talks about vernice bianca in his book.

Oh, I've read where someone substituted white table sugar for the rock candy. I've always wondered about the rock candy................ cherry flavor? Maple flavor?........

Cheers