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FoMRHI Com. 32
BUSHIUO AS AH ALTK3HATI75 TO BOHIIIG
Paul Hailperin
In making woodwind inatrumenta of liuropean art music, it
is general practise to first bore through the length of a
piece with a tool the size of, or slightly smaller than the
minimum diameter of the de9ired finished bore. For a conical
bore instrument, thia pilot hole is then gradually widened
with other boring tools and/or reamera. Unfortunetely, boring
toola may wander, i.e. they do not neceaearily follow the axis
of rotation, and thia problem becomes more aerioua, the larger
the ratio of length to diameter becomea. The moat difficult
inatrument in thia reBpect that I know of ia the alto ahawm,
which typioelly haa a length of about 750 mm and a bore of
4 mm.
Hikolaus Hernoncourt has repeatedly suggested to me that
renaiaaance makera might hava produced the initial bore by
burning, presumably with a metal rod haated tt one end and
thruat into the wood. I found the notion bisarre, until I
tried it a short time ago. Accordingly I would like to report
that it i_s fauaible to burn a pilot bore, ana I would give a
few details of my experience.
The inatrumenta I set out to make were to be raodelled on
No. 8562 of the Kunsthistoriaches lluaeum In Vienna. Thia in­
atrument formerly belonged to the collection of the Catajo
caatle, and ia to my knowledge a unique specimen of its type.
It ia a deacant ahawm in d', but much ahorter than a typical
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