Questions, answered plainly.

Yes, done properly — and thousands are posted every year. Hair loosened, rigid tube, padded ends, then Royal Mail Special Delivery. At the counter you say one sentence — “Special Delivery Guaranteed by 1pm” — and the staff set the rest up; they can even help with packaging if you’re unsure. Keep the certificate of posting (that’s your insurance proof) and you’re done. The packing guide walks you through it in a few minutes.

You send your bow to us; we send it back. Your booking email gives you the address, the tube to use and the exact sentence to say at the Post Office counter. Inbound costs you about £12 (around £15 for a bass) and is insured and signed for. The fully insured return is included in your price and comes back with a tracking number. One carrier, both legs, deliberately.

Standard Special Delivery cover is £750 each way, which suits most student and mid-range bows. Worth £750–£2,500? Ask the counter to increase the cover when you post it, and tell us at booking so we raise it on the return too, at cost. Above £2,500 it shouldn’t travel by post at all — bring it to Barnett Bows in person instead. Details in the terms.

No problem — there’s a strong one that fits any bow, sold singly for about £7, linked in our packing guide. Art shops and stationers sell rigid tubes too; just make sure it’s longer than the bow, with solid end caps. Never a padded envelope. Still stuck? Ask us before booking.

We rehair on Fridays. A bow arriving by Thursday is done that Friday, rests over the weekend (fresh hair needs a couple of days to settle — a quality step, not a delay), and is back in the post by Monday evening. That’s about a week door to door. Arrive after Thursday and it joins the next Friday. Either way, your “received safely” email gives you a firm return date the moment your bow lands.

You’ll get an email the moment it’s signed for and checked in — with the bench date and return date in the same message. You can also follow the stages on Track my bow.

The week you choose to post your bow. It smooths arrivals so nothing sits waiting on a shelf, which is how we keep the turnaround honest. Post any day within your week.

Tell us the date in the notes when you book. If the timeline works, we’ll confirm it in your “received safely” email; if it doesn’t, we’ll say so before you post rather than let you down after.

Every 6–12 months for regular players. Signs it’s due: the hair no longer grips even with fresh rosin, it’s stretched so it won’t tighten properly, or lots of hairs have broken on one side (which can slowly pull the bow out of line). We’ll remind you when yours is coming around.

Selected unbleached horsehair. White as standard for violin, viola and cello; black, white or salt-and-pepper for bass, your choice. Whatever we fit, we log it against your name so the next rehair feels the same.

We stop and contact you before any additional work — a worn grip, a loose fitting, a crack that needs attention. You approve it (with a payment link for the difference), or we return the bow rehaired as booked, with an honest note about what we found. And if a bow genuinely isn’t worth rehairing, we tell you plainly and refund the rehair fee.

Fresh hair arrives with rosin worked in and ready to play, but expect it to open up over the first few sessions as it beds in. If anything feels off after a week of playing, get in touch — we stand behind the work.

It confirms your dispatch window and triggers your posting instructions immediately, the same as any online order. If extra work is ever needed, that’s only ever charged after you approve it.

The fully insured return to you is included in the price. You cover sending the bow to us, about £12 by Special Delivery (around £15 for a bass), paid at the Post Office counter. We show this openly so the whole cost — around £90 for violin, viola or cello — is clear before you book, not a surprise at the counter.

A BVMA-trained bow maker and Guildhall-trained professional bassist. Every bow is played and checked under tension before it goes back in the tube. For fine bows, restoration and bow making, see Barnett Bows.