Doublereed Archive - Posting 000034.txt from 2003/01

From: Richard Bush <rbushidioglot@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [DR-L] Bassoon cane
Date: Sun, 5 Jan 2003 21:28:02 -0500

I have apprehensions about soaking cane in very hot water. Boiling
water, I'm speculating, would cook the cane or at least blanch it.
Wouldn't this effect the sugars or other organic substances in the cane
and change its chemistry? We cook vegetables to soften them and reduce
their "woody" texture.

I do soak my cane in heated water, but I keep the temperature between
120 F. and 140 F. I use a West Bend slow cooker that has a temperature
control dial on the hot plate base. It reduces soaking time to
approximately half. I can process splits that have soaked for four
hours, instead of eight, and form processed pieces (GSP) after two
hours of soaking instead of four. The container that sits on the hot
plate base looks like an oversized bread pan and is, therefore, ideal
for soaking untrimmed cane splits. The lid is pyrex.

I will look forward to hearing how other bassoon reed makers soak their
cane.

Richard Bush
Maker of BasSonic bassoon reeds
760 Robins Avenue
Ogden, UT 84404
(801) 393-7265
rbushidioglot@-----.com

On Sunday, January 5, 2003, at 05:30 PM, ContraReed@-----.com wrote:

> In a message dated 1/5/03 6:26:03 PM Eastern Standard Time,
> wa2msu@-----.com
> writes:
>
> << Is this water just "hot" to begin with, or are you
> applying more heat the whole time the cane is soaking? >>
>
> The water is brought to boiling in a hot pot, and then poured into a
> thermos
> with the cane. Both are dedicated to reed making, so I don't have the
> surprize of reeds tasting like bad coffee or tomato soup.
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