Doublereed Archive - Posting 000028.txt from 2008/02

From: Richard D Bush <rbushidioglot@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [DR-L] Re: Butterfield bassoon reed profiler
Date: Mon, 04 Feb 2008 00:28:40 -0500

Herb,

I'm quite sure I received one from his last major run of them. I
waited close to two years for mine because he was quite 'distracted'
helping an elderly lady friend get through her last days. He was a
true christian and compassionate man.

I paid Jim $1,700 minus the $10 for the manual, which I had already
purchased from him. I thought the $1,700 spent was a bargain. His
machining and attention to detailing and supplying a full complement
of adjusting tools and accessories made the price an extraordinary
bargain. He gave generously of himself and actually did these machines
for pennies on the dollar. RIP

I serioiusly doubt I will part with my Butterfield machine. I even do
a preliminary profile on my Reiger machine with the adjustments kept
thick, so that there is less ware and tear on the Butterfield when I
again profile to much closer tolerances.

All my reeds come from tubes. I use a Reiger cane splitter and an Abe
Weiss pregouger guillotine to start cane processing . I then sort for
straightness. Pieces that pass muster are then allowed to dry. If they
don't dry straight they're further rejected.

When I have what I think is worth further effort, I leach this
remaining balance of the pre-gouged pieces. The water changes are done
maybe twice or three times a day for the first two or three days,
gradually reducing to once a day and then, finally, once every two or
three days. The whole leaching thing takes about three weeks.

Cain is then gouged and dried on black, anodized aluminum tubes that
have a 1" O.D. and are 6" in length. I have ten of these drying tubes
and can dry 40 pieces of cane at a time. I use the tubes to keep the
cane straight while it dries. (The cane is strapped four to a drying
tube with three large rubber bands.)

Once quite dry (about two weeks of our very dry Utah summer) the cane
must pass screenings of both a hardness tester and a flexing test of a
'Flexter' machine built by Udo Heng of "Reeds'N Stuff" and originally
built by Jim Poe. See Jim's article, Cane Hardness and Flexibility:
Related Measurements Leading to Better Bassoon Reeds, which appeared
in The Double Reed, Vol. 26, No. 2.

While actual yields vary by cane source, my average yield is somewhere
around 30% of all cane splits. I consider the final GSP product to be
too valuable to sell commercially for all the above reasons and
because of all these mentioned cane processing steps. I will only go
through all of this for myself and my own reed making enterprise.

My reed blanks are then aged for a minimum of six weeks, but I really
like to let them age for a year. (Because of a recent illness, I'm
finishing reeds from blanks that were formed and wrapped two years
ago.) The reeds are killer good....at least I think so. Of the dozen I
managed to finish last week at the outset of my return to reed making
after a year's hiatus, I managed to get twelve reeds from a baker's
dozen (13).

My investment is huge, but so is my reed output. Being in control of
every step guarantees the quality of my reeds and, in spite of the
extra time it takes, actually saves me much time and frustration at
the end of the process when the aged blanks are opened and finished.
By then, the actual finishing is but a short walk in the park, free of
most frustration and represents an extraordinarilly high batting
average. Producing the whole enchilada is not practical for just one
person's personal reed needs. The only way I can justify the
investment is over the long hall and by making literally thousands of
reeds. At my age (65) it is a good, part time cottage business to be
in, but sure ain't a get-rich-quick scheme. It is strictly a labor of
love and also a way to give to my local bassoon playing community,
most of whom are residents of northern Utah and must find reeds that
play at 4,300 feet.

Sincerely yours,

Richard Bush
Bassoon Reed maker...staying poor but being happy and proud of what
I'm doing.

On Feb 2, 2008, at 5:08 PM, herb fawcett wrote:

Larry,
I would be interested at about $1400. I am driven mostly by curiosity
inasmuch as I already have a serviceable Rieger.
Herb

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