Author: huboboe
Date: 2012-03-09 04:00
Hey, guys, if you're only using the easel to bevel the ends, just put the end on your finger and scrape it. It doesn't need to be perfectly even on both ends, you're just trying to get the string to wrap off the end gracefully...
BF51, your description of wrapping is right on the money. I only use 3 turns of thread because that gives one end to pull on, one end to be pulled by the anchor and only one turn in the middle to distribute the difference, but 4 turns probably works as well.
The idea of the cane closing one turn before the end of the tube (and wrapping that last turn to the end BUT NOT BEYOND) is critical. Different shapes give different widths along the length of the cane, but only one width wraps correctly on your tube (which may be larger or smaller at the small end). The only way to match your shape to your staple is the empirical approach.
One turn beyond the closure snugs the seal. Two or more turns springs open the sides near the tip. And, of course, if it doesn't close, it leaks. And if you wrap beyond the end of the tube the reed just will not vibrate. At all.
Jay Light's book is pretty good, and written with a sense of humor missing from a lot of instruction manuals. I have used his Laundry Basket analogy for years with my students. (For those who haven't read it, Jay says if you put a laundry basket next to your reed bench, when it is full of your discarded reeds you MIGHT know what you are doing). Keep on plugging away - it's the only way.
And I've never seen a ptarmigan. Do they have them where you are?
Robert Hubbard
WestwindDoubleReed.com
1-888-579-6020
bob@westwinddoublereed.com
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