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Re: Beeswax on back of reeds

Author: Barry Vincent
Date: 2014-04-23 10:58

The old way of making a cane reed reasonably water proof was to , firstly burnish the cut of the reed , that is , all the cut right down to the tip by placing the reed on a suitable piece of plate glass and then , using a round pen such as an "Artline' pen, firmly rub the reed cut all over. This closes up the tiny tubes that are throughout the reed mass. Be careful not to allow the reed to overhang the glass as you will split it.
I forget what those tiny tubes are called but you can easily see the reason why a cane reed becomes waterlogged by placing the cut section of a reed in a glass of water and then placing the back end of the reed in your mouth and forcing air into these tiny tubes. You will see very small bubbles of air come to the surface of the cut. Burnishing the cut will close off these tiny tube openings.
Finally , to complete the process of water proofing a reed , use some butcher's paper , which is actually the same as newspaper paper , but without the poisonous ink, place this on the plate glass and then rub the table side of the reed on this to give it a polish.
Hey presto, you will have a reasonably good waterproofed reed. No need to play around with bee's wax.

BJV
"The Clarinet is not a horn"

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Beeswax on back of reeds new

fskelley

2014-04-21 17:19