Author: cjwright
Date: 2008-04-11 19:07
In David Weber's book, he suggests bending it over your finger because if it's splitting, it means either:
1. There's a weakness in the piece of cane
2. There's a weakness (or perhaps chip) in the blade
Regarding hot water, whichever one you choose (hot or cold), stick with one, because it has major effects on your tie, blanks, and the way you scrape them.
I never use hot water the whole process, because it expands the fibers and grains. When I gouge cane soaked in hot water vs. cane soaked in cold water, it almost always comes off rougher, like the fibers are being torn rather than shaved. Also, if you gouge the piece and just leave it to dry, the cane shrinks more and often curls up on the sides because the sides are thinner.
I don't like tying blanks with cane soaked in hot water because it expands the cane more, and so when the tied blank goes to dry, there's more movement in the expansion/contraction process and thus warps more.
Finally, if you scrape reeds soaked up in water, because the hot water expands the cane more (just as your openings get huge when you soak a made reed in hot water) and chances are you're going to overscrape a reed to make it close down. Then, when it dries out and you soak it up to come back to it, it's much smaller than you previously remember it to be.
I'm not saying that hot water can't be used, but if you switch from soaking your cane from cold water to hot water, it can really effect the entire reed and change your whole process of reedmaking, so be consciously aware of the differences.
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