I just received my reed cane from Brian Howard last weekend and am quite excited to start a reed. I posted some photos on my blog if you’d like to check 'em out. They’re a little better than the one’s on Brian’s site, it’s a good way to see what you’re getting. They look like a great product and if I can make the slips work with my staples, they should save some time.
Either click on my signature below or follow this link to see the photos:
Love the “Black Tuesday” pic. My favourite is a screen capture from the movie “The Sixth Sense” but the kid is saying, “I see dumb people”. In the background hovers a ghostly image of Gee Dubbyuh,
Thanks but you must be looking at a cached copy of the blog. A actually deleted that post because I didn’t want the blog to become to political. I felt that maybe I should just stick to my focus.
Thanks for posting these pics and dimentions, and some tips from Brian Howard.
I’ve heard of people submerging whole reed blades in water to soften it for binding, but many have spoken of the ‘raised grain’ upsetting the playability. However, the idea of dipping just the tails makes so much sense as raised grain surrounding the staple shouldn’t be a problem. I’m going to give that a go. Are there any guidelines as to how long the tails need to be submerged for?
I’ve found that the two stage taper to the tails that Howard uses has helped me reduce the likelyhood of splitting during binding and would recommend others trying it if they are regularly splitting reeds during binding.
You mentioned that you are waiting on some cobblers wax. I’ve had a lot of luck getting airtight reeds using thick waxed dental floss, which I believe Seth Gallagher and others use also. Using floss elimintes the process of rubbing the cord through wax and alos avoids a sticky mess.
No mention of that, I imagine it’s a quick dip, maybe a second or so. That’s what I’m gonna do anyway.
Thanks for the tip on using waxed dental floss. I’ve been using that for my binding anyway but I’ve always rubbed wax over it (because that’s how I was taught). I guess there’s nothing to lose by binding with just the floss. I’ll try it and let you know. I always wrap teflon tape over the binding anyway, just 'cause I’m paranoid.
Yes, that was one of the first things I was taught. Do this especially if you’re not using brass tubing for the staple.
You really only need to dip the tails for a second or two, shake off excess water, and let sit for a couple of minutes. That’s all. Slip in the staple, bind it with teflon tape (if you prefer), then tie her up.
Yeah, I get that a lot. I’m walking down the street and everyone starts crowding around me wanting to hear me play the whistle or asking could I sing “Breathless”, stuff like that. It gets old sometimes but then, when you look like that, I guess I’m willing to pay the price.
The great thing about the internet is, you never know who’s behind the keyboard. Could be some loser in his pajamas, or it could be Andrea Corr. I prefer to think it’s the latter. Just my way of making the world a prettier place (in my mind if nowhere else).
I eliminate the raised grain, but slightly different than does David Daye.
I submerge the slips overnight in distilled water, dry at least 12 hours under a 40 watt incandescent light bulb, then polish with 1000 grit wet/dry sandpaper until the inside surface is shiny, then repeat.
This eliminates the “raised grain” problem and helps stabilize the blade against the grain raising because of humidity changes during it’s life and becoming dull sounding.
I have a small shot glass that I put an inch of distilled water in, then drop the tails in for around 10 minutes before first tying reed on. I wipe the excess water off with a handy rag, then tie onto the staple.
I usually use nyltex (a pre-waxed nylon cord) with the first 6" treated with black “piper’s wax” (ghb black wax melted with beeswax until I get the right consistancy, about 50% each) to make it easy to stick the cord to the staple.
I seal the binding by scrubbing with beeswax and polishing with a scrap piece of cane until it melts in and gets shiny.
When tying oboe reeds, one does not use any wax or anything to get an airtight seal. Out of curiosity, why is this needed for pipe reeds? Is it due to a smaller ammount of staple inside the head, or shorter tails? Thoughts?
That’s possible, but wouldn’t the cane shrink back down after drying a while, leaving even bigger gaps? In any case, that seal is made between the blades of cane anyway and no air should leak between tight winds of string/floss anyway. Does anyone make pipe reeds without wax?
I generally use wax, but I’m lost mine and so I tried it last night with just waxed dental floss. I had to use a LOT more floss to make a good airtight seal and I found I used more pressure between the windings. Since I dipped the tails of the slips in water before I wound it, they didn’t crack - they almost certainly would have if I didn’t with all the tension I was putting into each wind.
It took me a couple of tries but it worked. I wrapped the binding with teflon tape just because.
I much prefer using wax.
BTW, the Howard reed cane made a very nice crow right away, with no sanding. By the time I finished it last night I was too tired to try it out in my chanter, I’ll try that tonight if I have time.
I’m becoming a real pipe-nerd. I should seriously think about getting a life.
Hi Tony, I’ve been using Brians reedmaking supplies for a while now and am really impressed. Last weekend I got some of the latest staples and I made up two reeds yesterday. They are very, very impressive. I was pleased before but these really sing. I strongly recommend anyone trying at least one! Brian only dips the tails in for a few moments and binds them on to the staple straight away with PTFE tape. This goes up to the top of the staple ( a useful guide for limiting the binding) and is then bound over using a winding 'machine 'and nylon thread only. No wax or shellac etc. They are perfectly airtight ( mine have never leaked ) and very easy to undo if you want to adjust or reuse parts. Brian has a video available of him demonstating and I think this should be available on his website soon, either on it’s own or maybe as part of a Kit. It shows him using the Ready-tie slips to make a working reed in about 15 minutes ( no editing) and for anyone intimidated by the process (as I used to be) it’s a must. Keep your eye on www.howardmusic.co.uk in the near future. I recently got a popping valve from Brian ( complete with tuning Iris) and I’m so impressed with the way he keeps coming up with these ideas.The best of luck but if I were you I’d try the staple, even if only for a comparison.
After reading Tony’s post I thought I’d better set to and put my Howard reed together. I received his staples last week but haven’t had a chance to assemble any until last night. He had sent me a pre-formed bridle as well, which I found a little awkward to work with. I prefer the flat type without the little bump bit if you know what I mean.
Anyway, like Tony and others, I also had a nice sounding crow without any further sanding. It’s pitched at about G#. I don’t know if G# is what the crow is meant to sound like, but generally that’s the pitch my reeds crow at when they turn out to be successful, so I’m hoping that when I try it in my chanter this arvo (this afternoon - sorry, Aussie speak) I will get something of a positive result.
I’ll be interested to see how his tube staples work in my chanter as generally tube staples have been dismal failures for me. I have always had much better success with rolled staples.
I’m thinking I’ll put the remaining four reeds together this weekend following the same instructions and see how much variation there is. Then, depending on results I may have to do some unbinding and experimenting to see what variations I get.
My favourite is a screen capture from the movie “The Sixth Sense” but the kid is saying, “I see dumb people”. In the background hovers a ghostly image of Gee Dubbyuh, 
as raised grain surrounding the staple shouldn’t be a problem. I’m going to give that a go. Are there any guidelines as to how long the tails need to be submerged for?