Bob,
I don’t think your problem has to do with your cane. I use Sampson can exclusively, only having maybe 1 out of 20 reeds crack when binding. If I do have a crack, it is almost always because of some defect within the cane itself. I have experimented with heat and water but I don’t really see the need for them personally. My reeds are dry as a bone and stay at room temperature when I make them. My technique revolves around speed. I want to get as many reeds made as possible, while still maintaining quality. I personally don’t like extra steps and I prefer to have edge tools do almost all the work. Sandpaper can be dusty and slow. If you tools edges are fine you can get them razor sharp by running the edge against leather treated with chrome polish, jeweler’s rouge etc. A dowel or rod, with the treated leather is handy for incannel gouges.
I think your issue has to do with leaving too much material on your slips. Let me explain. First how much material is on the back of your slip (the tails). If you leave too much material in the tails where the staple lies; it can be detrimental to the reed, ultimately making it prone to crack. Too much pith puts increased pressure on the front of the slip. The extra material increases the tension on the front of the reed when bound to the staple. The tension can be too great, having the effect of cracking the reed, causing it to close or killing response and tone by not allowing the reed to vibrate freely. I would experiment by creating a staple “bed”. You can do this by taking a smaller gouge and removing some more material where the staple lies. Also be sure to let the staple “tell you” where it wants to end up, don’t force it too far into the slip. The second problem is created by leaving too much material on your slip overall. Try cutting or sanding a preliminary scrape; while also, removing the hard exterior from the sides of the tails. The less material you have overall, the less prone the reed will be to crack. I always work my slips as much as I can before binding. When binding you want to bind the reed till it closes and don’t try to force the blades closed with too much pressure. Leave the reed for several days and come back and retie. Your binding should be much lower. This relieves tension (good for longevity) and I believe helps the reed to freely vibrate increasing tone. You do need to have some tension on the blades, too little and you also get a poor reed. You just have to experiment and make observations; I think you can solve this problem with just a few simple adjustments. I had the same problems with cracking starting out.
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- Jason