I have successfully made a wooden (curly maple) chanter reed that has been sealed with lacquer. It works, plays fine, in tune and tone didn’t change. It’s a reed I made for Eamonn Dillon (not the same one he used in Vermont). So…as soon as our schedules coincide, I’ll be delivering the reed to him. We’ll make sure it works in his Q/K chanter and then it’s out to side by the bay in the high noon heat and see what happens
The lacquering (polyurethane to be exact) was Tim Britton’s idea. He’s been successfully treating his cane reeds with it and has been able to play them in very high and extremely low (5%) humidity conditions. I find the low humidity report amazing, personally.
Can’t wait to hear how it turns out or even possibly hear the sound file. I’m very intrigued that one could lacquer a cane chanter reed. How did you lacquer the wooden reed and how does Tim lacquer his cane reeds?
Thanks! Keep up the great work!
all the best,
Tim does lacquer his reeds. When I get a minute I’ll write out his process for cane reeds. This process happens after you’ve made and adjusted a well playing reed. So you have to not only be a fairly accomplished reed maker, but you have to be a…or become a fearless, (but not thoughtless) dismantler, and assembler of reeds.
Not for the tame or beginning reed maker for sure, as there’s never a guarantee that the reed’ll play the same once taken apart and put back-together (and tied up).
I would like to say that I would want to retract my comment of, “no change in tone,” with a capital “R!”
After many attempts, I would have to say that I’m somewhat convinced at the very least, putting polyurethane on the inside of the halves creates a somewhat “plastic like” surface for the halves to vibrate against. The tone is unpleasant, pinched, nasal, etc.
What I did many times, was after I had sealed both halves, tied them on and decided that I was dissatisfied with the result… I untied them and put them in lacquer thinner and attempted to remove all of the sealant with a paper towel, I scrubbed each individual piece very firmly. However, no matter how hard I worked it appeared to me under close inspection, that there were bits of the sealant now part of the wood’s pores. It wasn’t like they were chunks, but more like millions of sparkly crystals.
When I tied both halves together for about the 20th time, I noticed that the reed was a bit brighter sounding. If this in fact is the case, and can be repeated… I may have discovered how I can make curly maple sound brighter and perhaps even more cane like in tone???
“Only the Shadow knows…”
Having said all that, I don’t think I am done with my experimentation with polyurethane. I am very curious to see how brushing it on the outside of the halves affects its resistance to humidity. Naturally, that will require more time and another good working yoke.
I could not tell you in any certain terms. my guess is that it will not leave a hard surface on the wood. The polyurethane does. I remember some years back that people were talking about using neatsfoot oil on cane. I don’t know whatever became of it.
I used quite a few different techniques to tone this down, as I was overly bright an overly buzzy. As you can hear, I rushed straight through to us to get something for you reed geeks to listen to. here’s the sound of it (it “occupies” a different freq. range that my plain wooden, and cane yokes do) … for better or for worse…
here’s the sound of it (it “occupies” a different freq. range that my plain wooden, and cane yokes do) … for better or for worse…