RE: shakuhachi construction - totally untraditional

From: Drysdale, Alan (drysdalea@pgocm5.ksc.nasa.gov)
Date: Thu Sep 30 1999 - 06:56:44 PDT


        Toby gave an awesome description of shakuhachi making that is rather
daunting. Some shortcuts that work for me are described below.

> 3. Saws and special files are used to trim the top and bottom of the cane,
> an auger is used to cut a hole at the root end, and a special round rasp
> on a long rod called a garibo is used to knock out the interior membranes
> at the nodes and smooth the interior. The joint is cut. Channels are cut
> with saws and files and/or knives near each side of the joint and these
> areas are wound with silk thread or stainless wire to reinforce and
> prevent cracking around the joint.
>
        A hacksaw (fine toothed) is pretty good for trimming cane, though
you do need to cut all the way around the stem to avoid peeling the outside
layer off the cane.

        A belt sander (or a disk sander with a rigid disk, I guess) is
really great for finishing the ends.

        I don't do joints. Makes life a lot easier, but does make the
selection process a bit harder. However, I've got lots of bamboo in the
back yard, and there's always wood.
>  
> 5. The utaguchi edge has to be cut at the correct angle and in the right
> orientation. This work is begun with a fine saw and finished with special
> files and sandpaper glued to a flat board. Meijiro sells a special gauge
> to get all the angles correct. Then the top node is opened to the correct
> size. This varies depending on the length of the flute. These steps are
> rather critical--if you go to far there is little, if anything, to do to
> save the flute.
>
        Again, the belt sander is great.
>  
> 6. The upper edge is cut with special knives and/or files for the
> utaguchi. (Meijiro has made a special template which considerably
> simplifies the process of marking the correct dimensions and placement for
> the cut). This is for me the scariest part of the whole process--very easy
> to make a mistake or break the thin bamboo and your flute is trash. And it
> is not a straight cut--it angles. Difficult stuff.
>
        Cutting the bed for the utaguchi insert is difficult but can be done
with a craft knife and a small chisel. Then epoxy will hold almost anything
in place.
>  
> 7. The utaguchi material (usually acrylic or water buffalo horn) is shaped
> to fit the hole just cut, then inserted , tapped in, sawed then shaped
> with files and sandpaper.
>
        Artificial (or, I suppose, real) ivory works well. So does
aluminum.
>  
> 9. Finger holes are drilled according to a schema. I can provide
> measurements for those who wish them (let me know). There are traditional
> diameters according to the length of the flute. Modern practice in Tozan
> flutes is to have all the holes the same size, Kinko no. Most people use a
> drill press with special bits these days...
>
        Drill at a fast speed and low feed rate. It is also a good idea to
drill pilot holes first.
>  
> 10. Now comes the hard part--the bore. Meijiro sells a set of internal
> measurements at different points inside the bore for all sizes of flutes
> for \2000 each. The bore is critical, and has to be within very fine
> tolerances (on the order of .1mm throughout the length) for the thing to
> play correctly. This is what separates the masters from the boys. Many
> good makers have settled on a bore design and are able to reproduce it
> accurately, and know from experience how to fine-tune each flute. The most
> commonly used tool is a set of small metal cylinders in .1mm steps that
> can have special adhesive-backed sandpaper attached which are screwed onto
> a long rod and used to ream out the flute. If you go too far you have to
> recoat the interior with ji and start again. I redid the interior of my
> 1.8 twenty-two times. When I shamefully told this to the sensei he said
> "Hmmm...Not bad!" Sometimes he has redone it sixty times or more. Tom
> Deaver told me that he gardens as a hobby. Just when he feels like
> throwing a flute through the window he'll go outside and tend the
> blueberries for awhile. It's maddening to get everything perfect except
> for one note, then fixing that throws other notes off. It seems like an
> endless chain.
>
        A stick in an electric drill with sandpaper taped to the end and
padded with foam plastic works well to remove material from the bore.
Remove a little, measure frequently. It's easier to remove than to replace.

        Tuning is, to my mind, the really hard part. I recently broke down
and got an electronic tuner. However, most of these are tuned to Western
even-tempered scale. I'd expect shakuhachi to be tuned to something more
like a just-tempered scale. Anybody have a table of offsets or other tuning
information for shakuhachi?
>  
        Alan



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