Re: [Shaku] A Potters thoughts on cracking

From: JASON CASTNER (jchanwagenki@yahoo.com)
Date: Mon Mar 07 2005 - 11:58:58 PST


I just wanted to say that you should try burning the
bore and finger holes out with metal rods. I think
burning is easier/more fun/and you can make a finger
hole larger easier without the risk of cracking or
damaging the skin of the flute. When I was drilling
holes it seemed more difficult plus it's not very
traditional. Also it's fun and easy to experiment
with making the natural bore of the flute as large as
you want. just use a larger rod than the last and
keep burning the bore larger. this way you can make a
nice tapered bore if the bamboo your using doesnt have
much variation in bore width from one end to the
other.

P.S. actually I know nothing about making flutes. But
I have made about 40 flutes since last year and I
think they all sound great. just recently I bought a
tuner and found that most of the flutes I make sound
great but definetly are not concert pitch. haha but
you only need a flute to be in tune if you play with
other instruments. really i think its best to play a
flute that isnt exact because it represents how mother
nature/god makes everthing. no 2 things are the same.
 

I would also like to say that when i cut bamboo to
make flutes i first let the bamboo sit inside near my
fireplace. after awhile some of the bamboo is really
cracked, some of it gets small cracks near nodes and
other peices still look perfect. those are the ones I
make flutes out of and none of them have cracked.
The ones that get small cracks near the nodes are my
experimentation flutes where I try different weird
things. and actually these flutes turn out quite good
and have a awesome sound. Sorry if i wrote to much
and bored people but i cant help it.. i love flutes

jason

--- Tuscia-Falconer <falconer@enternet.co.nz> wrote:

>
> Hello, I am new to this list and as an intro to
> myself I include a few
> thoughts from my twenty years experience as a potter
> in New Zealand. I also
> have deteriorated eyesight to a point where I called
> it 'impressionistic'
> and as a consequence have excellent hearing. I am
> only six months into the
> 'Arts of the Shakuhachi' but love to play it every
> day, usually several
> times a day, and am starting to make some from
> bamboo that is growing in my
> backyard. I have had some success and respect the
> challenge.
>
> Clay has some interesting similarities to wood, here
> are a few thoughts I
> have had.
> Clay shrinks as it dries, from wet clay to fired
> vitreous (matured) there is
> up to 18% shrinkage, 1/5th.
> Clay will crack if it dries unevenly. if one area is
> thick while another
> thin, the thinner area will dry and shrink faster
> and crack.
> Clay is porous until vitrified or glazed, some clays
> are finer grained and
> less porous, clay may be 'burnished' to reduce its
> porosity.
> A glaze is designed to have the same
> expansion/contraction coefficient as
> the clay body, if these are too different the
> tension between the two will
> cause the glaze to crack or peel off the clay body.
> The more dense a clay, the more resonant will be its
> sound, 'ping' a ceramic
> bowl or cup with a flick of your finger and you will
> hear a 'ring'. The
> sound given may indicate the existence of a fine
> crack by giving a 'fine'
> rattle in the sound, or the sound may be dull due to
> water absorbtion.
> Porcelain is much denser than earthenware and gives
> a finer, longer 'ring'.
> The thickness of the clay also affects the quality
> of this 'ring'.
>
> In my short exploration into making a bamboo flute I
> have referred to those
> qualities in clay.
> Bamboo has a skin, like a glaze, I am sure that
> nature has provided an
> excellent expansion/contraction relationship between
> the skin and the inner
> bamboo wall, but this must be influenced by the
> cutting of the bamboo, the
> opening of the cells and the drilling of holes
> through the wall.
> Localised heat is generated when drilling and
> sanding, could this initiate
> an eventual crack, such as down the outer wall along
> the line of holes ?
> If the inner wall swells with moisture, could the
> skin crack, being unable
> to expand with this swelling ?
> If the skin is subject to excessive heat, such as
> sunlight, this would
> surely result in stresses ! Especially if the inner
> lining is a hard resin
> and has no flexibility !
> How would a piece of bamboo respond to being
> 'kiln-dried', say at 110 C for
> five hours ?
> A denser, harder bamboo is going to be more resonant
> than a softer, less
> mature bamboo.
> What are the influences on resonance by oiling or
> burnishing, oiling the
> inside or the outside of the bamboo ? Do some oils
> soften rather than harden
> ?
> And what about all that saliva ? Is it unevenly
> distributed along the bore ?
>
> Well, I have been stimulated and have other
> questions that I will bring up
> in their own threads.
>
> Since joining the group I have been reading through
> the archives, begining
> in 1997 and have found them very resourceful and
> entertaining. I am not
> finished yet but it has been a great way to get a
> feel for the group. I
> particularly enjoyed a series of installments on a
> discussion between
> 'Socrates and a Student', such are the ways of
> learning.
>
> And about Zen ? We all live by sustenance.
>
> Regards,
> Kel.
>
> www.rolling-cloud.eol.co.nz
>
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> _____________________________________________
>
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