Tom
your atachement is not readable for my computer
with what program can you open it ?? or can you send a JPG or BMP file
and what kind of string do you use to bind ??
thank you in advance
Hans van Loon
----- Original Message -----
From: Tom <tom-tom@gaea.ocn.ne.jp>
To: shakuhachi mail list <shakuhachi@weber.ucsd.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, February 27, 2002 10:10 AM
Subject: Bindings
> When was it...must have been 1994...when the Japan Foundation sent me
around
> the world offering up one or two day shakuhachi repair courses. Counting
> that and over 30 years of shakuhachi repairing, a large number of
shakuhachi
> bindings have been accomplished. Here's a general outline of a couple of
> satisfactory processes to get a split shakuhachi closed and bound up in
> durable fashion.
>
> First, the crack should be closed. It has happened more than once that a
> split shakuhachi has arrived here with many metal hose clamps spaced along
> its length and tightened to close the crack. Sorry, no success with that.
> Other shakuhachi have arrived here wrapped with steel wire, also
> unsuccessful. Many other folks have written asking how to close a crack.
> Thinking about it one should be able to come up with the reason why the
> bamboo split in the first place...excessive drying! To close any crack in
> bamboo, and cracks wide enough to accept a wooden pencil are not uncommon,
> simply replace the lost moisture. The most recent repair had a wide crack
> which took three days of resting in a damp environment to close.
>
> Sometimes cracks just won't close completely without a little help from
> something other than moisture, but there should be some place where the
> crack is completely closed. This often happens when a crack extends the
> whole length of the upper half of the shakuhachi. It will be closed at
the
> joint, the end away from the utaguchi, because a binding is normally under
> whatever ornament has been used at the joint. Start binding there, using
> one or the other of the methods described below or some other method,
> placing the binding between the ornament and the 4th finger hole. Then
work
> toward the utaguchi end of the bamboo. Applying a tight binding should
> close the crack completely or very nearly so. Sometimes it happens that
> while working the crack will begin to open up. In this case, make a
couple
> of bindings and then place the bamboo back in a damp environment to
reclose
> the crack. Make a couple more bindings the next day or whenever the crack
> has closed. Eventually you'll get to the end of the work.
>
> For rattan bindings square cornered grooves are cut into the bamboo at
> intervals along the length of the crack. These grooves can be any width
(2
> bu is common but 3 bu or even 4 bu or whatever can also be used). The
> grooves should be deep enough to accommodate some string which is wrapped
> round and round the bamboo in the bottom of the groove, some filler of
some
> sort (used to fill the groove so the finished surface of the filler is
below
> the surface of the bamboo by an amount equal to the thickness of the
rattan)
> and the rattan itself.
>
> Be very careful to not make these grooves too deep. I've seen more than a
> few flutes with distortions to the bore, little compression rings, at the
> location of each binding.
>
> By all means, never apply any sort of that instant drying super-glue to
> cracks. It goes way down inside the crack and is almost impossible to
> remove. Many people use it on cracks but after doing so the crack will
> probably never close completely.
>
> When making the structural string binding, wrap the string over itself for
> the first few rounds and at the end pull the string under itself for the
> last few rounds. If the string tension is sufficient it will not slip.
The
> same technique is used for wrapping the cosmetic rattan. Use a small
cross
> peen hammer or other suitable tool to eliminate the bumps, flatten them,
> where the rattan goes over itself at the beginning and end. Lastly, apply
> some sort of liquid adhesive that will seep down through the spaces
between
> the rattan to the surface of the filler and also fill any other spaces.
> More than one application may be necessary. Be sure to wipe off the
excess
> adhesive before it hardens. Urushi is the material of choice for this in
> Japan.
>
> After all the bindings have been done, place the bamboo in a dry
> environment, a kotatsu works really fine, to open the crack a bit. Then
> fill the crack with some sort of filler that will eventually harden. Keep
> it in mind that the bamboo will move with changes in humidity so the
> repaired crack is expected to open and close a bit from day to day.
>
> A more simple and structurally stronger method of binding is to use
ordinary
> string directly on the surface of the bamboo. After the bindings are in
> place paint them one or more times with some sort of liquid adhesive to
hold
> them in place.
>
> These written explanations seem rather tedious. Have a look at the
attached
> diagrams.
>
> Good Luck!
>
> Tom Deaver
>
>
>
>
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