sanding block vs staple diam vs reed head

[uilleannfinlander]

is there relatio between these?

[Brazenkane]

I d'no if I'm gonna shed any light on this, as I consider myself somewhat lucky everytime to pcs. of cane come together to even make a sound, much less music.

I got my "blocks," or actually plastic PVC tubes from piper Tim Britton. They are light, come in a set of 5 (I think?), and come in a var. of sizes.

(the next bit is based specifically on the method I use)
When I cut a slice of cane from a tube, (the shape of that curved section yr cutting is important to take note of, since no tube is perfectly round), gouge it to where it's gotta be apprx., I then see which tube fits the curve. However thoughtless that sounds...I AM considering quite a few things.

"Fits," is a realtive term e.g. i'm looking at the nearly done slip and visualizing,(whilst putting it on top of the cylinder) : based on inner gouge vs. out dia. of cyllinder... how how far can I go to increase the dip/gouge vs. how much cane do I have left on the sides.

Use too wide of a cly. and you're gonna burn the straigh edges away leaving you now w/ an uneven pc. lengthwise. Use to sm. a cylinder, and you're going to increase the center gouge and now be workng the edges enough....

Hope that helps......(?)

[snoogie]

I put this together back when I first started making reeds. It describes the geometry and relationship between the various diameters.

However, that being said, I've since found that trial and error is a better teacher..find the right diameter sanding cylinder for the chanter/staple combo. "Right" in this case is a diameter which causes the finished reed to barely need a bridle to adjust the opening of the reed lips.

http://www.southeastpipersclub.org/seup ... r&Itemid=5

-gary

[reedmasters]

Gary; I checked out those pictures of the Florida cane. All I have found around me has thin walls and the largest diameters are about 7/8". Most of the stuff that I find isn't hard enough to use for reeds.

[Brazenkane]

There is more to what Gary wrote on the topic of having a reed end up to that it barely needs a bridle.... I'm not being secretive etc., but I'm just not up for writing it all out...

...takers?