what could be main reason for this ..when tying reed to staple, cane nicely closed from both sides, but when removing binding from reedhead to start scraping , noticed that both sides are sligthly curved and leaks there. Like ---~~~----IIIIIII, where --=closed lipside ~=leaky area ,IIII=binding on staple.
Using same staples+other dims. all the time.

Have you gouged a "tone chamber" in the reed?

Can you post a photo of the problem?

You might need to lightly sand the shoulders of the reed.

Maybe not gouged straight?

If I understand this problem, I have done this when I didn't hold the slip perfectly perpendicular to the sanding cylinder.

One possibility is that you didn't start with a straight piece of cane, and/or it was twisted too. THROW THESE PIECES OUT! Don't think, "hey this cane feels nice, it's just a wee bit twisted." That's like saying, "Hey, God... can you please dispose of a few hours of my life, and make sure they're intensely frustrating, too!"

So, make sure the slip is straight, no twists, no curves. Yes, the longer the slip, the more difficult it'll be to find a straight piece. Does it have to be perfect? No cane is, but you need to try to get it as close to it as possible.

Next- your gouging, scraper usage, sanding cyl. or whatever you used to impose the inner curve, you weren't careful with the edges. If the edges (for example) have too much meat at the shoulder area, then it gets thin, and then again more meat near the top.... well there's a hole/your leak. You MUST be careful to make the edges as even as possible re: how much pith is left, or taken away.

Finally, where you position the staple can cause leaks/difficulty in the reed closing, the hardness/thickness of the cane, and many other variables (which I can't type now due to time). Check some of the things I mentioned, and let us know how you do.

The "shoulders" of the blades are the area, where they begin to get narrower and where you wrapping (usually) ends. Do you slacken (just slacken - not loosen) your fathom continually the closer your wrapping appraoches these shoulders?

Hi m,

Does this problem persist after the reed head is scraped? If it doesn't, then there's no problem.

Often the sides will close as the reed is scraped and the lip elevation reduces. If this doesn't happen then maybe the edges of the slip are too thick to start with, or the reed tails are too thin.

- Bill

well, thanks for the opinnions. Problem before scrabing head . First, got quite... hmm... not want to put cane dealer in bad situation, but must say that medir canes I ordered were not sooooo "selected" cane.
Got really some good reeds( 1 0f 10) from this stuff .. I mean that reeds it's in tune + its have nice big character with . Plenty(rest 9) like just "in tune" but no that vibration on fingertips as good ones have.
Must try, after this "selected cane" settled in scandinavian climate... better.

My question is this: is there still a gap *after* scraping? A gap before scraping may not be important.

Hi all,

I would like to know a little more about creating the 'tone chamber.' I am confused by this.
Arbo

Tone chamber step - http://www.hartdd.com/reedmaking/reed3.html

The beginning (well worth reading it all) - http://www.hartdd.com/reedmaking/Intro.html