Today I'm going to begin a series of blogs addressing bassoon reed finishing. At one of my bassoon lessons Dr. Matthew Ruggiero, ret. Boston Symphony and honorary member of the IDRS, told me the hardest part of reed making is the last 10%.  He also said that anybody can make a reed blank.  I believe that this is substantially true, even though there are some excellent, individual ways of construction blanks, that work is futile if you can’t finish the reed to play as you want.

Finishing reeds is a combination of art and technique.  Most of us learn the technique first.  There are several ways that individual tools might be used in reed finishing but I am going to list the most common ways I have learned.  First, reed knives are used primarily on wet cane though there are instances that I do a little cleaning up on a dry reed, especially with an x-acto knife when I finish up the shoulder.  Knives may be used either with or against the grain. With my single-beveled knife I scrape the cane, keeping the blade perpendicular to the cane.  My Panzier knife from Reeds’n Stuff has a radius tip that works well to finish the tip and also in the channels. My steel grooved files are used wet and dipped in water often to clean them out.  I work them with the grain except occasionally to file on the corners of the tip toward the heart.  I always work diamond files on dry cane otherwise the abrasive surface clogs easily.  Though the sand paper I use is made to work wet or dry I find that the most effective sanding is done dry.  I use grades 220 up to 800-finish.  I always work the sandpaper with the grain of the cane.  Reamers should usually be worked dry though my very sharp spiral cut Christlieb reamers can be used wet and are especially useful when a student brings a reed to a lesson already wet that won’t fit the bocal.  Diamond files are especially good at cleaning up the tube after reaming. I always use a long mandrel when tightening the wires as it gives more support especially to the first wire. 

I’m sure there are many other ideas about the proper use of tools and I welcome your comments.  I’m off to play a trio at the local convent today as our group prepares our performance at the IDRS conference.  We will be performing with the OU dancers at 11:30 am on Friday, June 25 in Holmberg Hall at the University of Oklahoma.  I hope to see many of you at the conference.

Best,

Dale

After stabilization, I re-tighten my wires that have loosened and clip the third wire close to the bark.  I wrap my reeds with #10 Aunt Lydia’s crochet thread.  I wrap with the colored thread closest to my desired color so that I can save on nail polish costs.  When I have wrapped about half the Turk’s head I wrap around the tube a couple of turns on the butt side of the blank in order to tighten the cane to the mandrel and make a nice round tube.  After applying two coats of Duco Cement I apply nail color as desired.  The glue covers the blank from the end of the tube up to the first wire.  The nail polish covers the thread and the tube all the way to the end.  I have tried hot, soft glue and found that it did not provide the support to the tube that thread does.  I have not tried shrink wrap but also question the support to the tube compared to thread.  Gluing between the first and second wire is usually omitted when using shrink wrap.  I question the effectiveness of the seal with this type of reed as it ages.  As with all my blogs please submit your comments and questions.

Best,

Dale

There are so many ideas about this topic but I can talk only from my own experience.  In the near future, I plan to do research in this area that may prove helpful, giving reed makers information about scientific tests on reed stabilization. 

Stabilization, related to reed making, means that once a reed has been finished it will retain its performance character from day to day requiring little adjustment for the normal life of the reed.  There are several steps that may be taken to insure stabilization but I believe the most important is to profile your reeds as close to the finish dimensions you desire as possible.  I have seen many students who profile their reeds too thick and then complain about having to scrape their reeds daily.  A reed that is new and vibrant may seem fine one day and then too heavy the next.  A little scraping will usually make a reed more vibrant but, if the cane is still too thick, in a short time it will need scraping again.  Many students think that a thick and water-soaked reed is just worn out though if the reed is dried and then scraped to a proper dimension it works better than before.  A thick reed will become water-soaked easier because it has greater water carrying capacity.

Another factor in stabilization is the stabilization of the tube before the reed blank is finished.   Matthew Ruggiero, ret. Boston Symphony and honorary IDRS member, used a rotation of reed blanks that insured the blanks dried eight weeks before he finished them.  He also checked the blanks and tightened the wires once the reeds dried enough to loosen them.  I have found that, at this point,  going ahead and wrapping the thread and gluing works best for me to insure proper stabilization.  Wrapping the thread is the final stage of the forming process as it tightens the cane to the mandrel to its final form.  Stabilization means not moving, or made steady, so I want the read in this final wrapped form so that it is not moving any more before the time I finish it.  That is why I don’t use some of the intermediate stages that others do in their forming process. 

I seem to be moving backwards in the stabilization process so now what about having cane dry enough for our use?  Most manufacturers claim to dry their cane two years before putting it on the market.  I like to buy my cane in advance so that it al least gets several more months if not years of drying time.  As I mentioned in a previous blog I stack the split cane carefully in even stacks with the bark down so the segment can settle into a straighter form.  This should result in a more stable reed.

I know there are other opinions about this topic and I welcome your comments and ideas.

Best,

Dale

My forming process closely follows what I learned from Gary Echols in Nebraska that he learned from Lou Skinner.  Skinner’s process depended on the style of reed you were making as well as when he taught you the process. Several of Skinner’s reed making students have commented that his reed making process changed over the years.  I studied with three other teachers who also had studied with Skinner and their takes on Skinner’s process were all slightly different.

After the cane is beveled and scored, as I have described in a previous post, I soak the cane in hot water for 30 minutes.  My slow cooker set on low feels slightly cooler than very hot tap water.  When I fold over the cane I make sure the sides align perfectly so I don’t start off with an overlapped blade. I put the first wire on tight; the placement depends on the style reed I’m making, 25 mm from the butt for my style A.  The wire should be tight enough that you see no light showing between the wire and the bark.  If the wire is too loose the cane may split past the first wire into the blade, a common problem for students.  If your profiler does not cut a shoulder into the cane, mine does, you may want to do this before forming as it makes splitting much less likely.  I wrap the reed with cotton string from the first wire to the butt of the reed.  Some makers wrap the blades as well.  I don’t because the cane in the blade is not trying to push away from the mandrel as in the case of the tube where you need to produce a counter force.  I place the cane back in the water a moment while I wax my Rigotti forming mandrel.  I then insert my mandrel past the last mark, there are three marks, pushing it straight in with no twisting that helps avoid blade shifting.  By inserting the mandrel this far I insure that when I set the final wire tension I will not have to ream my reed.  I remove the string far enough to put the first wire on but leave the string tight above that.  The third wire is placed at 5 mm from the butt and at first with enough tension just to hold it in place.  Then I squeeze around the butt of the reed with needle-nosed pliers so that the cane joins at the seams.  I then tighten the wire snuggly.  Removing the rest of the string, I place the second wire at 16 mm from the butt of the reed, again with minimal tension.  I then squeeze the cane between the second and third wires to bring the cane close to the mandrel before final  tightening the second wire.  I use a triangle needle file to make four shallow markings on the cane between the second and third wires on both sides as well as top and bottom.  Once the string is applied, and glued,  these marks will help keep the string in place.

Once placed on the drying rack the reed should be allowed to dry until the wires loosen, often a day will do this, and then the wires should be retightened. I like to wrap and glue my reeds at this point and then let them stabilize on the drying rack.  Matt Ruggiero found that eight weeks was sufficient stabilizing time.  I know that many reed makers have other ideas and I welcome your comments on this subject.

Best,

Dale

Studying for my master’s degree at Univ. of Nebraska-Lincoln I learned reed construction techniques from Gary Echols.  Gary Echols studied reed making with Lou Skinner and Don Christlieb.  Gary later gave me some of Skinner’s mandrels that I still use in my shop.  Gary used a two mandrel process in forming: a long thin mandrel, labeled #10 by Skinner, to open the tip and set the first wire opening and then a shorter working mandrel to set the tube opening for the 2^nd and third wires.  I used this two mandrel process until I studied with Matt Ruggiero at Boston University who suggested “Why don’t you find one mandrel that will do the entire forming process?”  It took me a while to find a mandrel that I was satisfied would open the tip properly as well as form the entire tube.  Dr. Ruggiero suggested that I insert the mandrel far enough into the tube that I would not need to ream the reed after forming.  I found that the Rigotti bassoon forming mandrel was the best tool for that process.  I could insert the reed past the last mark when forming and, when I tightened the wires after letting the reed settle, I lined the reed up at the last mark and the reed would fit the bocal well without reaming.   I insert the mandrel straight without a twisting motion in order to avoid overlapping the blades. This process has worked for me very well over the years.  Carefully aligning the blades before tightening the first wire, when forming, also helps avoid the overlap problem. 

I’ll write more about my forming process in a future blog entry.  Please submit your comments and questions that are always appreciated.

Best,

Dale

The preparation of profiled cane for forming requires at least two adjustments to the tube, scoring, in order to make the cane easily fit to the round shape of the bocal, and beveling, to make the reed edges fit together in an air tight seal and in some cases to increase the effectiveness of the fulcrum (please see fulcrum diagram in my photo album, page 2).

I score the tube with a machine I purchased from Bonazza that is called a reed carver.  This machine allows me to make an accurate and consistent score on every piece of cane.  It does score completely through the cane but that is no problem as I always cut into the butt of the cane with an X-acto knife up to the third wire before I used this machine.  Before I had this reed carver I would apply seven score marks on the cane starting just short of the first wire and continuing to the butt of the cane, the first score in the center and three on each side.  The minimum depth of the score should extend through the bark of the cane and may go deeper as the cut progresses towards the butt of the reed.  I set my reed carver to start scoring at the second wire because it does score deeper, knowing that the score marks will extend some towards the first wire.  I like to compare the score marks to kerf marks in woodworking.  When you want to bend a piece of plywood to make a half-circle window frame you make kerf marks to make the wood bend easier.  It is the same principle on making the tube of a bassoon reed.  The score marks serve the function of kerf marks.  So, the deeper the score mark the easier the cane should be to bend around the mandrel in forming.  This of course should be accomplished without causing cracks that extend so far up the cane that they appear in the blade or cause leaks.  That is one reason I was taught to glue the tube all the way to, but not including the first wire.

Beveling can be accomplished in a variety of ways. I use an X-acto blade and bevel starting just inside the first wire and continuing to the butt of the reed making the bevel shallow at first and deeper as I progress the cut trying to accomplish a 30 degree bevel at the butt with the depth of the cut reaching the bark half way to the butt.  I bevel the right side of the cane only.  This bevel on my Fox #2 or Rieger 1A shape allows me to assemble the reed with an air tight fit that won’t need reaming to work on my bocal, also resulting in the fulcrum action working well on my reeds.

I welcome comments and hope to hear from many of you.

Best,

Dale

One of the questions most asked by avid reed makers is: what are your dial indicator measurements?  I tend to refer students to the Don Christlieb dial indicator measurements given to me by Gary Echols, my bassoon instructor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  These measurements have been a type of ideal for me to use as a reference if I need help setting up a profiler and in reed finishing.  I set up my profiler .05 mm thicker in the back than the ideal of .75 mm to allow for the possibility of softer cane.  I set the thickness at the fold to be .50 mm. I find that once I tip profile my reeds on my Rieger tip profiler that my style A reed is very close to finished.  Dr. Matthew Ruggiero encouraged me to make my profiling machine's depth as thin as possible because too much hand work results in an asymmetrical reed. Because of the exacting set up of my machines I don’t rely on dial indicators as much in the finishing stage as I do the feel, crow and actual performance of the reed.  Dick Kilmer, my good friend and Professor of Oboe at Eastman School of Music, believes that bouncing the dial indicator stem up and down on the cane too much has a negative effect on the cane.  So, I use much care in placing the dial indicator stem on the cane. I use the dial indicator to set up my machines and then at the end finishing stage to make sure that my reed is balanced, or symmetrical, from side to side, especially if I am experiencing any playing problems.  I find that balancing the reed, if it varies more than .05 mm in thickness in corresponding locations on opposite sides of the reed, will usually make an improvement in the reed’s performance. 

You can view the Christlieb dial indicator measurements as given to me by Gary Echols in my photo album on page 2.

Best,

Dale

I was honored to be the teacher of a master class in bassoon reed making at the University of Florida-Gainesville, Nov. 14, 2009.  Dr. Arnold Irchai has done a wonderful job with his class of 14 bassoonists as evidenced by the fine studio recital performed by those students the next day.  I always focus on reed finishing with my new students as I believe that will be the most help to them but, since this was my third visit to the University of Florida, I also spent a generous amount of the three-hour class on reed construction.

I believe that there are really four elements essential to successful reed making:  good cane, proper tools, knowledge of the process and good technique.  The art to the process comes from the individual’s own talents and skills as well as the years of applying all the above and are directly related to the reed  maker’s ability to produce desired results on the bassoon.  Anyone can improve their technique with repetition and the guidance of a good teacher.  Try making a thousand reeds a year and see if that doesn’t help.

When teaching a class of 14, I try to get some hands on work with the students.  Since there had not been much experience with using straight shapers I was able to show students the benefits of that type of template and the quick success they could achieve with it.  

When forming a reed most students have a fear of folding the cane over the knife.  This is really an unfounded fear.  I  have been able to show them how easy it really is, since you lay one blade across the blade of the knife, and, even if they don’t get a good center fold at first, it is very simple to shift the cane a little and get the two ends of the cane to line up.  I insist that students make sure the two halves of the reed align properly before putting on the first wire.  If you do this properly it is less likely the blades will be out of alignment later.

The last 5 %  of reed making is the hardest.  Dr. Matthew Ruggiero would say “anyone can make a blank.”  There is plenty of information about making reeds in articles and books.  It is the proper application and timing that is the problem.  When do you thin the back rather than blend in the spine to correct difficult response in the low register?  Should you thin the tip instead?  These are the hard questions that confront any reed maker.  Often students are afraid that they will hurt the tone of a reed and will not adjust the reed even though it will not respond on certain notes or in certain registers.  I tell students that they must take risks if they want the best reeds.

I had some of the students test their reeds by performing the first and second bassoon parts to the opening of the second movement of Brahm’s Violin Concerto.  As many of you know this excerpt often appears on audition lists for second bassoon positions and tests the player’s pp playing in the low register of the bassoon.  I used this part of the class to discuss techniques for finishing the back of the reed, something often neglected by reed making beginners who concentrate so much time on finishing the tip.

Please see photos of the reed class in my photo album.

Best,

Dale

Many reed makers like to put their profiling machines in adjustment and leave them that way.  The problem is that blades have to be sharpened and replaced. That may result in a difference of thickness in the finished profile that will require an adjustment in the profiler thickness setting. One of the greatest improvements in the manufacturing or bassoon profilers is the addition of adjustment screws that allow small adjustments in the depth setting of the blade.  I added one of these to my Popkin profiler and that has allowed me to sharpen and replace blades much more easily without the troubles I had before I had this adjustment.  The old templates I used to set the blade (that screwed into the bottom of the blade carrier) were not nearly as useful as adding the blade adjustment screw.  I highly recommend having a competent machinist add this blade adjustment screw to your machine.  I’m going to have it added to my Pfeiffer machine as well.

Another great addition to my profiling has been the use of shim material on top of my profilers guide. Occasionally, one of my customers wants a blade slightly thicker or thinner.  This can be accomplished very easily with steel shim material available in .05 mm or .10 mm thickness.  I bought mine from my local machinist in 12” square sheets that can easily be cut to size with a pair of scissors.  Shim material is available from many suppliers on the internet as well. I bend the shim into a shape that can be placed on top of my profiler guide and taped to the sides and then the blade is profiled slightly thicker.  If I want the blade thinner I place the shim under the easel pins/flats, on each end, before I put the easel in place.  Steel shims are an economical and easy way to adjust blade thickness without having to move adjustment screws or move profiler guides.

I welcome comments and questions about shimming and profiler adjustments.

Best,

Dale

In this blog entry I am going to discuss the three profiling machines that I use: Popkin, Pfeiffer and Reedsn’stuff by Udo Heng.  

For my style A reed I use the Popkin bassoon and contrabassoon cane profiling machine, made in 1993, that I use with the auto-shoulder option and the flat bottom of the pins so I have a spine in the center of the profile.  You can reverse the pins if desired so that there is no spine and that the finish profile on those pieces would be the same thickness at the rails as in the center.  I find that the profile I use makes the finishing not only faster, since I want the rails thinner than the spine, but also more symmetrical as the machine does more exacting work on the rails than can be accomplished by hand.  If the reed is more resistant than desired because of the spine, I can blend the spine in using a needle file with very little work and usually with great success.  My machinist has added several features on my machine including a scribe for the shoulder and center line, centering lines on the easel, and a dial indicator to measure the adjustment of the guide bar.  I had seen some profilers supplied with a dial indicator to measure the thickness of the cane while it was attached to the easel.  It seemed too difficult to accomplish that on my Popkin profiler, especially with an easel that can be moved too easily and the requirement to zero in the dial indicator and keep it perfectly adjusted with all the moving parts involved.  Instead, we mounted the indicator to an arm that can move over the guide and give accurate readouts on the amount I raise and lower the guide at both ends of the scrape.  Hopefully, you will soon see a photo of this in my album.

My Pfeiffer machine, for reed style B and C, also has the option of having a spine, but the shoulder is gradual rather than being as well-defined as in the case of the Popkin.  Since I make a longer reed with the Pfeiffer, having the gradual shoulder with the slightly thicker back as a result, the reed then holds the pitch, especially third space e, because the longer reed is balanced by the thicker profile.  The wider tip because of the longer reed means the reed will respond especially well in the low register.  One feature I have added to this machine is a thinner shim so that I can adjust the thickness of the profile as little as .05 mm.

My Reedsn’stuff profiler is the most adjustable machine I have ever worked with.  I use this machine for my style R reeds. One of the most interesting features is being able to move the actual guide bar so you can adjust where the break in the slope will occur on the reed.  This break in the slope occurs because the guide bar is actually a two-piece apparatus, hinged in the middle, with separate adjustment posts under each end.  You can not only adjust the degree of slope, thus thickness, with each guide bar post, you can also adjust the overall thickness by raising and lowering the wheel on the carriage.  The easel on this machine scribed in a way that allows perfect centering from both ends as well as centering the spine on the easel.  The scribing devices for the shoulder and center lines are easily adjustable in position as well as depth.  This is a sophisticated and complex machine with capabilities to produce a variety of profiles not possible on my other machines. 

I will further discuss the details of my profiling, including dimensions in a future blog. 

Please see my photo album for pictures of my various reed styles as well as photos from the IDRS conference and other double reed events.  I will be adding more pictures as my work schedule allows.

Best,

Dale