Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

thogoul wrote:

Hi everybody !

So I got this shakuhachi :
[url]http://www.flutes-en-bambou.com/images/shak1.jpg[url]It's a 1.8 Tozan said to be 70/80 years old.
I not holding it in my hands yet so can't give more details.

I'm asking here for some advices on repairing;
especialy for the crack.
On my flutes, I usually put some cyanocrylate super glue with bamboo dust to fill in the crack and then bindings.
Is it a good way to process on an old Shakuhachi ?

greets.

thomas

Bonjour Thomas,

The flute looks more to be around 40 years old based on the style of plastic joint rings.

The repair should be approached as Edosan suggests.  I have had to rework lots of flutes that had filled cracks. They are more difficult to repair than ones not filled because there can be pockets of leaks in between the glue/dust. However, some experienced repairmen may fill small cracks that appear between bindings after the flute has been bound, which is a different choice. That is usually a cosmetic issue.

Good luck on the repair. - Perry

thogoul wrote:

If it get worse, I will try this wet&bind technique.

I just had to put a waxed string on the joint to here it's magical sound !
I was wondering about cork on the joint like clarinettes or saxophone;
somebody already tried it ?

I think this Shakuhachi had some Ji inside but it's very few still in it and not very clean surface.
I was thinking of cleaning a bit the bore and put tung oil as I use to do with my other flutes.

If the crack is closed, and does not leak, the addition of moisture is probably not necessary; just bind it in several places to assure that it
stays closed.

The less you do to make the joint fit well (no leaks), the better. No cork. One simple method of improving the fit is to use a few wraps of
plumbers Teflon tape (I don't know what you'd call it in France, but I'll bet it's available. It's typically used to improve the seal on pipe
threads when joining plumbing fixtures, and comes in small plastic spools. You can probably get it at Bricorama). The tape is VERY thin, and
stretches slightly, so you may need very little to seal the joint and make it fit more snugly. Just make a wrap or two around the male part
of the joint, check the fit; if it's still too loose, remove the tape, put some more on with a few more wraps and try it again. Repeat til it works.

Another method that I have used: mask off the body of the flute below the male part of the joint, clean the joint well with a suitable solvent,
apply multiple thin coats of a good quality spray lacquer (real shakuhachi repair masters will use Ji, of course...), sanding the surface with fine
paper until it's flat and smooth after the lacquer has had PLENTY of time to cure well (so it's hard). Apply more thin coats and sand smooth, as necessary.

It is important to assure that the joint is just a loose fit, and not also a BAD fit: that the shapes of the male and female parts actually match
one another in shape. The lacquer solution will not work well if they do not.

I would not do anything to the bore of the flute. If it's not falling apart, just leave it alone...and play it