Shakuhachi by Perry Yung: August 2005 Archives

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August 29, 2005

Refurbished Nakatsuki finished!

Jet's been kicking up a storm lately since he discovered his limbs. He's still not crawling yet so I thought I should get these repairs finished before he does.

Let's start with the before photo. Those who have been following this repair know that I started it it two weeks ago. As you can see, someone had tried to tighten the nakatsuki with enamel paint and superglue. Over time, everything crumbled.

Here's what it looks like after.

After the coats of urushi had been cured, I use hair pomade as my joint grease to protect the fresh coat or lacquer. Hair pomade with beeswax is thicker than cork grease. The owner didn't ask for an inlay on the rattan binding but I decided at the last moment that an elegant old flute like this one needs all the trimmings. An inlay at one end makes the bindings looks much neater. To start the inlay, I needed a straight line to saw by. This is how I make my straight edge.

Here's what the cut of a fine Japanese saw looks like.

Next, I file a slight slope down to the line. I want the middle where the two ends meet to be fatter so I stayed away from that area.

All cleaned up and ready for the rattan windings. I've refurbished a bunch of inlays that were not done very well. If the bamboo is not smooth, it shows on the windings.

I like the streamlined look.

Two old friends meet again.

I think they came together well ;-)

Here's the after photo.

I get a lot of responses thanking me for sharing these techniques. Really, all I want is for people to respect these great old flutes and to care for them properly. The Hanko reads as Beautiful Wind.

I certainly do not mind cleaning up someone's experiments since I enjoy helping fine flutes find a life. But, I hope people will think twice before putting super glue on a nakatsuki.

Namaste, Perry

Posted by Perry Yung at 12:11 AM | Comments (1)

August 27, 2005

Retuning Old Shakuhachi Flutes

An interesting repair this week. This flute was won on eBay sometime ago. This is a old flute, probably around 50 -70 years old according to the natural patina.
I noticed right away there were some major tuning problems. Here was the give away. There is a tone hole drilled near the bottom of the root. By the looks of the hole, it was made long after the flute was originally made. There was no urushi on the inner walls. This brought the tonic from B to D.

The Chi and Re looked like it had recent work.

I noticed that the top three finger holes have been enlarged infact. The lacquer on the inner walls appear new and the edges of the holes are crisp. Flutes that are older usually have rounded edges from wear over time. Good flutes, that is.

The Tsu and Re were in tune with Ro but the top three holes were more than a semi tone sharp.This means the flute wasn't anywhere near a Minor Pentatonic scale, the standard shakuhachi scale. In this case, bore work would not fix the pitch. I needed to plug the old holes and redrill new ones. Here is a finger hole plug made from Phyllostachys Nigra. I prefer to use a different color bamboo so as to accent instead of hide the repair. I also liked the contrast.

Now this eBay purchase is a workable shakuhachi.

HEAR this old flute.
The root had signs of insect damage. This is the reason many makers soak the roots in old car oil while the bamboo cures. The old oil prevent insects from gnawing away at the precious root.

Until the next repair, your shak doc, Perry

Posted by Perry Yung at 10:39 PM | Comments (0)

August 16, 2005

Custom Major Scale Shakuhachi

Just caught Taiko Masala at Lincon Center's Out of Doors Festival today. Jim Nyoraku Schlefer is playing my NyorakuShaku- a custom 2.0 Diatonic scale shakuhachi. This flute has now travelled from my shop in New York City to Myoanji Temple in Kyoto and back.
that's Jim on the left and Kaori on the right.

With members of Taiko Masala. The flute really rang out. I was surprised as it was pit up against the thundering drums. I'm sure the mic helped. I was also suprised to hear the subtle timbres amist the pounding rythym. Those sound techs at Lincoln center really know their craft.

Little little baby has already racked up tons of miles since it left my shop.

Sasa taking a break from the dancing backstage.

Jet wakes up after the show. Namaste, Perry

Posted by Perry Yung at 03:14 PM | Comments (0)

August 15, 2005

Super Glue on Shakuhachi Joint

Here is a refurbishing of the a nakatsuki I've been working on this week. Shakuhachi joints get loose often and the only way to tighten them is in the traditional manner, with urushi lacquer.
Someone had tried to tighten this joint with super glue and what appears to be enamel paint.

The super glue and paint was cracked and crumbly making the joint difficult to seal. This can actually cause damage to the joint.

The first step is to sand it off carefully by hand.

The ends have to be clean or the two ends won't meet flush. Also, urushi will reveal the uneven texture.

The first coat. It will take several more.

My wet box. Urushi needs 80% humidity to cure.

It better to use plumbers tape to seal the joint than to use glue or other kinds of paint. Bamboo swells and shrinks to the humidity levels, that's why the joint may be loose and then tight again when the seaosns change. Plumbers tape will do the trick when it loose, just peel it if when it's tight again.
Namaste, Perry

Posted by Perry Yung at 09:28 PM | Comments (0)

August 09, 2005

Utaguchi Build-up

Some interesting and fun repairs this week.
Here is an epoxy build-up to change the level of the top back. It was too steep for the player but not enough to warrant my bamboo graft method so I added epoxy to build up the rear.

The end result is a 1.5mm build-up but just enough to make a difference for the player.

I added two coats of urushi because the owner sanded some of the internal diameter down on the ikigaeshi because he felt constricted. The 2.4 length flute had a small opening, about the size of a 1.8.

Here is a 2.6 with a huge bore. The Ro was sharp compared to the whole flute so I added epoxy at the top to flatten it. I also opened up Tsu so that the Minor Third interval felt better. Now the whole flute plays well in tune with itself.

There is new urushi inside Tsu. It's a good thing the player is not allergic to urushi

This is a wonderful huge bore Jinashi flute. I enjoyed playing it for a while after the repair. It occured to me that I should record it since I liked the sound. As I was blasting away Watazumido style, a Jet plane flew by. See if you can hear the difference between jet and bore turbulence recorded through a laptop mic. I love the John Cage idea of chance in music.

HEAR how Watazumi may have played CHOSHI.

Namaste, Perry

Posted by Perry Yung at 11:04 PM | Comments (1)

Inoue Shigemi Repair Finished!

Much apologies to you folks who have been following the Shigemi repair. In between the time I started and finished it, I had a baby. Jet came in at 8 lbs and 21 1/2". That's the exact length of a 1.8 shakuhachi!

The Shigemi is finished. but here are some more photos of the work in progress. Last time, we left off at the top needing reconstruction.
Here's my solution.

I grafted another piece of bamboo at the top to bring it back to a proper level.

The result feels natural and better on the lips.

Stay tuned for the final cosmetics - the bindings and nakatsuki relacquered in urushi.

Back to the feedings...what time is it...

Be well, Perry

Posted by Perry Yung at 10:11 PM | Comments (0)

August 04, 2005

Customizing a Shakuhachi into a 7 Hole flute.

This week, I was able to finish a custom job. The owner wanted his old shakuhachi turned into 7 hole flute. I was a bit nervous removing the plastic rings. You never know what's underneath. I love working on old flutes because you get to see what they did in the days before super glue and 2-ton epoxy. So far so good. Nothing exploded or unraveled...this time. I also coated the male nakatsuki with four coats of urushi to tighten the joint. Stay tuned for another nakatsuki complete restoration. Some one had used super glue to build up the joint. It's not a pretty sight.