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November 10, 2006
Yokoyama Rampo Repair
Hi all. I had another major repair ecently. This old 1.6 was made by Yokoyama Rampo, Katsuya Yokoyama's father.
The owner had these original inlaid rattan bindings done in the 1970's by someone in Colorado. He couldn't remember who it was.
They help up pretty well but did open up a bit. However, major work is need at the Nakatsuki. It will need a complete overhaul
The original cotton thread crack right along with the bamboo. It was similar to the Inoue Shigemi I repaired a while back. Some of you may recalled the flute that exploded on me.
I love repairing these old flutes because I can see exactly how the old master did it back then. Just Ji paste over the thread and then urushi over the ji. Simple and elegant. It probably would've lasted many many more years of the flute had proper care.
Getting down to the bamboo.
I was almost ready for binding with the 20 lbs monofilament and then I saw this after more careful cleaning:
a small 1 cm piece grafted on to the bottom to the top section. As a maker, there's always a little story behind every flute. Maybe he made a mistake in measuring, or maybe goofed on the nakatsuki and had to redo it. Only Rampo San knows.
After the binding, I found that the male part of the joint was to big. This is a common occurance after rebinding a nakatsuki. This means resizing both sides. I imgine that the previous repair man must've painted lacquer to tighten it.
Gentle, methodic and slow sanding is required.
A perfect fit.
The epoxy applied. I have a feeling that the 2-ton epoxy over the 20lbs monofilament line will last longer than Ji paste over cotton cord. Maybe in 30 years, the owner will contact me and let me know how it held up.
Filing before the sanding.
I went with wide rattan in the Komuso style in accordance with the aesthetic.
Some of you may have noticed that the Nakatsuki wrap I am doing is thicker, or, wider than the original wrap. I combined the two bindings normally done outside the nakatsuki into one. This way, I save the owner money.
Authentic urushi is the only lacquer I know of that wil hold up well over time without cracking or peeling. However, it wears down normally.
This first coat ( and only one I hope).
This will turn dark after a day in the humid box.
The cracks are sealed with CA glue and bamboo dust. I uses the bamboo saw dust off the work bench so that the additive comes from the same flute.
Come back soon for the finished result! Namaste, Perry
Posted by Perry Yung at November 10, 2006 09:14 AM