Thanks, Jonathan... simple, practical, and very helpful. One of the fun/useful advantages of the mini block plane is that the depth of cut is adjustable--as you get to know your plane, shaper and cane, you can adjust the plane to take off exactly the right amount in a single pass on each side. Or if you want to be more cautious, you can back the cutter out and take more paired passes (keeping the number equal on each side) to get the perfect result. It's a very user-friendly tool.
It's kinda Kool how you reed playing musicians half to master few arts to play my brother is Aaron Lakota he makes reeds he would spend hours making reeds and honking on them when we where growing up
An excellent video, Jonathan! Clear and concise and very useful. I was watching a similar video by Jennet Ingle and she was singing your praises. You always have been a superb reedmaker!
Very interesting tips. I will try a couple. Where did you find the mini-plane? There is an endless choice of sizes on the market and I have no desire to reinvent the wheel through expensive trial and error. Thanks.
Long shot here, but I have a question. I'm learning to make oboe d'amore reeds and I'd like to get a clean fold before I put the cane on my shaper. I've tried your method of scraping the cane close to the fold line, then scoring, and I still get a ragged edge, where the bark is splitting from the underlayer of the cane. I've tried my oboe teacher's method, no scraping, and that doens't work either. The cane I am practicing on is 24+ in hardness and will never make a reed but is useful for practicing. Any advice?
Hi Margaret! It’s more difficult to get a clean fold with cane that is harder and/or more thickly gouged. With hard d’amore cane, you’ve got both! The good news is that d’amore (& E.H.) reeds tend to be a bit less sensitive to micro-changes in tie-on length (the variable we are attempting to regulate with a clean fold line), as compared to oboe reeds. Happy reeding!
I’m pretty sure he did. I never heard Mr. Mack speak on this specific topic, and it never came up in a lesson (he was always happy with my reeds in our lessons), but I have heard this from others, yes.
Thanks for posting this. This is the first reed video I've seen which didn't gloss over shaping. Do you have a rule to follow for how tight the shaper handle jaws should be clamped over the cane? I'm new to shaping and my first few either slipped side to side from the blade pressure or left clamp indentations in the bark. How do you know when to stop tightening?
Tight enough to where there’s no movement at all during the trimming. A little bit of a dent right there won’t hurt the cane or the quality of the finished reed. I’ve been making reads since 1970. One thing that he didn’t mention was how long to soak the piece of cane before shaping. I usually soak the cane between 20 and 25 minutes or right after the cane sinks to the bottom. Just don’t use hot water. Room temperature to body temperature. Nice and snug. You’re worries are over.
By the way, what a piece of cane sinks to the bottom immediately it is not a good piece of cane. Maybe one or two pieces out of 100 that I gouge will sync to the bottom and I will throw them out right away. It would turn out weak and probably without stability in the pitch.
Thanks, Jonathan... simple, practical, and very helpful. One of the fun/useful advantages of the mini block plane is that the depth of cut is adjustable--as you get to know your plane, shaper and cane, you can adjust the plane to take off exactly the right amount in a single pass on each side. Or if you want to be more cautious, you can back the cutter out and take more paired passes (keeping the number equal on each side) to get the perfect result. It's a very user-friendly tool.
It's kinda Kool how you reed playing musicians half to master few arts to play my brother is Aaron Lakota he makes reeds he would spend hours making reeds and honking on them when we where growing up
Thank you for the video!!! As a beginning reed maker, I haven't taken into consideration a lot of the variables that you mentioned.
An excellent video, Jonathan! Clear and concise and very useful. I was watching a similar video by Jennet Ingle and she was singing your praises. You always have been a superb reedmaker!
I bought the mini plane and I love it!
Thanks for this clear and straight-forward video.
Great idea with the mini planer!
Hi Jonathan! This is super helpful! I have oboists in my studio and I'm going to show them this in reed class today! :)
Very interesting tips. I will try a couple. Where did you find the mini-plane? There is an endless choice of sizes on the market and I have no desire to reinvent the wheel through expensive trial and error. Thanks.
Thank you! Links to all equipment used can be found in the description below the video. (Link to plane updated today.)
Long shot here, but I have a question. I'm learning to make oboe d'amore reeds and I'd like to get a clean fold before I put the cane on my shaper. I've tried your method of scraping the cane close to the fold line, then scoring, and I still get a ragged edge, where the bark is splitting from the underlayer of the cane. I've tried my oboe teacher's method, no scraping, and that doens't work either. The cane I am practicing on is 24+ in hardness and will never make a reed but is useful for practicing. Any advice?
Hi Margaret! It’s more difficult to get a clean fold with cane that is harder and/or more thickly gouged. With hard d’amore cane, you’ve got both! The good news is that d’amore (& E.H.) reeds tend to be a bit less sensitive to micro-changes in tie-on length (the variable we are attempting to regulate with a clean fold line), as compared to oboe reeds. Happy reeding!
Didn't John Mack line up his cane with the top of the ears on the Mack shaper tips also?
I’m pretty sure he did. I never heard Mr. Mack speak on this specific topic, and it never came up in a lesson (he was always happy with my reeds in our lessons), but I have heard this from others, yes.
I saw a youtube clip of John Mack shaping cane and he didn't discuss it, but this was how I saw him do it. I've seen other folks discussing this also.
That tool that you call "baby plane" which cuts sides of cane before put it on the shaper is wonderful. Where can i buy it?
I found a link to it in the description
Thanks for posting this. This is the first reed video I've seen which didn't gloss over shaping. Do you have a rule to follow for how tight the shaper handle jaws should be clamped over the cane? I'm new to shaping and my first few either slipped side to side from the blade pressure or left clamp indentations in the bark. How do you know when to stop tightening?
Tight enough to where there’s no movement at all during the trimming.
A little bit of a dent right there won’t hurt the cane or the quality of the finished reed. I’ve been making reads since 1970.
One thing that he didn’t mention was how long to soak the piece of cane before shaping. I usually soak the cane between 20 and 25 minutes or right after the cane sinks to the bottom. Just don’t use hot water. Room temperature to body temperature.
Nice and snug. You’re worries are over.
By the way, what a piece of cane sinks to the bottom immediately it is not a good piece of cane. Maybe one or two pieces out of 100 that I gouge will sync to the bottom and I will throw them out right away. It would turn out weak and probably without stability in the pitch.