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Copyright- Heartland Didgeridoos
Thank you for respecting
our copyright. A lot of good energy has gone into compiling the information you will
find in our site. All information, including text, photos etc is under
copyright by Heartland Didgeridoos. We hope you enjoy and share with others. So personal
use is permitted, and passing on information to a third party must include copyright
noted and the source being Heartland Didgeridoos. No information on this site may be used
for commercial purposes without the prior written permission of Heartland Didgeridoos.
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Enter below what you like to learn
about and we'll answer your questions with how to do it and
photos to support.
Answers to the following questions are found by clicking on the question.
Enter here what you like to learn
about and we'll answer your questions on this page. Answers
are generally on this page within a week.
How to approach repairing a
crack.
Firstly cracking is a part of woods natural
tendency to expand and contract. All wood does it, some handle it, some dont.
And those that are sensitive to it can often be repaired in such a way
to maintain and protect from further problems.
Theres also precautions that can be taken in the care of ones didg to minimise
problems. If your wanting to avoid problems and you've just purchased your new didg
from overseas, the following guidelines will help. Firstly in the first days, weeks, and
month keep your didg wrapped or in a bag when not in use. Minimise climatic
fluctuations . Dont leave in a hot car or in the sun or outside over night.
Also a moist atmosphere is better than dry whether cold or hot.
Now if your new didg has cracked or is cracking ,
heres why and what to do about it. Didgs that crack without settling; in otherwords
where the crack keeps moving leading to a
fairly terminal condition, do so beacuse either they were not cured before making,
or they were innately a bad choice as a didg. Only a keen didg maker either
knows the difference or discriminates and tosses crack sensitive ones on the
firewood pile. Not good news if thats whats happening with your didg.
But dont despair very often it can be a settling process , so it
may stop and with appropriate action be a stable didg for the long term.
Heres how to deal with it .
Repairing outside. Wood glue and very fine sawdust mixed together is the best as it
expands and contracts. So fill crack and then sand back once fully dried. Two part
glue can also be used .Then give the didg a number of coats of
varnish. If the didg is cracked at the mouthpiece end, then another approach
is stringing the top of didg with fine string wound round and round on top of wood
glue, tightly together to form binding over cracked area. Refer - how to do a
binding?
Next, is the inside of your didg sealed? If not AFTER repairing outside you can seal the
inside with oil , varnish or boiling hot liquid beeswax - boil past boiling till its
smoking.- This penetrates wood and is perhaps the best seal. Do so from bottom
towards top of didg to leave a clear finish at bottom. Wrap and tape didg in
something to protect from spillage. Wear gloves to protect hands, and spin didg as you do
so to cover full inside surface. Sitting didg in a sive that sits in top
of a pot protects didg from being dipped in pot.This is a real art so do so
only if you feel confident. A number of coats of varnish thinned with some turps
poured down the didg will also do a top job.
One other approach to a cracking didg is to paint the didg in
wood glue and sprinkle sawdust over; then once dried, repeat this process a couple of
times until you have formed a skin over the didg. This can then be painted over or
varnished.
For future reference when buying another didg, make sure the person your buying
from has a strict curing and selection process as to ensuring didgs aren't
crackers. An experienced fussy maker will be 95-99% accurate in predicting a didgs
wood integrity or otherwise.Wood and climatic effects can never be totally predicted
but knowing that diffferent woods and grain patterns deal with these effects
differently enables you to be forwarned when asking for what you want ina didg. The
ultimate wood grain is a wavy pattern grain or fiddleback as some call it or
certain tree types and the ultimate are didgs that are selected as dead wood rather
than cut green. Hope this helps
. , Tynon
Click here if you'd like to read
Munga's views on dead wood and
green wood didgs .
© 2000 Heartland Didgeridoos
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A binding at the top of a didg to repair a crack,
or strengthen the top
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Working on the inside of the didg to improve the sound
Coming soon
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Fitting
a Mouthpiece
| First step is preparing the didg
mouthpiece opening. Being that most folk like a 25-35mm diameter mouthpiece
opening ,with 28-30 mm being the most popular; then preparing the hole itself
to be 8-20mm larger than the desired end result is the first step. Once the wax is
then fitted it will be perfect. |
 |
| You'll need some wax ,beeswax is the
best. Candle wax and other waxs for different reasons are sub standard.
Theres three ways to prepare the wax itself. Heat it in an old pot until liquid is one
way, or if you have just the right amount for a mouthpiece heat in the sun or by a
fire until plyable. If doing in a pot and its now liquid , you
then need to wait until it cools. Theres an optimal time when you can
use a knife and knife some out like peanut butter. Its hot and may
still be sticky. Just mold it , squeeze it and especially any
lumps until eventually the hot stickyness is gone and it becomes like
plastiscene. Then roll it like a sausage as in the photo. |
 |
| If you think the sausage is too big break a bit
off and work with what you think will be the right amount.Then turn the sausage into a
donut and size it up. The push onto top of didg. |
 |
| I suggest working into the inside working
around the circle whilst slowly getting the right approx size of the opening itself.
As you work it inside ,do so in a tapered fashion so theres a smoooth
transition from opening down to the wood over a reasonable distance. This all
helps the sound transference. Squeeze it against the wood firmly so you've worked
the wax into any cavities. |
 |
| All the time your working on the mouthpiece your
running against time, the time it takes for it to set hard. So move swiftly onto the
outside shape. Theres two ways to approach this, either keeping to the
outside edge of the wood and pushing the wax upwards whilst holding the inner shape,
then cutting of the excess as in the photo. The other way is whilst holding the
inner shape, instead of pushing upwards, you push downwards focusing on the
top of the mouthpiece shape , whilst any excess splurges out from the wood edge at
the base of the mouthpiece. Then with the knife you can again cut this
of around the edge of the wood. |
 |
| The absolute preferred way is, you've got just
the right amount of wax and just by working upwards, downwards, around
and inside theres no need to cut any excess. With the two didgs on the right , the
brown one I cut off excess at the top and the white bare
didg I cut excess of at the base. In the fourth top photo you can see
with this mouthpiece as it takes shape that the excess is coming out
wide and the approx shape is forming as to the top. So as you go it
will unfold. If you use a knife at any point , then quickly go around and
squeeze wax ,otherwise it leaves wax in a rough unworkable condition( as per
photo on right) |
 |
After quickly cutting off the excess and
reworking, I then sometimes wait abit and then as it sets even
further , I then give it a squeeze here and there to finetune and smooth
it right out. I am now left with a mouthpiece ready to roll. The ideal shape
I find has an edge like quality whilst being rolled to enable lip
movement. As it rolls inward the wax then retreats further inward towards the wood.
If your first go hasn't been successfull you can either rip it of and start again,
or stand in the sun and warm until playable or dip in liquid wax to
give smooth coating. All in all its a process of experimenting.
I've done about a thousand mouthpieces and I still find them a
valuable patience test. So dont stress if its testing. Enjoy the smell and the
feel , and happy didgin once you've got it complete,
Tynon |
 |
©
2000 Heartland Didgeridoos |
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3) How can you make a didg from a solid or
near solid piece of wood ?
Of course cutting a log down the centre , then hollowing and
reglueing is one way,but yes its time consuming and perhaps not ideal. Finding a log
partly hollowed can be helpfull. Anywhere in the world I imagine its possible
to find a tree hollowed out by water,via a branch hole. I have a friend in the
states who has made maple and hickory didgs from finding partly hollowed
branchs or saplings. Then applying our sealing techniques explained on this
page to change the soft inner wall into a harder smoother wall and
then the sound travels and you have a didg that plays well.
To hollow a partly hollowed branch, I use a 1 metre
long rod with a spade bit welded onto the end. High tensile steel and thin(
about 8mm) for some flexibility. At least two different sizes is helpfull,
from 25mm,32 mm,to 38mm. With the drill bit on the end of a drill
your didg has to be well clamped as it can often grab so strong wrists
and patience is helpfull. There is an art that can be only learnt by doing it.
I understand diamond tip spade bits are now available
if you've got the dollars to invest. This will save a lot of time.
© 2000 Heartland Didgeridoos
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Top
...............................................................................................
Copyright- Heartland Didgeridoos
Thank you for respecting
our copyright. A lot of good energy has gone into compiling the information you will
find in our site. All information, including text, photos etc is under
copyright by Heartland Didgeridoos. We hope you enjoy and share with others. So personal
use is permitted, and passing on information to a third party must include copyright
noted and the source being Heartland Didgeridoos. No information on this site may be used
for commercial purposes without the prior written permission of Heartland Didgeridoos.
...............................................................................................
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