Post by ziman on Feb 2, 2013 7:09:08 GMT
In December, my workhorse xiao (my G key DXH) developed two cracks on the headjoint. So I sent it out to be repaired. Now it's back and playing as well as ever. I thought I'd write about this experience here, since it might be a useful reference if anyone's flute ever cracks.
Xiao makers being pretty much nonexistent in the US, I decided to send my xiao to a shakuhachi maker instead. My reasoning was, the ways xiao and shakuhachi are made and repaired are quite similar, so shakuhachi makers should be able to repair xiao. I thus contacted the well-known shakuhachi maker and repairer Perry Yung. He confirmed that he should be able to repair my xiao, so I mailed my flute over to him and hoped for the best.
So, how did it go? In a word-- great! Here are some before and after pictures of the crack and repair:
(Note: somehow this forum doesn't play nice with Dropbox, which is my usual file-hosting/storage site. You'll need to click on the links to open up the pictures.)
Crack on the front of the headjoint (before repair):
www.dropbox.com/s/xtofk0sbp266qn4/IMGP1516.JPG
(Note that the crack is long, but very thin-- you'll probably need to download the picture and magnify it to spot it. It is in between the first and second lines of calligraphy on the flute.)
Second crack on the side of the headjoint (before repair):
www.dropbox.com/s/yxfp1273qzh6cxv/IMGP1517.JPG
And now for the after-repair pictures:
Front crack:
www.dropbox.com/s/2jvqdrrh4l7kbn8/IMGP2781-rawdev1.jpg
Side crack:
www.dropbox.com/s/01rx9xc2xi5umf7/IMGP2782-rawdev1.jpg
In all, the repair cost $34. Not something one would routinely do for a $30 flute, perhaps, but well worth it for a good flute which plays well for you. The additional bindings (visible in the after-repair pictures) also ensure that this section of the flute will never crack again, barring really unusual circumstances such as using the flute as a club... [g] ...so in that sense, it is more stable than the kind of DIY superglue repair we normally do ourselves.
Perry Yung also made me a nice leather mouthpiece cap/protector free of charge:
Front of the cap:
www.dropbox.com/s/o3a8ptyuk0aiba2/IMGP2783-rawdev1.jpg
Back of the cap:
www.dropbox.com/s/dpdvfc90xho9m7q/IMGP2786-rawdev1.jpg
The cap is meant to protect the blowing edge/notch of the xiao from impacts. It's made of fairly stiff leather and is shaped so as to absorb impacts on the top of the flute. I thought its design was ingenious, and wondered why this kind of cap isn't more common in the xiao world. This sort of cap is very common among shakuhachi players; they call these "utaguchi caps", utaguchi (歌口) being the Japanese term for a shakuhachi's blowing edge.
Finally, a picture of my xiao's blowing hole:
www.dropbox.com/s/z4zhhp0qqxu2fk5/IMGP1562.JPG
This is for Allent, who asked me once whether my xiao's blowing hole is partially covered or uncovered (i.e. whether the flat bamboo partition that forms the top of the flute is merely cut open to make the blowing hole, or is completely removed altogether). As you can see, this xiao's blowing hole is of the U-only shape and is partially covered.
P.S. David, did you manage to get your Ng Teck Seng xiao repaired?
Xiao makers being pretty much nonexistent in the US, I decided to send my xiao to a shakuhachi maker instead. My reasoning was, the ways xiao and shakuhachi are made and repaired are quite similar, so shakuhachi makers should be able to repair xiao. I thus contacted the well-known shakuhachi maker and repairer Perry Yung. He confirmed that he should be able to repair my xiao, so I mailed my flute over to him and hoped for the best.
So, how did it go? In a word-- great! Here are some before and after pictures of the crack and repair:
(Note: somehow this forum doesn't play nice with Dropbox, which is my usual file-hosting/storage site. You'll need to click on the links to open up the pictures.)
Crack on the front of the headjoint (before repair):
www.dropbox.com/s/xtofk0sbp266qn4/IMGP1516.JPG
(Note that the crack is long, but very thin-- you'll probably need to download the picture and magnify it to spot it. It is in between the first and second lines of calligraphy on the flute.)
Second crack on the side of the headjoint (before repair):
www.dropbox.com/s/yxfp1273qzh6cxv/IMGP1517.JPG
And now for the after-repair pictures:
Front crack:
www.dropbox.com/s/2jvqdrrh4l7kbn8/IMGP2781-rawdev1.jpg
Side crack:
www.dropbox.com/s/01rx9xc2xi5umf7/IMGP2782-rawdev1.jpg
In all, the repair cost $34. Not something one would routinely do for a $30 flute, perhaps, but well worth it for a good flute which plays well for you. The additional bindings (visible in the after-repair pictures) also ensure that this section of the flute will never crack again, barring really unusual circumstances such as using the flute as a club... [g] ...so in that sense, it is more stable than the kind of DIY superglue repair we normally do ourselves.
Perry Yung also made me a nice leather mouthpiece cap/protector free of charge:
Front of the cap:
www.dropbox.com/s/o3a8ptyuk0aiba2/IMGP2783-rawdev1.jpg
Back of the cap:
www.dropbox.com/s/dpdvfc90xho9m7q/IMGP2786-rawdev1.jpg
The cap is meant to protect the blowing edge/notch of the xiao from impacts. It's made of fairly stiff leather and is shaped so as to absorb impacts on the top of the flute. I thought its design was ingenious, and wondered why this kind of cap isn't more common in the xiao world. This sort of cap is very common among shakuhachi players; they call these "utaguchi caps", utaguchi (歌口) being the Japanese term for a shakuhachi's blowing edge.
Finally, a picture of my xiao's blowing hole:
www.dropbox.com/s/z4zhhp0qqxu2fk5/IMGP1562.JPG
This is for Allent, who asked me once whether my xiao's blowing hole is partially covered or uncovered (i.e. whether the flat bamboo partition that forms the top of the flute is merely cut open to make the blowing hole, or is completely removed altogether). As you can see, this xiao's blowing hole is of the U-only shape and is partially covered.
P.S. David, did you manage to get your Ng Teck Seng xiao repaired?
