1.5 Rin Rattan

Hey Derek!

I have some that is marketed as 1.5mm and is more like 1.8mm I think. I have it listed on eBay but would gladly give you some for free if you think it may work. I used it here (http://flutedojo.com/images/18-u.jpg) and here's some pictures on ebay of me measuring it, and although I know it's probably taboo to post ebay links here I think in this case the moderators will understand.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280746761500&ssP…

Hi, Jon... thanks for the link.

1.5 rin is just under .5mm; it's extremely thin! Funny thing is, I'm so used to buying rattan in "rin" that, when I saw that same ebay listing a while back, my brain only saw the "1.5" and I bought some on the spot. Once it arrived, I thought I had been schlooped until I went back and re-read the listing. Doh!! My bad!! I wondered why it was so cheap :-). It's quite a bit fatter than my 2rin.

True 1.5 is near impossible to find now, unless you know someone in Japan who actually makes it, I guess. Maybe that's something I need to learn how to do.

Thanks, again, though, for the link. Happy bamboo dust!

Oh! Good luck man.

flutedojo.com

shakuhachi for sale

Hey, Jon... sorry, I should have read your post more carefully! I thought it was a link to the 1.5mm rattan Whistlehead had/has on ebay, which is what I bought; I didn't catch that it was yours. That will teach me to reply to posts while doing other work!

Huge thanks for the very gracious offer to send me some for free! If I end up needing more in that size, I'd be happy to buy them from you.

Thanks, again,

Derek

Hey! No worries. Least I could do after you hooked me up with that urushi that one time.

flutedojo.com

Hi Derek,

A reply far too late for the repair in question, maybe for next time.
The idea had crossed my mind months ago but I thought it wouldn't'work. Just this week I tried it and found it does work.
Using a very sharp (sharpened of course on Japanese wetstone) small violin maker's plane, taking extremely light cuts while holding down the rattan on a smooth surface such as an iPad maybe, it is quite easy to plane down 2 rin rattan to 1.5 rin.
You (and I!) wouldn't want to bind an entire flute that way, but for a matching repair or touch-up it is feasable.
I'll post a picture of what I'm working on here later.

Best,
Kees

PS those interested: these tools are what I mean, website with links to eBay at the right: http://www.violinmaking-planes.com/45/ibex-violin-makers-planes/

Hi, Kees... thanks for the info. I'd be curious to know how uniform the width is after pre-planing.

I had even thought of building a small jig with 2 cutting blades angled at each other, 1.5rin apart, and then pulling some 2rin through it, to see if it was even possible to maintain uniform thickness at longer lengths (2m+). I bet it could be done with fresh/green rattan, but I don't have a source for that.

Maybe it will resurface one day soon?

by the way, do any of you know how the thin rattan strings are manufactured? and why they are so expensive?
still trying to find alternatives for Mejiros 100$+ rattan strings pack but i might not have any choice...

(in general i feel mejiro are over pricing everything but maybe its just the prices of japan... )

does someone know the difference -if any- between rattan and chair cane?

Both are rattan but chair cane comes in specific sizes for making chair seats while rattan for shakuhachi and other Japanese crafts can come in much finer sizes and higher tolerances. More on shakuhachi here

Thanks!"