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A yellow bamboo flute where the "bark"
has been removed and the flute, including the root end, has been
sanded very smooth |
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An example of black bamboo with the "bark"
or outer skin completely removed. This was then sanded to a very
fine finish. This treatment reveals a "holographic"
effect in the grain. |
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This is black bamboo with the "bark"
mostly removed and some burn markings. This is also one of the
largest root ends that I have worked with so far. |
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A black bamboo flute with the "bark"
left on. |
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One of the most popular treatments is where
I scrape the "bark" off of alternating sections of
the bamboo. |
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Two examples of flutes not made from root
end. |
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An example of a black bamboo flute with the
root end at the mouthpiece. |
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Most of the flutes I make are made from imported
bamboo but sometimes I find driftwood bamboo that I enjoy working
with. When working with driftwood I try to leave as much "weathering
character" as possible. |
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Sometimes with the black bamboo I will leave
just a little bit of the "bark" on to give sort of
an "antique" effect. |
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On this flute I used a piece of root end
to make the block. |
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Whenever possible on my flutes I use one
of the natural nodules at the mouthpiece. |
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Here are some close ups of the different
finish treatments. This one is is plain yellow bamboo. Sometimes,
like on this one, there is some natural striping. |
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Yellow bamboo with "bark" removed
and finely sanded to reveal grain. |
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This is an example of plain black bamboo.
The darker type like this has a deep rich coloration. |
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Some of the black bamboo is actually sort
of spotted. |
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Below is a closeup of the two toned treatment
where I remove the "bark" from alternating sections
of black bamboo. |
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This type of finish removes most of the "bark",
allows burning to show, and is smoothly finished. |
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This is yellow bamboo with the "bark"
left on and extensive burn marking. |
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Here is a closeup of some of the character
of driftwood bamboo. |
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Although the two toned finish seems to be
the most popular with people who buy my flutes, my personal favorite
is where I remove all of the "bark" or outter skin
and do a very fine sanding. I actually sand to a very fine grit
and then apply a non-toxic oil and after the oil soaks in I polish
the flute using a very fine steel wool. After numerous coats/polishings
a lustourous sort of holographic effect is achieved. So far I
have not been able to capture this too well with photos. With
this type of finish there is a sort of "tigers eyeish"
depth to the grain around the nodules. Below are some photos
that might sort of show what I am talking about. |
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