# how to build a travel-didgeridoo



## cederhigh (Aug 11, 2011)

hello there!

I am in the process of building another Didgeridoo (Brazilian Octopus Tree Wood) and want to try out something completely new, but dont want to screw it up. 

I want to make a travel didgeridoo to reduce the carry-size by 50%.
There will be 2 parts which should be able to slide together airtight and come apart again easily.

What I did so far is to cut the didgeridoo, which i already shaped and hollowed out, in two pieces. I now need to glue a smaller joining piece in one of the parts so that the other part can slide onto that. 
The didgeridoo then should be pretty firm but also easy to take apart again. 

I guess my question is..
Is there a special method, wood, technique or idea that i can apply here? I never did this before and dont want to mess up the instrument. My concern is that by time this joining-piece will wear off and the construction will become loose. 

Can you help me? 

Thanks so much..


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## Manuka Jock (Jun 27, 2011)

How about threading the two sections together ?


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## cederhigh (Aug 11, 2011)

hey!

Yes this is exactly what i want and tried to describe. 

I also thought about another thing. The wood might expand as time passes and the two sections wont fit after a while.. 

Thanks.


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## Manuka Jock (Jun 27, 2011)

The wood will expand if it gets overloaded with moisture . It may also go slightly out of round .
If you keep your two tapping tools in the kit with the didgeridoo , you can ease the threads when ever it feels like it needs it .


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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

I'd create the joint seal the way clarinets, oboes, saxophones, and so on are done. Use a strip of thin cork (available from musical instrument supply companies or from a local luthier). From a supply house, the cord generally comes in square sheets. From a local guy you may be able to have it cut to size for you to save a few bucks. You can also find some gauges of cork sheeting in auto parts stores with the gasket making material. Note that the cork sheeting comes in various thicknesses. A music supplier will carry more gauges than an auto parts store will.

You only need to cork the outside surface of the joint on the inner piece (the one that fits inside of the other). Cut a strip to the proper width and slightly longer than needed to wrap around the joint. Then use sand paper to taper the ends of the cord so that they overlap 1/16" - 1/8" or so, forming a smooth joint. Use contact cement to attach the cork seal to the joint.

MAKE SURE to lube the cork with "cork grease" (comes in a Chap Stick lip balm-type tube and is available at music stores) before fitting the joint together or the cork will tear up and wear prematurely. With cork grease it will last and make a perfect seal for many years to come.


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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

A few more comments: I see you mentioned a concern for the joint wearing out over time. The beauty of the cork method (and, in fact, one of the main reasons cork is used in other instruments) is that if the cork ever does wear out it is quite easy to replace, restoring the air tight seal to its original glory.

Note that you'll probably want to slightly counter-sink the cork to make it less likely for it to get caught on the edge when assembling the instrument.

Also, you'll want to store the instrument apart. If you were to store it for very long periods of time the cord will eventually compress and make your joint loosen a little bit.

Do a quick Google search for "recorking a clarinet" and you'll find a lot of information and some videos to help you along. It's actually a pretty easy process. I've done a couple years ago.


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## cederhigh (Aug 11, 2011)

Hey Steve!

Thank you very much for your detailed information ,that helps a lot!
:thumbsup::yes:

and the idea of using cork is probably the best and easiest way to finally get my didge done.. its been standing around for too long now..

I do understand the process and i see the finished didgeridoo in my head already:whistling2:.. The thing is i do not have a joint yet, meaning that i just literally cut the 5 foot didge in half. I first have to glue a joining piece in there on which the cork will be glued on, right..!?

So i i will now work on that for a while. 

I found this http://www.jlsmithco.com/SHEET-CORK

which type of cork would you recommend Steve?

Thanks :tooth:

Drill tha bill
ceder



ps : i would upload a pic but dont know how ^^


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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

I'd imagine you'd probably want 1/16 or 3/32, maybe even as thick as 1/8 but, in reality, the gauge you go with will depend on the clearance in your joint. Take into account a slight counter-sinking. You want the joint tight enough to hold together under its own weight, at least. If you have to force the joint together (remember to use cork grease - or chap stick in a pinch) you can always sand the cork down a bit with fine sandpaper after it's contact cemented in place to reduce its thickness. But try to get close with the cork gauge instead of just buying the thickest and sanding to thickness. Too much sanding risks tearing out pieces of cork. 

In worse case, you could buy more than one gauge and see which works best, though that could get expensive. I think a clarinet, for example, typically has around 1/32 to 1/16 or so of cork thickness sticking above the slight countersink. My figures may be a bit off but a trip to your nearest music store to look at a clarinet joint in person should give you an excellent idea of what works well. The tried and proven method.

And yes, the cork would go along the outside edge of the insert you're talking about.


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## TexasTimbers (Oct 17, 2006)

How about a spiral one? 











There's an "S" shaped one there on the sidebar if you go to YT to waatch it. Actually there's a bunch of travel ones there. 


.


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## Chaincarver Steve (Jul 30, 2011)

You raise a good point; the most critical aspect of most wind instruments is not the shape of the tubing but, rather, the internal volume of the tubing that determines pitch. I don't know all the ins and outs of didgeridoos but I suspect the same general rules apply.


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