Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

HarryHansen wrote:

I did a search on this subject, and didn't find anything.

Is there any reason not us rub on a very small amount of bees wax, to the nakatsuki? It seals it very effectively, and takes away most of the stress cause by separating the flute into two parts.

Thanks!

HH

It's generally a good idea to put a little something there, for a bit of lubricant, and to enhance the air seal. Beeswax is dandy, but a more common application is hair pomade (I use Paul Mitchell on mine ).

Jim Thompson wrote:

If I'm missing something here please straighten me out but my understanding is that bees wax is the opposite of a lubricant. You would put lubricant on a joint that is too tight. Bees wax, on the other hand, you put on a joint that is too loose. I've had joints that were too loose and I put too much bees wax on and had a very hard time getting the flute apart again. I've learned to use it sparingly.  There seems to be some confusion about this because I hear people lumping bees wax in with lubricants all the time and I'm afraid this could  be very misleading. I'm talking about straight pure bees wax, not some ointment with bees wax in it.

Good point. Although straight beeswax wouldn't be my first choice (or last, for that matter), it might be considered a very s-l-o-w lubricant...

Hair pomade is great, because it's viscous enough to tend to hold the joint together, still easy to separate the joint, and easy to clean up.

Some of it smells lovely, too 

Jim Thompson wrote:

Ed'O'pal,
     Not to be argumentative, but what the hell is a slow lubricant?  If you put a ton of beeswax on a joint you might not get the flute apart without machinery or damage. How is that a lubricant fast or slow? It will certainly seal the joint but I see no lubricating properties whatsoever. Am I mistaken?
             J.

No, you're just weak....

Lowonthetotempole, thanks for your constructive and accurate input. Now Ed-I can see your point. Maybe I'm allergic to beeswax and it's sapping my strength. I hadn't considered that.

I use cork grease for woodwind instruments. A bit thicker than hair pomade so it lasts longer.