Bamboo Needles

[BigC]

Has anyone tried making thier own bamboo needles? I watched the videos on YouTube and like many other subjects everyone has thier own way of making them. One video the guy making the needles was talking about using a hardener to make them more durable. He never showed that process. I bought a 4 inch diameter bamboo because when I was visiting Japan they explained that the older the bamboo the stronger it was. In the videos they use bamboo from hobby shops and garden stores. I've made 20 needles and only 11 have played well. The ones I used the outside of the bamboo are too hard and my cutter has a hard time cutting the point. The ones I used the center play very well and easily play a complete record. Any advice on this subject?

[CharliePhono]

I believe Forum member, Watanabehi, makes his own bamboo needles. Perhaps he will weigh in on the subject.

[Inigo]

I believe the result depends largely on the type and quality of the bamboo used. I've made needles for 10 years, using bamboo sticks I've found here and there, mainly from the trash bins. The bamboo fibres are more parallel and straight in better canes, and this is better for the needles to be perfect. The outer hard skin must be also perfect, of consistent thickness, without local spots, cracks, alterations or imperfections. But it is not absolutely necessary; needles made from the inner parts of the cane, without the external hard skin, can also be very good. The trick lays on the parallel fibres, their hardness, etc. If fibres are crossed, the cut is far from perfect. Nevertheless, you need the fibres at the point, and at all the line which actually plays the groove, to be straight, complete,dry, hard and transversally compact and well packed. I usually press the thumbnail against that line to watch if it leaves a mark (soft bamboo, inadequate) or not (hard bamboo, ideal).
Although many needles fail, many work very well, and depending (largely) on the records played, the point can resist several sides without repointing.
About the cutter, my experience is only with the HMV type and the L&H type. The HMV I have difficulties to adjust the blade pressure to work properly. It should rotate each cut to offer a new area of the blade for each cut. The rotation also seems to serve to maintain the cutting ability by slightly grinding the flats side of the blade because of the rotation. The cut with this apparatus is kind of 45 degrees to the needle axis, providing wide and strong points, but sometimes more difficult for the groove tracking. I 'feel' that the volume is greater with this cut, but also the drag on the groove is larger, and sometimes this point fails sooner. The L&H provides a longer and finer point, as it cuts near 35 degrees to the axis. This sounds softer, but the point lasts longer and drags less on the groove.
All depends also largely on the record played, the intensity of the vibration, the surface status and quality, record wear, etc, of course.
But I've been using for 10 years or more my own made bamboo needles, almost exclusively. I only use steel needles (soft tone) with difficult records.

[BigC]

Can't wait for the response. I completed 30 so far that sound just as good as a original one. I've been trying to make them as thick as possible so I have to sand them down until they fit perfectly. I do need a better cutting tool because those scissors they make to cut bamboo needles must be dull because I'm not getting a clean cut. Just watched a video where they soaked the needles in polycryl and let them dry to harden. Wouldn't this leave residue on the record? So many questions but it's also very cool to listen to a record with a needle you made yourself. Love this hobby.

[Hoodoo]

I began making my own bamboo needles because of a video I saw on Alex Kirtley’s Youtube channel on how to sharpen them if you don’t have a cutter - to wit: just push them across a piece of sandpaper. It works a treat. I find either 220 or 320 grit work well.
I subsequently made and posted my own “how to make bamboo needles” video and it is the most watched item on my YouTube channel.
I still do not have a cutter and will probably never get one, as the sandpaper method works just fine, (though it may take a few seconds longer to get a point than a cutter would).
As far as wood hardeners go, I don’t think they would make a lot of difference, as the outer layer of the bamboo, that forms the tip of the needle, is probably too dense to soak up much hardener. ???
Still, I don’t think that hardened needles would harm records. No hardener will get them as hard as steel and the tip is so tiny it couldn’t hold enough hardener to spread it throughout the groove.

[BigC]

Indigo that makes a lot of sense since the ones that haven't worked are the ones that the cutter has problems making a clean cut. The ones that I made using the center section of the bamboo sound really good. I sand the sides with a nail file until they fit perfectly, this takes some time but they sound really good. I've made 30 successfully and only about 6 were bad they played but the sound quality was not the same. The inner section I have found to be unusable. Thanks for all your advice I'll look for a better cutter too.

[BigC]

Hoodoo I saw your video!!! I've gone through all the videos on YouTube and taken what I've learned from you guys and used it in making my own bamboo needles. I've made some from bamboo toothpicks too but those wear out fast. The ones I have made work well even on super worn records. There is always room for improvement with the materials we have today and the wood hardeners and synthetic oils. Thank you for your advice I will continue experimenting and keep posting the results.

[BigC]

Here is a bamboo needle I just made. It sounds good to me and it played the whole record with any problems. I didn't use anything to harden it and it's made from the center of the bamboo.

[Inigo]

Big C, when you say 'the center of the bamboo' you're referring to the center between two knots in the cane stick?

[BigC]

I don't know the proper terminology but a picture is worth a thousand words. The outer section is really hard on this piece of bamboo, my cutter can't really cut it. The inner section is no good either. But the middle is perfect, it cuts good and played a whole record with no problem.