Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2009 15:25:35 GMT
Okay, so it probably isn't haunted, but I am having a strange problem with my cheness tenchi. I bought it in August, it arrived from the SBG store in lovely order, no rattles, no problems. I cut with it a few times for fun that week and put it up and have done nothing but oil it since then. About a month and a half ago I brought it out to oil it. The tsuba was loose and rattling like crazy. So I popped the pegs out, tightened it up, oiled it, and set it back up on its kake. I never touched it once until a few weeks later, took it down to oil it again. Loose again ...how odd. So yet again I tightened it back up and put it away. And so this pattern has continued...she loosens up all on her own without ever being touched or used. The only thing I can come up with is that the tsuka may have not been fully dried? Maybe my theory is entirely off base...I'm going to get and extra seppa or two and see it that helps. But I was wondering if anyone else has seen a sword do this type of thing?
|
|
|
Post by randomnobody on Feb 1, 2009 15:31:25 GMT
Doesn't surprise me at all. Has your weather been changing much? Wood will contract and expand with temperature and moisture, so that could be all it is.
Next time you have it off, be sure to give it a good looking over for cracks etc.
|
|
|
Post by Dave(utilityslave) on Feb 1, 2009 15:40:07 GMT
Michelle, it has found a way to get more attention from you! Now your handling it and thinking about it much more.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2009 15:45:34 GMT
Weather has been, well winter, so cold with lots of snow, ice, wind, and other necessary evils of a NY winter. But I suppose that the time frame would just about fit when the furnace really started working overtime. That could very well be the problem.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2009 15:52:31 GMT
Haha! Well before I go and put an extra seppa on it, I will have a nice sit down with it and see if we can't talk this over.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2009 16:15:22 GMT
The heat inside your house be it electric or oil or whatever is a dry heat, this will often shrink wood that would not shrink in summer. Dry heat is different than humid heat of course, so that is likely the problem. Is it the tsuka or tsuba that is loose?
|
|
|
Post by Dave(utilityslave) on Feb 1, 2009 16:38:41 GMT
Talking to it may work but have a full bucket of water nearby to threaten it with if it won't listen to reason. Maybe the fear of a good soaking will help it's "dry" problem. Hope you figure it out!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2009 16:51:19 GMT
It's the tsuba, seppa, and fuchi that have all the play in them. Tsuba and fuchi can be rotated easily and have the slightest bit of lateral play as well (I can just barely slide my fingernail between the tsuba and the seppa). I've been trying to get the tsuka off for an hour now...the mekugi pegs were surprisingly loose...not falling out or anything, but looser than they should be. But I can not get this tsuka off, she's stuck right tight. I'm taking a breather on that for a bit. If I get a bit more frustrated with it I'll declare war on it and it won't be pretty lol.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2009 21:20:54 GMT
It's the tsuba, seppa, and fuchi that have all the play in them. Tsuba and fuchi can be rotated easily and have the slightest bit of lateral play as well (I can just barely slide my fingernail between the tsuba and the seppa). I've been trying to get the tsuka off for an hour now...the mekugi pegs were surprisingly loose...not falling out or anything, but looser than they should be. But I can not get this tsuka off, she's stuck right tight. I'm taking a breather on that for a bit. If I get a bit more frustrated with it I'll declare war on it and it won't be pretty lol. Yep, sounds like shrinkage problems. If you don't want to have this problem again...now would be the time to shim the fuchi with some very thin shims on all surfaces (including the mouth of the tsuka inside the fuchi if it's a small enough amount, rather than messing with hair thin increments of change on new seppa). I've known people to use cereal box cardboard for this...but for me I'd buy something of a similar dimension in wood. Skip Gardener might be able to point you in the right direction. I think he uses Birch. Also, in order to help with removal of the tsuka, a hair dryer might loosen it up just enough (make sure to heat the tsuka, not the blade at all...not because it will hurt it, but because if the blade expands it'll be stuck worse lol). Be sure to let it cool before doing the shimming on your parts though. Hope that helps. Cris
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2009 22:18:00 GMT
Thanks Cris, I will definitely try the hair dryer trick there. Still haven't gotten it loose yet...of course I can only mess with it for so long before I start getting frustrated and looking around the shed at everything that COULD get it off no problem, and destroy it just as easily.
|
|
ecovolo
Member
Review Points: 95
"Ich bin ein Landsknecht."
Posts: 625
|
Post by ecovolo on Feb 1, 2009 22:28:09 GMT
Well, aside from shims that Cris Anderson mentioned, I was going to recommend an exorcism.
. . . come to think of it, shims are more practical :-).
--Edward
|
|