This
web page contains information about didgeridoo maintenance,
care and repair.
This page is a reference for owners of didgeridoos
purchased from 'The Didgeridoo Specialist' or didjshop.com.
Information given on this page may not be
applicable to didgeridoos from other vendors.
General
Didgeridoo Maintenance
Your didgeridoo is a wooden instrument.
To be able to appreciate it for many years, we advise you
to take the following care:
- Do not expose your didgeridoo to extreme changes in temperature
or humidity
- Do not place your didgeridoo close to heaters
- Minimise exposure to the sun
- Keep your didgeridoo dry
- Do not leave your didgeridoo in the car in very low or
high temperatures
- After playing your didgeridoo place it so the bottom
hole is open and air can draw through the didgeridoo to
dry the moisture accumulated during playing
- Do not pour any water or oil through your didgeridoo
- Place your didgeridoo so it cannot fall over
For cleaning your didj we advise using soapy
water unless you have an ochre didj, in which case we do
not advise to use any liquid on your didj. If you do have
an ochre didj we advise you minimise the handling and/or
wear gloves when handling it, since the sweat from your hands
over time might affect the fragile ochre colours. Our ochre
didgeridoos have several layers of artists fixative to minimise
this effect, but they are not as well protected as our other
didgeridoos.
The Beeswax Mouthpiece
The mouthpiece of your didgeridoo will require
constant maintenance, depending on how much you play your
didgeridoo.
It's shape will also have a large effect
on your ability to play the didgeridoo.
So we recommend that you learn to form a
good mouthpiece.
Before you take the mouthpiece off your didj,
learn on something else. Any length of 40 or 50 mm pipe will
do. Or you can use an old cup or glass.
Take the extra piece of beeswax we sent you
with your didgeridoo and take it out of the plastic bag (You
can also get yourself some beeswax from Hardware shops, Arts
and Crafts shops or Health Food shops).
Place the beeswax in a closed glass jar in
full sun for half an hour or into the oven at very low heat
(~60C° or 135F°) or place it in the microwave for
10 seconds.
It should be soft and very easily pliable
just like play dough or pottery clay. If the beeswax gets
too hot it will become crumbly and unworkable. If that happens
allow it to cool enough to be pliable again.
Now take the strip of beeswax (if you have
a block it will be very easy to cut a strip off. The strip
should be about 130 to 150 mm long (5"-6") and
about 7-15 mm thick(1/4"-3/4") depending on the
top diameter of your didgeridoo) and start pressing one end
onto the inside edge of the didgeridoo (or pipe or cu ).
Keep pressing the strip onto the inside edge of the didgeridoo
until you complete the circle. While doing this, envisage
the size of the final hole you want to end up with (about
33-40 mm across). Discard any extra beeswax you might have
and join the ends of the beeswax.
Now work around the mouthpiece pressing the
beeswax firmly onto the top surface of the didgeridoo, keeping
an eye on getting an even circle and that the wax tapers
out nicely and does not get too thin on the top surface of
the didgeridoo.
On the next round seal the beeswax firmly
against the inside of the didgeridoo, letting it taper out
evenly into the didgeridoo.
Then adjust the heights level of the mouthpiece
and the inside diameter. You want to form a fairly sharp
edge which allows your lips to vibrate freely, rather than
a rounded edge which will make that harder. You also want
to make sure that the inside edge of the mouthpiece is evenly
round and evenly high. Any unevenness will make it harder
to seal your lips onto the mouth piece. The best size of
the mouthpiece depends on your mouth and we advise you change
the shape and size of your mouthpiece until you find it easiest
to play. The size and shape of the mouthpiece can make a
big difference to the ease of playing or even the ability
to get the base sound. So please learn to play around with
the beeswax mouth piece.
See also making
a beeswax mouthpiece for your didgeridoo - an illustrated
guide
The
Inside Of Your Didgeridoo
The inside of our didgeridoos is well sealed
and does not need any further sealing, nor do we advise to
pour any water or oil through it.
Some people advise to pour oil through your
didj every few month, but we do not advise to do so if your
didj has any non-oil finish or artwork on it. The oil tends
to slowly seep through the wood and lift the paint or artwork
off. This might take several years, but will be a messy affair
once it starts...
So please do not pour any oil through our
didgeridoos.
Other people swear by pouring water through
their didgeridoo before playing to improve the sound. This
is true for didgeridoos which are unsealed on the inside.
The effect is achieved by the water forming a skin over the
slightly rough surface of the wood.
Frequently pouring water through your didj
may accelerate or cause cracking.
Each one of our didgeridoos is sealed all
the way through the inside. This creates a very smooth surface
facilitating good sound quality. It also seals the whole
inside of the didgeridoo and thus helps to prevent cracking
and splitting.
So if you are the proud owner of a didjshop.com
didgeridoo you do not have to do anything to the inside of
your didgeridoo.
Possible long
term maintenance
If you use your didgeridoo frequently, it
might develop some wear and tear around the bottom edge from
abrasive contact with the ground. We advise that you get
a non-yellowing varnish to cover up any exposed wood if you
experience this type of wear with your didj.
We use a high quality non-yellowing water
based varnish on most of our didjes (main exceptions are
ochre didjes and Brad's didjes). Any good quality varnish
will bind to it.
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