Yucca didj's

topic posted Wed, January 9, 2008 - 1:50 PM by  Keeth
Hey folks, does anyone have experience making didj's from yucca? Any advice on other than my following questions? I tried the hot stick method of burning/hollowing out the didj from either end, but it only worked for about a foot, then it just got compacted. So I had to cut it open on the bandsaw, hollow it out, glue it back together, patch holes with bondo. That's as far as I got. I'm basically following Peter Spoeker's (sp?) tutorial on technique. I've patched the big holes/cracks with the bondo, but there are still some small pin-holes. Looks like the types bugs leave when burrow through wood. Or they could just be the nature of Yucca to do that. I now need to get epoxy resin to coat and solidify the inside, then finally seal the outside with polyurethane. I guess my questions are:
1- any advice on where to order epoxy resin, and what viscosity to get. it has to be runny, but not clumpy (too thick) or soupy (too thin). Peter's tutorial doesn't give any brand name recommendations
2- instead of bondo, any other suggestions for both the big holes and small pinholes, on what to seal them with?
3- Any specific techniques to hollow it out without cutting it (which I imagine can only be done on yuuca without much of a bend or twist.

Thanks,
-Keeth CrowHawk
posted by:
Keeth
California
  • Re: Yucca didj's

    Wed, January 9, 2008 - 2:12 PM
    I used envirotex to coat my agave didj. I bought it from LA Outback and the process was pretty straightforward. This 2 part epoxy should fill any remaining holes. There are pics of the didj I made in the tribe photo album. Message me if you have any specific questions.
    • Re: Yucca didj's

      Wed, January 9, 2008 - 10:15 PM
      Cool, thanks! Did you use this Envirotex for both inside and out? How about the viscosity- is it fluid enough to penetrate it yet thick enough not to just run straight through? In other words, do I need to specify a particular viscocity when I order this resin? And your painting is spectacular- did you paint it before you coated the outside of it , or after?
      • Re: Yucca didj's

        Thu, January 10, 2008 - 12:02 PM
        I used 2 coats of envirotex on both inside and out. I painted the didj before the I did the epoxy coat so that the paint would be sealed on the didj in a more or less permanent way.

        It is pretty fluid at first, but as it dries it gets more and more viscous.

        Basically there are two different methods depending on whether you are doing inside or out. For inside, you cap one end (mouthpiece) with a bag and rubberband. Pour the mixed epoxy down the bell and cap the bell. You just slowly rotate the didj horizontally for about an hour to thoroughly coat the inside. Then just uncap the bell and hang the didj by the mouthpiece to let all the epoxy run out. Wipe off the excess every once in awhile until dry. Repeat as necessary.

        For the outside you need to make a stand. Its basically a stick poking out of the ground that holds the didj vertically from the inside. I just rubbed the epoxy all over the outside with latex gloves on and let the excess run off the bottom. Again, just wipe off the drips.
        • Re: Yucca didj's

          Thu, January 10, 2008 - 3:53 PM
          thank you so much. i'm shooting for the beginning of feb to buy epoxy and seal some of thes didj's. i'll keep you posted and put up some photos. peace.
          • Re: Yucca didj's

            Thu, January 10, 2008 - 4:11 PM
            Have fun. Also, buy yourself a respirator before you breathe in a bunch of those epoxy fumes. And follow the directions on the epoxy carefully.
  • Re: Yucca didj's

    Sun, January 13, 2008 - 7:17 PM
    Hi Keeth, I don't work with yucca but I know enough about it to give some advice. For hollowing you can wrap tape around the mouthpiece to help protect it from splitting and then go at it with a paddle bit on extensions mounted to an electric drill. The interior of the yucca is so fibrous that you'll spend more time unwrapping fibres from your bit than you will actually piloting your bit down into the stalk. After sucking the fibres out with the paddle bit there'll be still be tons of loose fibres along the interior of the bore. To get rid of these fibres you can hold your stick up and point a propane torch into the bell, the fibres down low will catch and the flame and heat will rise up through your stalk and the fine materials will burn out quickly and efficiently. If there is still more fibrous material to remove from the interior you can go inside with flap wheels or drum sanding bits on a hand held drill.
    For epoxy sources you can either use the very commonly available Envirotex Lite , which you can get at most small hardware stores but you won't find at the mega mart stores like Home Depot, or you can get it through L.A. Outback as this other fella did. I buy my epoxy four gallons at a time for economy through an online source, uscomposites.com the product they carry which I like is called Kleer Kote and it mixes as a 1 to 1 mixture and is very easy to use. I apply it to the exterior using latex gloves. Another commonly available epoxy is West Systems.
    When you coat the interior you can put masking tape over any of the holes you are worried about and the epoxy will flow through to the tape and form a plug, a little bit of peeling tape and then some sanding will get the exterior ready for coating. About 10 fluid oz. will coat the interior and the exterior will coat with about 4 fluid ounces. These are single coat amounts and you'll want two coats inside and outside. If you coat the exterior with polyurathane it'll flake bad at the mouthpiece and it's sound will be warmer and not as powerful as if the interior coat and exterior coat are both epoxy coated. If you were thinking of the Polyeurathane for the exterior because you want more of a satin or flat finish you can achieve that on the epoxy by rubbing with steel wool after it's well cured.
    • Re: Yucca didj's

      Tue, January 15, 2008 - 3:56 PM
      the only reason i was going to go with polyurethane on the outside is because that's what the P. Spoeker tutorial recommends. Given your experience, I'll use the envirotex on both the inside and out.
    • Re: Yucca didj's

      Tue, January 15, 2008 - 5:23 PM
      Lol. I use the Klear Kote from uscomposites as well. And what's funny is that I use the same method of application.. latex gloves. When I first started building I tied various cheap bristly and foam brushes, but never were very happy with them. So I eventually tried just slopping it on with my hands, protected by latex gloves of course. So I'll second that as a good way to apply it to the outside :)

      Another "trick" I've found is that for the final outside coat, you can add fumed silica (also available on uscomposites) to the epoxy, to thicken it up nicely. I usually add the fumed silica until the epoxy is thick enough that it doesn't really flow, think peanut butter consistency. At this point, the epoxy will be milky and *not* transparent, but when you apply it as a thin layer, it looks perfectly clear still. The advantage of thickening the epoxy is that it allows you to smear it on as a thinner layer, without the epoxy "bunching up" and leaving the
      previous coat exposed. For the final coat, I basically try to smear the epoxy on as thin as I can get it. This ends up giving it a nice consistent glossy finish without bubbles or runs. Also, sanding between coats helps, and you can use a heat gun or propane torch to help pop any bubbles in the epoxy while its still wet.

      Note, I use the above technique with my leather didges, I don't have any experience with wood.. but I don't see any reason it shouldn't work on wood as well.
  • Re: Yucca didj's

    Sun, January 13, 2008 - 7:28 PM
    for plugging the larger holes you can mix up a paste of either your epoxy + sawdust or you can use woodglue + sawdust. The woodglue will have more shrinkage and dry much slower so it will increase your working times. You can mix pigments into these pastes for color accents and/or you can mix in wood chips for interesting texture. Right now on my site I have didges with black fills, red fills, blue fills, and fills of darker sawdusts. you can check it out at bhumsiva.com for ideas and I'm always willing to answer questions and give advice.
    • Re: Yucca didj's

      Fri, January 25, 2008 - 8:18 PM
      I finally just got to checking out your website. Very impressive portfolio of your work. Beautiful Didj's. I hope one year soon to make it to Joshua Tree Didj-Fest. Maybe meet you there.
  • Re: Yucca didj's

    Mon, January 14, 2008 - 8:43 PM
    many thanks for all the advice! if you got more thoughts on the matter, keep 'em coming. i hope to be able to buy some epoxy next month and give it a go. i'll let you know it's goin.
    • Re: Yucca didj's

      Mon, January 28, 2008 - 5:34 PM
      Aloha Keeth, there are also non-toxic methods which have proven themselves over the years. I'll lay it out if yer interested.
      • Re: Yucca didj's

        Tue, January 29, 2008 - 10:32 PM
        yes, please do. i still have no $ so i haven't bought any materials yet. thanks for the offer
        • Re: Yucca didj's

          Mon, April 7, 2008 - 6:33 PM
          any easy way to split your yucca with a less visible seam is to take a DULL xacto knife or plexiglass scriber and score along the grain down the length, following it even if it twists in places. make several passes digging in deeper each run, find another grain line on the opposite side and scribe again. you'll notice that the yucca will start to split down this grain line. take the sharp side of a knife and connect the two grain lines at the mouthpeice, splitting the cane. work your way down 2 inches and then turn the knife around, dull side facing away from the mouthpiece. with light twisting, the cane will split down the grain line. keep moving the knife down the split, using it as a wedge you can twist. no cutting, no forcing it down, just twisting! =). a careful glue job and you got a seamless stick

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