Scraping down the reed head
Insert your plug into the reed first to help support the cane, with your craft knife etc, scrape away the shiny outer layer of the cane inside the area marked with a small V at the top of the head on both sides, see picture top left.
Then scrape away the shiny outer layer to form another smaller V below that, both sides, by removing the harder outer layer of the cane, this makes it easier and quicker to sand down afterwards, see picture top right/left.
Now you are ready to start sanding, remove the plug and using a 180 grit sandpaper, start sanding the head as shown, always start near the tip and work your way backwards, see picture middle left.
What you are now doing is blending the two V's together, working backwards towards the staple, so that the V is thinner at the top and thicker nearest the staple, see picture, middle right.
When you start scraping, try to hold the reed slightly above level and gradually lower it as the scrape gets longer, Remember; you are taking off more thickness at the top of the reed, see picture middle left, do not hold the reed as shown in, picture middle right, or you will make the scrape at X too wide, resulting in a shovelled appearance when looking along the side of the reed.
Looking at the reed from the side, it should have a convexed shape from top to bottom, if it has a concaved shape it will not work properly, this is what's called in the trade as a shovel reed.
Try to keep the scrape within the lines, especially at the top corners, or they will be rounded over, making the reed harder to fine tune later, look at the black shaded area in picture bottom left, of how a cross section looks like.
Picture middle left, also shows the best area for the bridle to sit, keep it as low on the head as possible, if you raise the bridle to far up the head, you will loose the responsiveness of the reed.
keep sanding until the tips of the reed are getting very thin, now fit the bridle.
To make the bridle, take a 0.60mm thick X 3mm wide x 25mm long brass or copper strip, measure the width of the reed base, that's the area just above the whipping where the bridle will sit.
Now fold the staple half way around a mandrill which is the same width and thickness as the reed head, I now use a small forming tool the same size as the head, but you can use a small half round file to fold it round, see picture bottom right.
Position the bridle onto the reed and close it around, using a set of smooth jawed pliers, the smooth jaws are much better at sliding along and around the bridle without putting too much pressure on the reed, see picture bottom left.
If you try to wrap the bridle around the reed without pre-bending it first, you will more than likely crack the cane, this is where most reeds are broken, so always take the greatest of care when folding the bridle around the head.
With the bridle fitted, you should now be able to crow or sound the reed with a gentle inhalation on the staple, the meter should show a G to G# when crowed, if the reed needs to be sucked using your cheeks to get it to sound, the V needs a little more scraping overall as you did before, with either 240 sandpaper or a knife, until you get the crow with a gentle inhalation, Never blow air directly through the reed by mouth always connect it to the bag and play it, mouth blowing a reed will moisten the cane and alter the tuning characteristics making it harder to tune, it needs to be as dry as [possible in order to work properly, (always suck on the staple, never blow into it).
When fitted the bridle should have a small gap between each end, this prevents them from touching together, which may cause the bridle to come loose if the cane dries shrinks any after the reed is made.
You might think that the cane is properly dry when its made, but if it was made during a humid season, it could dry out afterwards leaving the bridle slack, a poorly fitting bridle will knock the reed of pitch as it vibrates against the reed head.
The crow of your reed should now sound somewhere near G# on the tuning meter.
If the reed does not crow for some reason, check that the sides are not open, or the petals are not fully shut, the aperture should be just open in order for the reed to sound, as I mentioned earlier, this is why I recommend the novice reed maker to complete the reed to the playing stage.
You can also check it for air tightness by, gently pinching the very tops of the petals closed with your finger and thumb and suck on the staple, there should be no air travelling through the reed, if its leaking you can seal it by rubbing a little beeswax along the edges, this is a quick fix by the way and should not be relied upon for a top working reed.
When you are satisfied that the reed is ready to play, trim off the very ends of the reed to tidy up the playing edges, to do this place the reed onto a hard level surface, take a very sharp craft knife or chisel that is wider than the reed and in one complete motion cut the smallest amount possible, from across both half's of the head, remember each time you trim back the head, the overall pitch will rise and the reed will be slightly stiffer to play.