Didgeridoo Repair- How To Fix a Cracked Didgeridoo

[@SpiritGallery]

Hi Sebastian. Some didgeridoos will crack eventually, it's made from wood that expands and contracts with changes from season to season. If where you are living is dry and cold, I recommend using Linseed oil or any natural wood oil that isn't toxic. It is better to oil it at the end of summer before it gets dry and cold. If you are going to repair the cracks, oil the didjeridoo and leave it for few weeks before repairing it. I hope this helps.

[@SpiritGallery]

Some makers just seal the top and bottom as they feel these are the vulnerable points of the didge for cracks and u keep the natural sound of didge.Some makers seal the entire inside to waterproof, strengthen and to brighten sound and avoid moisture leakage into the didge. Some makers prefer oiling the inside to avoid excessive dryness and for conditioning or even pour beeswax down the middle.There are theories for and against each one.I have seen all variants crack so its hard to favour one!!

[@SpiritGallery]

If it is a wide open crack ( as in the top of this didgeridoo) its ok if the paste goes all the way to the internal bore or at least the large majority of the way..it could even go further with no real harm and even create a small bumpy rough surface on inside of didge!!!..would not make much difference to sound quality anyway as internal of didge is full of cracks, crevices, bumps, channels etc etc

[@anarchist78]

Nice..Thanks..Love the beautiful didgeridoos' in the back ground..

[@sabeaniebaby]

I am absolutely heartbroken. It took me 3 weeks to finally get a lovely (well, better than before, anyway) drone sound from my didgeridoo. Consequently I practiced for a whole hour two days in a row ... and I woke to find my didge had split about 3/5 of the length of the instrument. A second crack extended the damage 2/3 of the length of the didge. I used the above demonstration to seal my cracks and split, and while not very attractive, I THOUGHT I did a pretty good job, but the instrument just doesn't sound the same. I can't get the deep drone and fear air is leaking where I can't see it, so ... I will be duct taping my didge. I now feel rather authentic.

[@jaimetanna8057]

Great info and demo! Thanks!

[@4keckls]

Dudee!!!! Thank you so much for this video, i was having the worst day ever after discovering this nasty crack in my didg this morning, but after a little research and coming across the video i realized not all is lost!! One question though, when you were applying the paste to the worst part of the crack that looked like it when right to the bore, does the paste go inside at all? Or is it key to really just keep it flush? Big thanks again from Canada!!

[@javiturk4636]

Awesome job!

[@xywix]

what a transformation of hair and beard!!!

[@The_Dutch_Samurai]

G-night mate Nice and great information dude love it mate.

[@4keckls]

oh actually one more question, i was looking in my didg (Ironbark), and it looks like there is a bit of sealer on the mouth and bell going maybe 4cms inwards. I'm looking at sealing the whole thing to make it a little tougher and water proof. I live in a super dry climate and think that this might help. What do you reckon? Is there any particular resins, oils, or varnishes that work better with Ironbark wood?

[@ohnobo14]

Worked like a charm! Battle scars

[@fwap4273]

Excellent, many thanks

[@RobbyFindlay-uq2dy]

When wider and longer cracks have been filled, will it take longer to cure/dry? Or is it better to get a new didge. This is my dilemma. Great video✌️

[@Nithael_]

What's the reason for mixing in sawdust? Does that affect the sound or is it only for aesthetics?

[@grumb8784]

Michael Karlovich If you just used glue it would be runny and it would get into the internals of the didgeridoo, but with the sawdust it's more of a paste

[@The_Dutch_Samurai]

How to repair a clay mouthpiece i have a inherited didge that have a crack in in the clay mouthpiece the extended also further in the wood.

[@tauroxavi]

is terrible cracking one didge, I am very angry and do not know what to do, but we have the spirit of galley to help. thanks for the video. tuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

[@AlexanderRivera23]

I just got myself a didgeridoo and I noticed there a couple of long smooth straight cracks…would you recommend that I fill up the cracks?

[@timquain5341]

Hey Sean, I noticed a couple of cracks in my one month old didge :( It's a non painted one that has been glossed. I'm going to attempt to fix it using your method. I was told of another method where you apply super glue and then quickly sand over the crack to get saw dust into it. This other methods sounds easier but I sort of trust that REALLY know what you're doing. My problem is that I don't know how to get that much saw dust off of my dige (truthfully I don't want scratch it in any way). You said to shave some off and then cut it up. How do you cut up shavings finely? Do you guys sell those little containers of saw dust?

[@SpiritGallery]

That is the other good way ( i.e. superglue technique). Sometimes you need to open the crack though to relieve tension. You don't need to use the shavings from the didge..any sawdust will do, especially in the above example where we paint over the area. With a natural finish didge you would want to match the colour of the sawdust to the didgeridoo if aesthetics is an issue. We don't sell the saw dust.. Hardware store or just sand a piece of timber and use the droppings!!

[@timquain5341]

Awesome! Thanks Sean! :)

[@timquain5341]

Tim Endicott Ok, so I've sanded back the mouth end of the didge (up to the length of the crack) to get all of the gloss off. Then I spent most off the day sanding the wood to get enough sawdust to mix with the glue. I'm hoping there is enough. Any tips on a quicker way of getting it off the didge without making it look dodgy? I thought maybe I could slice very thin bits off and then chop them up with scissors. I am however worried this will standout. Wish I lived in Sydney. I'd just come to the shop and chat to you.

[@SpiritGallery]

Tim Endicott You want the sawdust to be relatively fine. Scissors won't do this!! You are doing the right thing. Good workmanship ( and repairing) takes time!

[@timquain5341]

SpiritGallery Whoops. Too late now (I'm a bit impatient...hehehe). My first attempt failed. I waited two days for it to dry but it didn't fulling cure. It ended up pulling up half of the glue inside the crack. I think it is because it has been too wet in Brissie lately. It worked for half of it. I sanded off heaps more sawdust, made up some more glue with it and tried again. It has work well this time. I am currently up to the re-glossing. It's pretty difficult to hide the transition back to the original gloss though. All in all, it has been a scary but fun process. Thanks for all of your help Sean :)

[@timquain5341]

So I tried this technique on my didge. It worked but after a week the crack started to extend further. Is there a way to stop the crack from continuing?

[@SpiritGallery]

Perhaps drill a hole a bit further down from the crack and then patch it up with a dowel. This might stop it. Was the crack opened up enough during the repair to relieve the tension and was there hidden, underlying non visible cracks. How well is the didge made- are the walls inconsistent, how was it sealed, was the timber dried or made green. Many variables. Some didges ( particularly cheaper ones) are just doomed! Last resort- wrap it in duct tape. Best long term solution- buy the best quality didge you can. Good luck

[@timquain5341]

I think I carved out enough. I'm really not sure. When you say "are the walls inconsistent", are you talking about at the mouthpiece? I have noticed that some walls at that end are slightly thinner in parts. Not sure how the inside is sealed. The outside has a gloss on it. I'm not sure about if it was dried or green when made either. I bought it from Didgeridoo Breath in WA. They claim to have good quality didges. Like I said, I'll give you guys a try next time :)

[@Capo4267]

How were they traditional repaired?

[@SpiritGallery]

Good questions. The only "traditional" repair technique that comes to mind is to plug the crack with wax from native bees called sugarbag OR discard and make another one!!

[@tyrozone5]

Can we use beeswax?

[@taviwolf]

I'm afraid beeswax it's not suited for this work, it's not adhesive nor elastic

[@JaznLori]

Thanks heaps I'll be repairing my didge tomorrow using this tutorial

[@sebastianvega2963]

Mate can you help me with this? I bout my didgeridoo in Cairns one year ago and since 8 mouth that I move to Chile, since the last few weeks that I started to play it everyday (1 or 2 hours) and got a cack on my didge, and then when I play it again I got 3 more . Well is quite cold and dry here but I don’t thing that the weather is the problem; otherwise my didge would have cracked when I got here (in winter time) so what do you thing is the problem?Should I fix the little ones (2cm long)?

[@kennkenn6126]

🤙🏼 love from Texas.

[@LewisBurns]

*I wouldn't and don't use Aquadhere....*

[@seanryan9456]

Why not Lewis😁