Traditional birdcages in China are mostly made of bamboo, and the production technology is very particular. Some in the cage ring, cage door and other parts, carved with various patterns, and some even inlaid with ivory, camel bones and gold and silver jewelry, which is extremely precious. Like the bird cages used by nobles in the palace in the past, they are now antiques and displayed.
(1) Tools for making birdcages: Tools for making birdcages usually include knives, edge scrapers, carving knives, hand saws, hand drills, bracing plates, Yin Huan dies, steel files, etc.
(2) Manufacturing materials: bamboo, wood and metal are usually used. Bamboo, Phyllostachys pubescens and Phyllostachys pubescens are commonly used bamboo materials; Wood is mostly nanmu, camphor wood and walnut; Metal materials mostly use lead wire with a diameter of no more than 2.5 mm.
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(3) Manufacturing method: firstly, select Phyllostachys pubescens and Phyllostachys pubescens with long bamboo joints, scrape off the wax layer on the surface of the bamboo pole with a scraper, chop the bamboo pole into a bamboo pole slightly larger than the hole of the supporting plate with the scraper, insert the bamboo pole into the supporting plate L, clamp the exposed tip with wire cutters, and forcibly pull the bamboo pole out of the hole, so as to repeatedly pull the bamboo pole into a diameter of 2-3mm. Then, according to the shape of the required birdcage, a frame or bamboo ring is constructed. When constructing a square cage, the square tenon structure can be combined into a square frame; You can also drill holes with a puncher and stick them together. The joints are fixed into a square frame with beef tendons and hemp ropes passing through the holes on the bars. After the frame is completed, drill holes through the cage bars, or make side fans first and then combine them into cages.
The manufacture of round birdcage is complicated and difficult. Processing the cage first is the key. Whether it is the bottom ring or the top ring, it is necessary to put the bamboo strips outward into the steel ring mold (if it is not good, it can be heated to soften it), and then add water to the steel ring mold to heat and boil. After the bamboo strips become soft, use Gang Qian to clamp the bamboo rings one by one, so that there is no gap between the bamboo rings. Then tie the bamboo ring and the steel formwork together with a rope and hang it in the shade to dry and finalize the design. Then, drill the prepared cage ring and cage bars into small holes, use bamboo pins on the cage frame, and insert two long cage bars into the holes at both ends of the upper and lower transverse frames and the bamboo plate of the cage door to make them move up and down. Then connect with copper, aluminum alloy strips, wood carvings and large screws to make cage clips (claws and cage hooks) for installation. Finally, paint the metal cage and varnish the bamboo cage, and it's all done.