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Doublereed Archive - Posting 000045.txt from 2004/01

From: barbara trautwein <mzeztee@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [DR-L] Re: new wooden instruments/cold lockers
Date: Sat, 10 Jan 2004 15:04:50 -0500

Thanks, Ed, but this top joint is wooden. I heard this instrument in
William Tell the last time it was played before our break, and it was
smooth as anything! I know this player. If it had had a bump, she
would have told us. I've already questioned her and trust her answer.

But thanks for your good ideas!

B

Lacy, Edwin wrote:
> <<<The first octave key wouldn't open; the first trill key, if bumped, wouldn't close and the whole bottom half seemed a mess. I let it sit in the case for a few days, with orange peels,
> talked to a few folks who know more than I do and had planned to send it off for major adjustments when lo and behold, it sort of "righted" itself.>>>
>
> Which model of Howarth is it? If it is the CA-20 (I think that's the number), then it would have a plastic top joint, and the problem would likely be the cold to which it has been subjected, rather than the low humidity level. In that case, the orange peels, while they would have made the instrument and case smell better, would have no effect on the top joint, and probably relatively little on the lower joint.
>
> The plastic used in oboes has a high coefficient of thermal expansion and contraction, and when it gets cold, the body of the instrument shrinks enough that posts are drawn closer together, rods bind, etc., etc. However, if this is the problem, usually most of the problems will be solved after a half-hour or so in warmer conditions, or certainly after being kept overnight in a warmer place.
>
> I'm somewhat familiar with these problems, because I have an all-plastic Loree, and it really doesn't want to work in temperatures below 60 degrees.
>
> Since you mentioned that the instrument has been assigned to a student, I wouldn't overlook the possibility that it may have been handled with something less than the utmost care.
>
> Ed Lacy
> University of Evansville