Klarinet Archive - Posting 000202.txt from 1995/02

From: edgar pearlstein <e_p@-----.EDU>
Subj: Re: Cracks & warrantees?!
Date: Thu, 9 Feb 1995 15:03:00 -0500

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: >From: edgar pearlstein <e_p@-----.EDU>
: >Subject: Re: Cracks & warrantees?!
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:
: Had they been used much, or had they been sitting? The only instance I have
: seen of an older instrument cracking is of a clarinet that had been sitting
: for 20 years before someone used it regularly. Also, had any bore oil been
: used on them? What kind of climate did you live in? This sounds unusual to
: me, and I'd like to know more.
:
I don't know about the use of the Noblet. I had it only about a month
before it cracked, but I was using it a lot during that time. The
Evette definitely had a lot of use. My memory is dim about whether they
had been oiled prior to cracking. The climate is Nebraska, very
variable. I think (but not sure) the cracking occurred in November in
both cases, after the heating season started.
I believe that cracking is caused by uneven expansion as the wood
absorbs moisture from the inside. The danger would be greatest if
the wood was previously dried out, as during a heating season. Some
people attribute the cracking to differential thermal expansion, i.e.
to a temperature effect, but this would be a very small effect and I
prefer to think of it as a humidity effect.
My present practice is to breathe on the outside of the instrument
before playing, in order to get water into that side of the wood as
well as on the inside. Also, I oil the bore once a year (start of
heating season), with the idea that this will slow down the water
absorption and thus make it more uniform. So far, my R13 (also
purchased used) hasn't cracked!
.