Klarinet Archive - Posting 000233.txt from 1995/12

From: Armand Ferland <Armand.Ferland@-----.CA>
Subj: Re: Howdy
Date: Sun, 10 Dec 1995 17:27:32 -0500

>>On Sat, 9 Dec 1995, Kevin McFadyen wrote:
>>
>>> Does anyone know how I can find out how old my clarinet is?
>>
>>Yes. You have to submit a sample of the wood for carbon dating. So,
>>first you decide from what part of the instrument to remove the wood. I
>>suggest the lower end of the lower body joint. Naturally, after
>>performing this procedure, you won't be able to play all the notes on the
>>instrument, but the clarinet has a very wide range, so you will hardly
>>miss these few notes. Some people might suggest taking the needed wood
>>from the bell where there are no keys or tone holes, but to me, this
>>leaves the instrument with an esthetically unpleasing appearance. On the
>>other hand, if you remove the tenon and some other wood from the lower
>>body joint, you can still assemble the clarinet, although you may need
>>some duct tape to keep it from falling apart. But most people in the
>>audience won't notice this.
>>
>>So, take the clarinet to your workshop, specifically to your band saw
>>table. Remove all the keys from the joint from which you are going to
>>take the sample of wood. (You don't want the metal of the keys to dull
>>your saw blade.) Saw off a couple of inches of wood. Then reassemble
>>the keys, if you can remember how they were attached before the
>>procedure. You may have cut off a couple of posts, so all of the keys
>>may not go back on. Don't worry about this, because with a good
>>fingering chart, you will be able to learn alternate fingerings for some
>>of those notes. If you encounter a note for which you can't find an
>>alternate, just stop playing for a few seconds, look at your reed, and
>>frown. This has worked for woodwind players for centuries!
>>
>>Then, take the wood sample to a scientific laboratory for carbon-dating
>>tests. This should cost you only a couple thousand dollars. Of course,
>>you have to consider the fact that carbon dating is accurate only to
>>within a century or so, but at least they will be able to tell you
>>whether you clarinet was built withing the past 200 years.
>>
>>Hope this helps!
>>
>
>No, no, no! That's doing it the hard way. All you really have to do is
>cut the top section in half and count the rings.
>
>John Baetens.

A much simpler way is: First find out the year your instrument was
manufactured. Then compute the answer, i.e. how old your clarinet is, with
the following formula: 1995 - (less) year of manufacture = (equals) your
answer.

Armand Ferland
1196, rue Eugene-Hamel
Sainte-Foy (Quebec)
Canada G1W 4G4