Klarinet Archive - Posting 000206.txt from 1996/01

From: Fred <fsheim@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: o-rings
Date: Wed, 10 Jan 1996 12:07:18 -0500

Hi Dan!

Sounds like a good idea, but doesn't the joint wobble? And doesn't
the o-ring slide up and down when you assemble the joint?

Fred (fsheim@-----.com)

>A couple of months ago the top tenon cork on the upper joint of
>my R13 came loose. Not trusting the local repairmen, I sent the
>instrument away for the repair and a touchup. Last week the cork
>came off again. I didn't want to send the clarinet away a second time
>and recalled a remark made once by Harry Schmidt, who used to be
>the clarinet professor here at Florida State Univ., concerning
>the use of o-rings on tenons in place of corks. I took the instrument
>to a plumbing supply house, tried out a bunch of o-rings, and ended
>up with a tight, secure, and yet very smooth fit of the barrel onto
>the upper joint. The use of o-rings in this application is an obvious
>thing to try. Just as obviously, it has not been adopted by the
>community of repairmen. I wonder why.
>
>Dan Oberlin
>oberlin@-----.edu
>
>