Klarinet Archive - Posting 000465.txt from 1997/07

From: Karl Krelove <kkrelove@-----.com>
Subj: Re: Price of Zonda reeds and reed cases
Date: Tue, 15 Jul 1997 15:57:54 -0400

At 09:11 PM 7/14/97 -0800, Peter Salveson wrote:
>"These beautifully handcrafted reed cases are made of high quality
>hardwoods. The fully lined case protects your reeds, while at the same
>time allows air to circulate and dry the reeds. You reeds rest on glass
>to help reduce warpage."
>
I may have brought this up a long time ago, but we have added some
members since then with physics backgrounds who might have some thoughts on
this.
I don't see how a reed holder that forces the reeds against a flat
surface like glass or smooth plastic can possibly "allow air to circulate
and dry the reeds". It seems to me the only place air can get to the reed
to allow evaporation is the vamp surface. Even the part with the bark still
on it probably doesn't evaporate much water directly into the air. My own
totally empirical experience has been that reeds drying flat against a
non-porous surface will warp sooner or later as surely in a $54 case as on
the piece of marble I use for adjusting reeds. I have for years used a reed
holder that holds the reeds up on their edges with no warpage problem of
any kind. At home I dry them flat side up on my desk. I have always had to
battle reed warpage with any holder that keeps the reeds flat.
Does anyone know (I have my own guesses based on my own experiences) the
physics involved in this problem of reed warpage? It seems to me from what
I've seen that if wood wants to warp, no holder I've ever seen will exert
the force needed to stop it. What happens when the reed (or any piece of
wood) dries more quickly from one surface than another. What is the result
of the water wicking through the wood toward the exposed surface? I'm sure
there are lots of nuances I've never thought about.

   
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