Klarinet Archive - Posting 000932.txt from 1997/07

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausman@-----.com>
Subj: Re: Float Test
Date: Wed, 30 Jul 1997 22:18:37 -0400

At 10:43 PM 7/29/97 -0700, you wrote:
>I'm looking at a clarinet to purchase for my daughter. It's been in
>storage for several years, and the person selling it doesn't know if
>it's wood or plastic. A friend of mine who has had experience with this
>sort of thing says that if I float the clarinet in a bathtub of water it
>will designate whether it's made of wood or plastic, the wood type
>floating higher and longer. My question to you is, does it matter how
>many inches of water there are in the tub, and is the temperature of the
>water crucial to the float?
>Thanks,
>Carol
>
It it smooth and shiny and has no grain, it is plastic. If it has grain,
it is either wood or a clever imitation, such as a recent Artley, or a
composition "rosewood" Pan-American. If you insist on floating, do only
the bell and/or barrel -- anything else will cause severe damage. Of
course, some step-up horns (older Bundy, etc.) have wood bodies with
plastic barrels and bells, so...

Bill Hausmann bhausman@-----.com
451 Old Orchard Drive http://www.concentric.net/~bhausman
Essexville, MI 48732 http://members.wbs.net/homepages/z/o/o/zoot14.html

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is too loud.