Klarinet Archive - Posting 000880.txt from 1998/09

From: "Cox, Graeme" <Graeme.Cox@-----.nz>
Subj: RE: [kl] SWAB GOT STUCK !
Date: Thu, 24 Sep 1998 00:47:55 -0400

The trouble with pushing back a stuck swap is obvoiusly that the pushing
bunches it up and makes it stick better. Maybe swabs should be pulled from
the narrow end to the fat end of the joint.

Personally, I never swab without dismantling the instrument because it is
important to swab the tenons properly. And the swabs I use are always longer
that any one joint.

Just in case anyone might like the idea, here is how I make my swabs. Take a
piece of thick cord , attach a weight to one end and make a slim noose at
the other (this is where your boy scout training comes in). Then use a men's
sized cotton or silk handkerchief, with one corner clamped into the noose.
The result is a cheap swab - you can easily replace the handkerchief
periodically or just throw it in the washing machine.

Does anyone else have a swab design they would like to share?

Graeme Cox
Graeme.Cox@-----.nz

> -----Original Message-----
> From: George Kidder [SMTP:gkidder@-----.net]
> Sent: Wednesday, September 23, 1998 3:35 AM
> To: klarinet@-----.org
> Subject: [kl] SWAB GOT STUCK !
>
>
> >Imagine that happening at a concert!
>
> I have seen it happen, to an oboist, who swabbed his instrument between
> movements with great panache. When the swab stuck, he tried to get it
> out,
> then went back-stage and tried more. After about 3/4 of an hour, he
> returned with a borrowed oboe and finished the concert. I heard that they
> indeed had to drill out the swab!
>
> George Kidder
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------

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