Klarinet Archive - Posting 000171.txt from 1998/11

From: "Don Yungkurth" <clarinet@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Re: Swabbing Curiosity
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1998 00:12:02 -0500

I have been swabbing from the top down since the last time I ended up with
a stuck swab. This has only happened to me twice in over 50 years - the
first time with a metal clarinet, which took the abuse I gave it to get out
the swab.

The second time was about 45 years later, with a wooden clarinet, which did
not take kindly to my technique and required some professional repair work
to fix the damaged tone holes after I removed the swab.

Swabs tend to get hung up on the register tube, which is closer to the top
end of the top joint than to the middle of the instrument. I figure that,
if I swab from the top down and the swab gets stuck, there will probably be
enough of the swab still out of the clarinet to pull on and retrieve the
stuck swab. I've also gone to using silk swabs, which seem to have no
tendency whatever to stick. They also fit through my Eb.

Don Yungkurth (clarinet@-----.net)

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