Klarinet Archive - Posting 000610.txt from 1998/11

From: LeliaLoban@-----.com
Subj: [kl] neck cork
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 14:03:33 -0500

Kirstin Koch wrote,
>>My bass clarinet is fairly new, and i am having trouble with the cork on the
neck. I cannot seem to compress it down enough. I cannot push my neck all
the way in. And when i push it in as far as i can, i have to spend about 10
minutes struggling to get it back out! In fact, i have about a 1/4" of cork
showing. Any suggestions on what i can do to "wear it down.">>

This is a common problem with new clarinets and ones that have recently been
overhauled. The cork is too thick and needs to be sanded down with extra-fine
sandpaper. People who aren't experienced at doing this should take the
clarinet to a technician, because the cork needs to be sanded very evenly all
the way around in order for the tenon to fit into the socket snugly and
correctly. That's hard to do by hand, but the shop will have the right tools.
If you bought the new bass clarinet locally, you can probably have the work
done for free through the shop that sold the instrument, since the corks
should have been adjusted right in the first place. Please do get the work
done soon, because forcing the tenon into the socket and then struggling to
remove it will eventually cause damage.

Hope this helps--

Lelia

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