Klarinet Archive - Posting 000505.txt from 1998/12

From: LeliaLoban@-----.com
Subj: [kl] inferior instruments
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 1998 09:39:00 -0500

Sherry Katz wrote,
>>...I went ahead and got this Chinese flute for $125.... [snip] After
readjusting the keys a few times it started going really badly out of
adjustment. Close inspection revealed that the keys and mechanisms were made
out of pot metal and the metal surrounding the adjusting screws was bending
out of shape. [snip] After readjusting the flute as much as I could for about
three weeks I was playing and all of a sudden I heard springs popping and
metal parts literally started flying off the instrument.>>

I read a similar story on the Classic Sax bulletin board, where someone said a
brand new Taiwanese- made sax fell apart during shipping. I used to buy
various metals in bulk, from wholesalers, for my stained glass studio. During
my first year in business, I learned the hard way not to buy "bargain" metal
smelted in China, Taiwan or Korea. Too much of it was badly annealed, causing
poor ductility. The manufacturers probably saved on fuel by cooling the metal
down too fast after smelting it. I bought some small (4mm or 6mm diameter
heads; I can't remember which) Chinese steel screws once that were so brittle
they were useless. The heads would snap in half at the slot, just from normal
tightening with a hand-held screwdriver. Some of my other horror stories
involved short weights and false content descriptions, such as brass-plated
pot metal lamp bases sold as "solid brass."

I've also seen Chinese, Taiwanese and Korean metal products that were well-
made, however. Individual examples of products for the stained glass trade
varied widely in quality even when they came from the same factory. On
inexpensive "Tiffany style" lamps customers brought to me for repair, I saw
many "band-aid solders" that had failed to bond with metal that hadn't been
cleaned well enough and/or hadn't been heated to a high enough temperature.
(Does L. C. Tiffany even bother to spin in his grave any more?) Brass, for
instance, bonds at a higher temperature than 60/40 solder and needs heating
first before the solder is applied. Even lead, if it's dirty or too cold, can
fail to bond with solder. "Band-aid solders" stick lightly, like tape, and pop
loose under everyday stresses. Sounds like what happened on your flute,
Sherry.

I kept track of where various brand name products really came from (not always
easy to tell, because, for instance, even if the components are 100% made
overseas, a finished product can still be labelled "Made in USA" if it's
*assembled* in the USA) and quit buying any Chinese, Korean or Taiwanese metal
products for my studio. I'd hesitate to buy a musical instrument sight unseen
if it were made in one of those countries, for fear of getting a lemon. The
good metals came from Canada, the USA, Japan, Western Europe and India.
(India produces good brass and copper if you buy only the top grades.)
Cleaning and heating metal takes time. Annealing takes time. Low-paid
workers being paid by the piece and under pressure to produce a lot of cheap
goods fast don't always spend that time.

Lelia

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