Klarinet Archive - Posting 000232.txt from 1999/09

From: "clarinet" <clarinet@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Plating wear answer
Date: Wed, 8 Sep 1999 10:32:53 -0400

Bill Hausmann wrote:

At 10:25 AM 9/7/1999 -0400, Ken Wolman wrote:
>>With all the discussion about key plating, I have a question regarding
>>Selmer Centered Tone clarinets and the keywork.
>>
>>When I had the instrument adjusted at the end of 1997, the people who
>>worked on it expressed surprise that it was a so-called "German Silver"
>>plate job rather than real silver plating which would have been expected
>>for Selmer's top-of-the-line instrument.
>>
>>Mine is a Q-series CT, which suggests it was made in 1957. Was this year
>>and/or this horn an aberration from how Selmer usually plated their keys?
>>
>I believe what is really meant here is UNPLATED German Silver. All the
>keys start out German Silver, or nickel silver if you prefer. These days
>most all are then plated, either with nickel or silver, or possibly
chrome.
>But many earlier clarinets were not plated at all, leaving the less shiny
>but still attractive patina of the German Silver showing.

My chemistry is not very up-to-date, but Bill's suggestion that unplated
German silver or nickel silver is the type of keywork that "doesn't show
wear" makes a lot of sense.

If I recall correctly, plating is electrochemical deposition of a PURE
metal and that you can't actually plate an alloy (mixture of metals such as
German silver or nickel silver). If you try to plate with an alloy, you
will actually end up with the metals of the alloy separating and plating in
successive layers.

As to how long plating will last, it will depend on the environment,
including the body chemistry of the player, the type of metal plated, the
thickness of the plating and the quality of the plating job. The latter
will depend on the chemical cleaning of the substrate to be plated and the
rate of deposition of the metal plated. Plating done too rapidly might
deposit a lot of metal quickly but in a porous form that will wear and
resist attack poorly.

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

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