Klarinet Archive - Posting 000357.txt from 1999/09

From: Tony@-----.uk (Tony Pay)
Subj: Re: [kl] More Stuffiness
Date: Tue, 14 Sep 1999 16:06:26 -0400

On Tue, 14 Sep 1999 13:59:45 EDT, LeliaLoban@-----.com said:

> I've read

Where?

> that a leak light will only detect a bad leak on a soprano clarinet,
> because fishskin

Never knew they were fishskin, either.

> pads are translucent; therefore it's hard to find a little hairline
> leak with a light. In practice, though, I'm finding that a leak light
> works well, *if* the room is really dark, and has the advantage of
> pinpointing not only the key but the exact position of the leak. The
> leak makes a distinct bright spot against the dimmer glow of the
> translucent pads.

This is a 'brilliant':-) idea I'd never heard of. I must try it. Pity
I don't have a leak at the moment.

What does a dedicated 'leak light' look like?

The technician that I go to, when encountering the problem, usually
blows a bit of cigarette smoke down the instrument, and is thus easily
and quickly able to pinpoint the leak.

But I never wanted to do that myself, as I have an aversion to tobacco
smoke, particularly to cigarette smoke.

My own solution has been to guess at the origin of the leak, and cover
the business end of that particular key with clingfilm. If that
doesn't work, I move on to the next suspect. This both diagnoses and
temporarily solves the problem.

This way of dealing with it is particularly useful, as I find that leaks
*always* occur when I have no time to organise a more definite solution,
but have instead to play a concert.

Tony
--
_________ Tony Pay
|ony:-) 79 Southmoor Rd Tony@-----.uk
| |ay Oxford OX2 6RE GMN family artist: www.gmn.com
tel/fax 01865 553339

...You have dialled an imaginary number. Please rotate your telephone
through 90 degrees and try again.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Unsubscribe from Klarinet, e-mail: klarinet-unsubscribe@-----.org
Subscribe to the Digest: klarinet-digest-subscribe@-----.org
Additional commands: klarinet-help@-----.org
Other problems: klarinet-owner@-----.org