Klarinet Archive - Posting 000253.txt from 2000/02

From: "W. Edinger" <wde1@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] alcohol and plastic mouthpieces
Date: Sat, 5 Feb 2000 17:10:34 -0500

For those of you who hadn't heard this, several people a while back
commented that alcohol makes plastic brittle and after exposing a
plastic mouthpiece to it, the mouthpiece would break cleanly and almost
spontaneously right where the alcohol was applied (something of a trick
in itself, I think). Their testimony was pretty emphatic.

Although I'm the one who posted the second-hand warning about the
effects of alcohol on plastic mouthpieces, I must say, as a professional
scientist with more than a little chemistry training, that it never made
sense to me. Do those of you who insist alcohol makes plastic brittle
have any solid evidence or just anecdotal evidence and coincidental
events? And am I too gullible when I believe most of what's posted on
this list? David Blumberg's extensive experience [that there is no
effect] is a lot more persuasive to me than what I'd heard from the
other point of view, but I'd like to see this resolved (along with
whether swabbing wears out mouthpieces, "blowout" is real or imaginary,
etc., etc. I'm hoping the odds are a little better for this one.)

Bill Edinger

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