Klarinet Archive - Posting 000491.txt from 2003/02

From: b1rite@-----. Rite)
Subj: Re: [kl] cracks
Date: Mon, 17 Feb 2003 15:08:47 -0500

<><> Raycraft wrote:
So why [do three different joints] crack when I get my hands on [them]?

Statistical deviations _do_ occur. If one in a thousand joints crack,
then there is a tiny but calculable probability that two or three of
them will crack for the same owner. And there is almost absolute
certainty that this will happen to someone somewhere sometime.

When I was at a music festival in Ireland a couple of years ago, I
picked up a wooden flute and it cracked as I tried it out. And my own
clarinet is cracked and pinned (two pins). What are the odds of these
two things happening to the same person? Am I jinxed?

I remember 2-3 years ago when the father of a child posted on this list
that two Leblanc joints had cracked in a row. Improbable events _do_
happen sometimes. My memory is that Francis Klok (sp? apologies in
advance) arranged for Leblanc to replace both of them.

In your situation, there are other possible explanations. One of the
joints had been in storage for a long time, and there is sincere debate
as to whether oiling helps. There are also different methods of oiling
--- soaking, swabbing, pressure, etc. Also, one of your joints
required multiple repairs, indicating that the wood was simply not
'right' in the first place and had multiple flaws, and the cause of
repetitive cracks in this instrument had nothing to do with you.

It makes sense to look at environmental factors which may be under your
control. Did (do) you travel between climates, or play both indoors
and outdoors, or alternate between air conditioned and non-air
conditioned buildings, or anything like that? Is there any chance that
you left (leave) your instrument locked in a car or trunk for extended
periods (such as during the day before you play somewhere in the
evening)? Some people swear by orange peels or Damp-Its when they have
no choice about this.

Nevertheless, coincidences do happen.

Cheers,
Bill

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