Klarinet Archive - Posting 000672.txt from 2003/09

From: ormondtoby@-----.net (Ormondtoby Montoya)
Subj: Re: [kl] When an old clarinet smells
Date: Wed, 24 Sep 2003 12:56:10 -0400

Walter Grabner wrote:

> I have never used water to clean a dirty wood
> clarinet. To me, water is THE ENEMY. Some
> of the worst damage I have seen to clarinets
> has been caused by too much moisture
> [snip] moistened with alcohol to remove the
> worst of the dirt.

Walter, I mean this as a comment, not as a dispute, because obviously I
have no experience. What do you mean by "alcohol"? Methyl and ethyl
alcohols are strong dessicants (used in biology labs to completely
dehydrate tissue samples, for example). Perhaps washing wood with
these alcohols could pull the moisture *out* of the wood and thereby
promote a crack? "Rubbing alcohol" is 80% water, which isn't too much
different than washing with soap and water. Obviously it would depend
on how much surface area was washed, but unlike water, whose absorbtion
by grenadilla is gradual, ethyl and methyl alcohols act to draw water
almost immediately.

....while we're talking about maintenance, a repairman mentioned to me
today that "new technology" has replaced the old practice of pinning and
gluing a crack. I wasn't able to ask for details during the
conversation, but now I'm wondering what other method of repairing a
crack exists?

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Klarinet is supported by Woodwind.Org, http://www.woodwind.org/