Klarinet Archive - Posting 000087.txt from 2004/01

From: "Forest Aten" <forestaten@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Cracks, cracks
Date: Sat, 3 Jan 2004 19:08:16 -0500

> Due to my cracking incident, I decided to read some old posts on the
topic. Most said pinning is the way to go. Then I thought of this... if a
violin repairman/maker uses GLUE to fix a cracked surface of a good
instrument that costs anywhere between $18,000 and $2,000,000, why not use
glue on a $1,800 clarinet? Value aside, the vibrating body of a violin
would suffer with metal pins afixed to it. BTW, I had the cracked fixed by
an excellent well known repairman... he used superglue. You can't even see
the crack anymore. Pinning most likeley will become obsolete in time once
the "tradition" of using that method dies. I guess it's hard for some to
commit to a new and better method of doing things once one is steeped in
tradition. That's not to say all traditions are bad though. The super glue
method seems to be the way to go now in 2004.
>

Frank,

Super glue is rarely more than a temporary fix when it come to cracked
clarinets. Tremendous forces are at work when a clarinet cracks. Pins are
often the best solution for the repair. A newer method using carbon fiber
thread, in a counter-sunk grove on the clarinet, to wrap/band the body over
the crack........then using epoxy mixed with wood dust to fill in behind the
carbon fiber wraps, has been very successful as well.

The best way to minimize the cracking issue in the first place, is to swab
frequently and don't subject a wooden clarinet to sudden temperature
changes. Wooden clarinets subjected to temperatures below 65 degrees
Fahrenheit are at a greater risk as well.

Forest Aten

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