Klarinet Archive - Posting 000838.txt from 2004/01

From: "David McClune" <dmcclune@-----.edu>
Subj: RE: [kl] Mouthpiece blanks
Date: Thu, 29 Jan 2004 09:00:38 -0500

In an ideal world, CNC sounds like it should work. A few years ago a
writer on KLARINET said that their friend was a draftsman and attempted
to do a CCAD/CAM3d drawing of the external and interior of a clarinet
mouthpiece. Apparently it was extremely difficult to do.

The new Chadash/Hill blanks (and sister Glotin/Chedeville mouthpieces)
are made from solid rubber and they use very sophisticated CNC machines
to actually make the blanks/mouthpieces. That said, the finishing of
these is not great. Because of the work and that tens of thousands are
not being made and sold, they are actually quite expensive to buy, both
blanks and the 'finished' Glotin/Ched's.

Babbitt Co. will copy your favorite mouthpiece...for a fee (5 figures)
The mouthpiece is carefully measured in and out, THEN they cut it in
half to re-measure all the subtleties of the interior. In an ideal
world these copies should be quite good and some actually are, but minor
human inaccuracies in the molding, taking apart of the molds and
finishing of these at the facotry still make for inconsistent
mouthpieces. If one of us takes ten of these and do our magic, we still
have ten slightly different mouthpieces, modified to play like we like
them, but each one unique.

Mouthpieces are part craftsmanship, part black art, part practice all
with done with an inconsistent blob of rubber. If the challange is a fun
challenge you continue doing it, otherwise one chalks it up to learning
a little something and go back to practicing or something easy like fly
fishing!?!

Dave

Dr. David McClune
Professor of Woodwinds
Director of Bands
Union University-1862
1050 Union University Drive
Jackson, TN 38305

Office-731-661-5294
dmcclune@-----.edu
www.mcclunemouthpiece.com
>>> m.nederhoff@-----.nl 01/29/04 03:06 AM >>>
I was wondering if it isn't possible to make mouthpieces with computer
aided
tools? This would meen that the consistency of the product would be
much
better than by hand? Or is there always some handy work required?

Marc

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