Klarinet Archive - Posting 000167.txt from 2004/11

From: "Hinsons" <bud@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Clarinet Repair & Some Questions
Date: Thu, 4 Nov 2004 20:07:45 -0500

Hi Tom...Our last names are very similar, and it seems our problems are
also. Our situations are different in that I am buying vintage clarinets
through ebay and restoring them in the hope of providing for my family, at
least while I'm back in school as a 48 year old student. I'd like to compare
notes on successful adjustment techniques, as my quest to learn and to share
are at least moderate to above average....Donald Hinson
----- Original Message -----
From: <Tom.Henson@-----.com>
To: <klarinet@-----.org>
Sent: Thursday, November 04, 2004 2:38 PM
Subject: [kl] Clarinet Repair & Some Questions

> I think at some point, as a clarinetist becomes more familiar with their
> instrument, that it is natural to want to learn more about how to maintain
> it and possibly even repair it.
>
> I know that I am this type of clarinetist, but did not feel comfortable
when
> returning to playing after a 25 year absence in doing any repairs myself.
I
> have had several technicians work on my clarinets in the last couple of
> years and they include Walter Grabner, Morrie Backun, and Mike Lomax. All
of
> them did excellent work. In each case, I examined the work that had been
> done with an eye to seeing what they had done and to try and figure out
how
> and why.
>
> I also have purchased a couple of repair books which have helped me
greatly.
> One book by Robert Schmidt titled "A Clarinetist's Notebook Vol. I: Care
and
> Repair" and a recent purchase from Gary Van Cott called "The Clarinet
> Revealed" by Ernest Ferron. This last book is written by a French
instrument
> maker and master repair technician. It has been translated into English
> (very well I might add) and is published in France. The first book by
Robert
> Schmidt is basically all of the knowledge that he gained while an
apprentice
> to Hans Moennig. Just about everything in his book explains how Hans
Moennig
> would have repaired it. The second book is quite a bit different. The
> beginning of the book deals more with how a clarinet works and deals a lot
> with what a instrument maker would need to know. It talks about the
science
> that goes into a clarinet. It discusses sound waves, pressure nodes, wave
> reflections inside a mouthpiece, barrel, and bore, etc.. Only the last
part
> of the book deals with actual hands on repair. Both books are excellent in
> their own way and helped me a lot.
>
> I have learned to do many things that I used to pay to have done. I have
> found that if one has the patience, skill, and aptitude to work with tools
> and delicate mechanisms, that there is great reward. The biggest thing I
can
> do that I could not afford to pay someone to do is spend 10 hours (over a
> period of time) adjusting the crows foot and the lower 4 keys that make up
> this very difficult to adjust mechanism. I have also spent several hours
> adjusting and then readjusting the bridge mechanism. These are the two
> hardest adjustments to make, and make or break an overhaul in my opinion.
> One thing I found after you repad a clarinet and make the initial
> adjustments and get all the pads to seat properly, is you need to go back
as
> those pads break in and make small, minute adjustments. This requires
> checking pad seating with paper strips as thin as a human hair or less.
The
> result of all this is that I can easily get a 4 minute vacuum on the lower
> joint and about a 3 minute vacuum on the upper joint. People are amazed
when
> I show them this. Vacuum testing however is only part of the equation and
> this alone does not guarantee a good playing clarinet.
>
> So much more must be taken into account and this is no substitute for
> experience. One must consider the following things and how they will
affect
> the sound and playability. Pad composition (skin, leather, synthetic),
tone
> hole facing (smooth or rough), key and key cup alignment (are the keys
bent,
> cups bent), key height (taken into account after the pad has broken in),
> spring tension, post alignment (loose post will greatly affect key feel
and
> pad seal as the spring will not get the right fulcrum and will move with
the
> post), etc.. The list goes on and on.
>
> This is why a $400 overhaul is actually quite reasonable if indeed all
these
> things are taken into account. I have learned to do all this and more. I
> have experimented with Oil Immersion Therapy with very good success also.
I
> have learned to make and apply key and tenon corks as well. Loose posts
can
> be fixed usually with a paper shim underneath the post. About the only
> things I can not due are to tighten loose rings and repair cracks,
generally
> anything having to do with working the wood. Perhaps one day I will also
> attempt this.
>
> I recently had to replace a couple of springs in the Eb/D# and F/C
mechanism
> on the lower right side of the bottom joint. This is probably the most
> critical for spring tension adjustment as too loose a spring will cause
> small air leaks and will affect the playability of the entire lower joint,
> especially the lowest notes.
>
> I have one question for the experienced repair techs on this list. Where
in
> the world do you find high quality blue needle springs?
>
> The batch that I bought from Ferree's was of poor quality with many of the
> springs not even blue. The color of the spring, if a bright blue, tells
you
> that it has been properly heat treated and that it is of the proper
> hardness. This means that it will be strong enough. If the color of the
> spring is not bright blue (not counting Stainless Steel or White Gold
> springs), then the metal is either brittle and will break, or is too soft
to
> hold a good tight 'break' in the bending motion of the spring. What I mean
> by break is that the motion of the key will reach a point in it's movement
> that you will find the 'break' point at which the tension reaches it's
> maximum point of resistance, and then 'breaks' into an even and
progressive
> give as the motion reaches it's bottom and the key is either opened or
> closed.
>
> The reason why a new high quality clarinet feels so much better is simply
> that all the parts are new and in proper alignment/adjustment and the post
> and springs are working perfectly in their motion. There is no reason why
> this can't be achieved in an older clarinet, provided that the clarinet is
> in excellent mechanical condition. Walter, I understand perfectly where
you
> are coming from and you have my sympathy. I would not want to do this for
a
> living, but am pleased that I can take 10 hours to perfectly adjust the
> bottom keys if I want and need to.
>
> My clarinet teacher (Jeffrey Lerner - Studied with Bonade 8 years and
> teaching me the fingers ahead technique) was amazed when he wanted me to
> play a Rose etude that started on a middle B natural. He told me that this
> note is the hardest note on the clarinet to play because it requires a lot
> of air and is usually stuffy. Boy was he surprised when I was able to play
a
> perfectly clear middle B at a double pianissimo with ease. I can start on
> this note at a volume that only a microphone would pick up, crescendo, and
> then back down to a volume that is almost inaudible to the human ear, and
> with no air hissing sound whatsoever or loss of tone color. This is not an
> accident, but the result of a properly adjusted clarinet.
>
> Tom Henson
>
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