Klarinet Archive - Posting 000283.txt from 2006/01

From: "Lelia Loban" <lelialoban@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] cork grease
Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2006 09:51:52 -0500

I wrote,
>Most of the cork damage I've seen looked as
>if it came from deterioration of the cork
>itself. I've never thought the cork grease
>had anything to do with the deterioration. I've
>never seen an intact cork simply come unglued.

Bill Hausmann wrote,
>>I have seen it numerous times. The corks were
>>completely saturated with grease, but otherwise
>>intact.

Since Bill Hausmann has probably repaired more clarinets than I've seen in
my lifetime, I defer to his observation. However, since acetone is the
only effective solvent I've found for contact cement, I do wonder whether
the glue let grease under it because it was damaged (cracked from the cork
pulling back and forth over the years), or the wrong kind of glue, or not
applied properly.

Ormondtoby Montoya wrote,
>>>I would assume that, in some cases, the
>>>problem is related to putting the instrument
>>>away without wiping the tenons. Basic
>>>sanitation. That is, allowing the 'guck' to sit
>>>on the tenons for days/weeks/months and
>>>thereby allowing it to soak really deep into
>>>every pore and crevice.

That's got to be bad for the corks, whether or not it deteriorates the
glue. Leaving the tenons goopy also makes a mess of the case lining,
especially if the player neglects cleanliness in other ways, such as
failing to swab out. Just add water and -- eeeeewwww. After re-lining
several cases with stinky, black, rotted fabric where the tenons rested,
I'm becoming such a fussbudget that I keep a plastic bag of little strips
of paper towel in my ditty bag, to wipe down the corks. I also leave and
occasionally change strips of paper towel under each tenon in the case, to
protect the lining from grease stains.

Forest Aten wrote,
>I attribute the cork failure more to improper
>(unclean surfaces) work done at the time the
>cork was glued to the surface of the tenon.

Over-greased corks probably contribute to that problem. If the old cork is
saturated with grease, then it's hard to remove the cork and clean the
tenon for a new one without leaving some of the old grease behind. Also,
I've made the mistake of applying contact cement too thickly (because an
old tube was starting to dry out) or getting impatient and not letting it
dry on both cork and tenon before pressing them together. It's tempting to
leave the cement moist in order to be able to shift the cork if the
placement isn't perfect, but shifting the placement weakens the contact.

Lelia Loban

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