Klarinet Archive - Posting 000132.txt from 2006/02

From: Curtis Bennett <curtis.bennett@-----.com>
Subj: [kl] Eb barrel?
Date: Fri, 10 Feb 2006 10:24:44 -0500

I have an Eb clarinet that has a slight crack in the barrel. An
attempt was made to repair the barrel at one time, but appears to be
leaking. As such, it no play so well, to put it mildly.

However, if I hold my thumb up to the crack, and "seal" it, what I can
play with just my left hand sounds superb. It has a clear, resonant
tone - better, in fact, than the other Eb that I normally play in
community band.

Last night, I put it in a wood clamp, and applied a thin layer of
super glue over the crack on the inside to see if it would hold. I
haven't tried it yet, but I suspect that once I put it back on the
horn, inserting it on the spindle is going to cause it to expand, thus
re-opening the barrel.

Another solution I had was to put a pipe clamp on it. You know, the
kind you see under your sink. I could wrap it around, and then screw
it down real tight. I'd probably paint such a thing black so it didn't
stand out like a sore thumb.

Given that I only play in community bands (and I'm not even doing that
at the moment), such a solution at least seems somewhat feasible. I'm
not so proud to really care what people think of me, or my instrument.
:)

But my question is - is it possible to fix these kinds of things? How
feasible is it to replace these barrels? This isn't a Buffet
instrument, it's a Cabart, so I'm certain that the manufacturer has
long been lost to time. Can a professional woodworker recreate a
barrel given an appropriate piece of wood to work with?

--
Curtis Bennett

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