 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: choey
Date: 2005-01-08 19:52
i live in the very western part of the state of washington (an hour away from seattle), and it's very cold out here.
the room is also cold, as it the heating system has almost no effect. now every time i take out my clarinet, the F key gets stuck. seems like it's frozen. but if i warm it up a bit with the heater, a couple of minutes later it'll be okay.
but it's only for the F key. others are fine. i'm not sure what'd be causing it. maybe the "spring" thing for the E key is not forceful enough? it's perfectly fine after heating it up, but i was wondering whether there was something i could do to fix it so it doesn't get stuck like all the other keys.
thanks.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2005-01-08 20:11
Isn't that the Steuben clarinet you recently bought?
You might try taking it in to get looked at, but be aware that many techs will not work on Taiwanese instruments...GBK
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Author: choey
Date: 2005-01-08 20:16
actually i bought it like 1.5 years ago but yeah that's the clarinet.
yeah i souldn't try to mess with it since i don't know the mechanism and stuff. i hope it's no big deal to the "health" of the clarinet that it gets stuck when cold.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2005-01-08 20:27
When the instrument gets cold, the metal of the key shrinks a little, but the plastic shrinks a lot more. This causes the key to jam between either the posts, or the pivot point screws, as the case may be.
If it is the former, then the key may need shortening a whisker. A job for a technician.
If it is the latter, and the screws are of the headless type, you could try backing off one or both of the pivot screws perhaps an 1.8 of a turn.
If it is the latter and the screw is of the headed type, it is really a job for a technician. The above may still work, but other problems may be introduced, including the possibility that the screw works its way out and gets lost.
This problem does not occur with the other keys because they have not been made to such a tight fit between the mountings.
There are also other possible causes, such as an inappropriate lubricant that becomes gooey when it is cold, or the rings - if you are indeed talking about the low ring key - jamming on the tone holes.
Post Edited (2005-01-08 20:28)
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Author: ron b
Date: 2005-01-08 22:22
If it's the thumb F ring, that's pretty easy for almost anyone to tinker with. I suspect, as Gordon suggests, the lubricant has gummed things up. Take the screw out - the key will 'fall' out almost by itself. Wipe any oil or gum off completely. Clean the tube hinge (pipe cleaner works well). Reassemble. If it works better, you might put drop of key oil (thin stuff) on the screw.
Never use 3-in-1 oil for instrument keys, it will gum things... b-a-d.
- r![[cool]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/cool.gif) n b -
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Author: Contra
Date: 2005-01-09 00:31
Mine used to do that horribly after I left it in the van all weekend at around 30 degree fahrenheit temperatures. After a bit of coaxing, it would stop sticking.
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Author: Vicky
Date: 2005-01-09 01:09
Mine would stick as well, and the problem with it was the cork where the two keys meet. My lesson teacher somehow made the cork straight again because it got a gap where the keys met.
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Author: Vytas
Date: 2005-01-09 01:18
This instrument is like a cheap watch. When battery is gone you throw it out.
Get yourself a decent instrument.
Vytas
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Author: ron b
Date: 2005-01-09 05:30
Some people can't afford a cheap watch, much less a clarinet. Any help we can give someone, it seems to me, should be given in humble appreciation that they, whoever they may be, are at all interested in playing music these days.
- ron b -
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2005-01-09 07:27
Instruments are not like cheap watches.
Simple faults such as this can easily be economically corrected, Making the instrument ever better than it was when it was new.
Be assured, this fault is VERY easy for any good technician to quickly correct.
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