 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Bill
Date: 2005-04-06 22:31
I just refaced my first mouthpiece. Oh my gosh! It all started because I put a beloved old (totally warped*) 2RV up on eBay, and I closed with the line, "Ten minutes with a piece of sandpaper and this could be your favorite mouthpiece." Of course, I was thinking the 10 minutea and the "sandpaper" would belong to one of our many fine mpc artists out there. Don't try this at home!
Then I got mad and decided it was time, after 12 years of playing, to attempt my first refacing. I canceled the auction and sat down to work yesterday. Today I have a pretty-good sounding "thing." Staccato not a problem!
The 2RV was warped beyond playability. I found one reed that it would blow, and used it throughout the process. I started by drawing the table (both across and lengthwise) across a piece of #600 sandpaper. I played (or attempted to play) following each incremental adjustment. Then I got out the needle files and worked on the curve. That was most of today After I worked my way down to the tip about four times, I worked on the baffle just below the tip. I kept a slight concave on the table by fencing it in with masking tape and using xxxx steel wool.
Well, I took a blank that was designed to play a #4 or #4.5 reed and made it suitable for a #3. But, my God, it sounds good! A bit resistant, but lovely sounding - as much as the Chedevilles sitting around here, or anything else. It's quite flexible.
So - how do you do a "close" facing?!
Bill.
(*Yes, I did indicate in the auction that the facing was unresponsive!)
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Author: Merlin
Date: 2005-04-07 00:07
Bill, you should really get yourself onto the Mouthpiecework group on Yahoo if you want to learn about refacing pieces properly.
#600 is a fairly rough paper - I use that if I want to use a lot of material. My finishing on the table and the facing curve is done with #2000.
Save the needle files for the tip rail and side rails. Facing curves are cut with the paper on a flat surface. I have a granite facing plate for that.
If you want to do repeatable work, get yourself a glass gauge and a set of feeler gauges.
As for closing a facing, the only way to do it is to take more material off the table. After that, you need to lengthen the facing again, unless a shorter facing is desired.
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Author: Bill
Date: 2005-04-07 00:19
Thanks Merlin. I think the idea today was, for the first time, to take something that was truly unplayable and see whether I could actually improve it. The odds were in my favor But I realize what I did was crude by anyone's standards. But it was exciting - and rewarding. I learned for the first time really how to "feel" what I wanted to get - what felt right - and what seemed to play right.
I'll certainly try the finer sandpaper. Do you have a link to that newsgroup?
Bill.
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Author: Merlin
Date: 2005-04-07 03:47
I'm not certain whether it's cool to post URL's on the bulletin board.
However, if you go to my profile, and follow the link to my website, you can link to the mouthpiece group from there.
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2005-04-07 13:18
I have taken to using a waterstone for the last steps of curve shaping.
Using a piece of plate glass with sandpaper glued to the surface will also offer a quick set up, with progressively finer grits at hand.
I find that closing a facing is MUCH more difficult than balancing rails or opening up a tip... taking material off the table is just beyond me.
My advice is to say goodbye to your loved ones, now (if you follow along this slippery slope - the bottom is WAY down there!)...
Still, it's fun to make something of your own that plays.
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2005-04-07 14:46
Beginner's luck -- congratulations, and hope it continues. Be sure to gather up a bunch of old mouthpieces to practice refacing on before you start working on nice ones.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2005-04-07 15:00
Good advice above, I frequently TRY to remove knicks etc from cheap, student mps, using 1200 or 2000 SiC paper/cloth on a very flat surface, and make a polishing "finish" on news-print. I usually take a first light "swipe" of the table alone to ascertain it's flatness, some are BAD! Am fairly successful, quite non-pro, tho. Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Bill
Date: 2005-04-07 23:39
Good advice! But, noooooo, I had to take as my next project my (infamous) Martin Freres "Qualite Superieure" blank that I got from a (very) high-profile seller.
But, wow, the stuff I am sanding off is ... fabulous! Yes, I'm buying up some junk to have fun with.
How Brad B. and Vytas and Terry G. and those people can make something lively-sounding and so focused ... as if I wasn't before, I am now in awe of their skill. Though I really like the resistance I got with what I did.
Thank you!
Bill.
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