 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: bwilber
Date: 2006-10-31 12:41
I just wanted to let you know my experience with a crystal mouthpiece in case it might help someone else in my situation.
I am addicted to buying clarinets on Ebay and a couple of weeks ago I bought a Selmer Clarion crystal mouthpiece that had a small chip in the tip. I am sure that's why I got it for about $22.00. I didn't see the chip when I bid on it. Anyway, my husband mixed up a small batch of epoxy glue and we filled the chip and I waited a couple of days and then with a small sliver of a emery board, I sanded the glued part until it was smooth with the rest of the opening. I thought that it would play fine after filling the chip, but it played terribly airy. The tenon cork was kind of loose, so I put on a new cork but it still played so airy. I thought, what have I got to lose, I might as well see what I can do with it to improve it so I took a good hard large emery board and started sanding on the face of it. The more I sanded, the better it got, so I kept at it. It took quite a while as the glass is so hard, but eventually, I got it to sounding just great.
My observations: When I started sanding on the table, I noticed that only the sides were touching the emery board and the more I sanded, the more the center was beginning to dull. It sounded airy until I got the entire table dulled. I am sure that until I started sanding on the face, it had never been sanded like this before because it looked just like glass looks, nice and shiney.
My question is: Is this common for mouthpieces to have a dip on the table like this? Did I fix this clarinet or did I ruin it? Thanks.
Bonnie Wilber
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2006-10-31 15:40
Bonnie,
Many mouthpiece makers do indeed build-in an oval concavity in the center of the table. That's what you saw -- it's perfectly acceptable as long as it doesn't extend all the way to either edge or to the lip of the window.
If the mouthpiece is indeed 'sounding just great', then you've answered your own question: you did not ruin the mouthpiece; quite the opposite, you've improved it markedly! Congratulations on a successful glass mouthpiece refacing job --- not an easy task, even for refacers.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Don Berger
Date: 2006-10-31 15:53
Hi Bonnie - If your glass mp plays better than before, you have improved it[not hurt it] . Many mps I've seen and also worked on, have had dips [concave] or rises [convex] areas in their tables, prob. intentional, but at least I cant see why. I make flattening the table my first step in RISKING [poor/mediocre/damaged] mp improvement. When flat, I then may, very carefully, open the tip and lengthen the lay, but I was shown that the better way [even with glass ? DS?] was to use a sheet of fine SiC on a very flat surface, making only a few MILD upward-ending strokes [toward me], play-testing, and with HR/plastics, polishing table and lay on news-print as the finishing step. Needless to say, with alreadygood/expensive mps, asking our pro refacers to do it, with measurements, is the "abundance of caution". Be careful, Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: b.roke
Date: 2006-10-31 21:17
alas this thread came too late for me - i sent my Pom to DS and he has worked his magic. to think i could have done it myself with a nail file!
but then again, it may create even more work for dave as he attempts to make some of these botched attempts play again.
seriously - i like to try new things and this has inspired me to pull out and old no-name that came with one of my purchases and is completely unplayable and at least 40yrs old.
so it's 1 swipe at a time, until.....
steadfastness stands higher than any success
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2006-10-31 21:29
Though Roger might work with a file
his crystal, and scrape for a while,
There's no guarantee good results he would see
so I'd use sandpaper for my first trial!
Start with wet 220 grit silicon-carbide paper, then progressively finer grits (all used wet) of 400, 600, 1000 and 1500. Then you'll have a nice, mirror-smooth table and facing. Same procedure is used for traditional hard-rubber mouthpieces, but they go a lot quicker!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Burt
Date: 2006-11-01 03:04
Can anybody answer the question of whether it is safe to put epoxy into the mouth?
John O'Brien made me a glass mouthpiece many years ago. It played great until I bumped it against the stand.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: BobD
Date: 2006-11-01 11:26
Well, for sure, not before it's cured but after that it probably depends on how old you are. Me....I don't worry about it.....kaff,kaff
Bob Draznik
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
