 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Clariphant in Bb
Date: 2007-07-05 07:58
I'm terribly sorry for posting two questions in such a short timeframe, but I'm curious about something...
When I first got my Greenline R13, it had a defect in the upper joint. The area of wood (well, plastic) below the cork of the upper tenon had a diameter slightly larger than that of the area above the cork. Because of this, not even the stock barrel could be put on all the way. There was always a distance of about .5mm between the barrel and the upper joint, and trying to force it all the way on would result in binding (and frenzied hair dryer antics......). Unfortunately, being the naive 9th grader I was at the time, I did not exchange the clarinet. Instead, I brought it to my local tech (the best in my area) and asked him to fix it. Again, being naive, I had the tenon "evened out" rather than getting the barrel adjusted. For a time, I used a very tight-fitting Scott barrel, so I didn't even notice a problem. However, after getting the cork thickened to use another barrel, I realized that none of my barrels, not even the stock barrel, could be used without wobbling. As far as I can tell, the tech over-sanded the lower area of the tenon. The cork was definitely thick enough, but the wobble remained.
That brings us to today.
I've used multiple barrels, and I have not had any trouble with squeaking/leaking with any of them. Provided that I can adequately tune by pulling out the mouthpiece rather than the barrel, is the wiggle a problem? I'm planning on getting another barrel soon, and I may find one that's tight enough (but it's unlikely).
If it is a problem, is it possible for a tech to add material (epoxy of some sort?) to the the tenon? Is this something most tech do, or would I have to send it to a "top tier" guy? I've seen posts about using nail polish or superglue for just this purpose, but, my instrument is a greenline, and, I believe the acetone used to remove any accidental drops of these substances from the clarinet body may actually eat through the resin of my instrument as well, so it's not a risk worth taking.
Thanks
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2007-07-05 13:55
Well, for the short time being, you can wrap wax dental floss around the cork on the tenon which will thicken it up and provide a seal.
I don't understand how this could've been a problem though. As far as I know (which admittedly isn't much) the binding takes part in the upper or lower tenon. So there would have been no reason to sand the area where the cork sticks to and therefore the cork should not be any smaller or larger of a diameter. But maybe I'm wrong. I would just assume you need a thicker cork. From past searches and reading, you can take a butter knife, place the blade in boiling water and then gently touch the cork which would expand the cork a bit. Or just have it recorked.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: Chauncey
Date: 2007-07-05 16:40
Just a personal opinion shared - tuning via the mouthpiece creates more problems than solves them
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Author: Clariphant in Bb
Date: 2007-07-06 01:23
Maybe I was ambiguous...
By "the part below the cork" I mean the black area of the tenon that is physically below the cork when the joint is held vertically. I do not mean the part that would be underneath the cork if it was removed. The tenon was slightly conical rather than cylindrical. Now that I think about it, I forget exactly which area was sanded, but the one with a wider diameter was (either above or below the cork), and it was probably sanded too much. My point is that due to the over-sanding, most standard barrels wiggle no matter how thick the cork is. The cork still provides a seal, but the difference in diameter between the sanded area of the tenon and the socket is too great for thick cork alone to get rid of the wiggle. There is a chance that the tech actually shortened the tenon rather than fixing the defect, but, if I remember correctly, he said sanded the area below the cork.
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2007-07-06 10:08
I have seen very well respected repair people wrap the entire tenon with cork to reduce wiggling. I have not tried it, but it might solve your problem.
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Author: RodRubber
Date: 2007-07-06 14:57
i'd wrap the tenon cork with teflon plumbers tape, and put the barrel on to compress it. This will solve the problem, for about 99 cents. This is something i do all of the time. Its not a problem, and don't worry about it
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Author: C2thew
Date: 2007-07-06 17:21
"teflon plumbers tape,"
Bingo.
Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. they are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which was already but too easy to arrive as railroads lead to Boston to New York
-Walden; Henry Thoreau
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2007-07-09 05:36
Where there is a significant wobble of this sort, a solution I have often used very successfully is to make a ring (silver-soldered lap joint) from sterling silver shim of appropriate thickness, , and glue it to around the 'timber' of the offending tenon end(s). I make the ring slightly wider than necessary, so I can form (using a burnisher) the extra metal over into the wall at the end of the cork groove. Or in the case of the open end of the tenon, form it over both ends of that cylinder which constitutes the tenon end.
BTW, with a little carelessness, it is very easy to trim too much timber off a tenon if this is done on a lathe. Perhaps this is indeed what happened in your case. I would be hesitant to get further work done there!
Wrapping with Teflon is indeed an effective makeshift solution.
Other options include:
1. More substantial metal tenon caps.
2. Turn off the present tenon end-ridges and a little more, and make a replacement sleeve unit from polymer or metal.
3. Carry out a complete tenon graft.
3. Build up the missing material, say with superglue & grenadilla dust, or black epoxy, then turn it down to the correct diameter.
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