The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Debashis
Date: 2024-01-24 02:43
Been doing repair projects for about a year now, and been wondering about this: why do we bevel tenon corks when we install them? In theory, wouldn't leaving the ends thinner cause wobble near the inner race when the joints are connected?
Post Edited (2024-01-24 02:52)
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2024-01-24 03:21
I tend to make them barrel shaped rather than having bevelled edges and left flat in the middle. It's done so there's no square leading edges that will catch on the ends of the sockets during assembly which will tear out chunks from the cork or rip the cork away from the tenon slot.
Tenons should ideally be a wobble-free fit in their sockets even without the tenon cork fitted and the tenon cork is providing an airtight seal and also exerting an outward force on the inside of the socket to keep the joints held in place.
This is especially vital on the centre joint as you don't want any wobble or rocking there to ensure the long Bb will always remain in regulation as well as for the whole instrument to physically feel solid during playing.
You can always leave the tenon cork square edged nearest the tenon shoulder, but the free end always has to be thinned down to create a ramp to make assembly easy and risk free.
The bevelled overlapping joint on one end of the strip of cork is a must as that provides an airtight joint. Some so-called repairers prefer to butt the ends of the cork strip instead of using an overlapping joint, but they're just inept and their tenon corks (or sax crook corks) leak and fail.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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