 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2004-02-06 07:23
In many posts about keeping new clarinets from cracking, they recommend making sure to swab the bore dry, dry the tenon sockets, and dry the tone holes. How do I dry a tonehole? Just stick a cuetip or pencil/pen in the middle of a swab and push it in the tone hole a few times? And what about those trickier ones like the side trill keys and such? Thanks.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: msroboto
Date: 2004-02-06 13:31
I think you use non-gummed cigarette paper but I'm not 100% sure on that.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2004-02-06 13:51
Yes, the ungummed cig paper is what I use. However, one can make things too dry in this already dry winter weather. Maybe the little bit of moisture in the toneholes is not necessarily bad since it will evaporate soon anyway.
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Author: William
Date: 2004-02-06 14:57
Never worried about the tones holes and never had a clarinet crack. I always swab the bore and tendon sockets--just lucky, maybe.
BTW--you sax players should always take the time to swab your instruments as well--expecially the necks. No cracks to worry about, but just good instrumental hygene.
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Author: John Morton
Date: 2004-02-06 15:32
William sez: you sax players should always take the time to swab your instruments as well
How do you swab a baritone sax? Of for that matter a French horn?
John
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Author: cujo
Date: 2004-02-06 16:48
There is a drying paper made for instruments. It is a little more expensive than cigarette paper but thicker and has no chemicals. Thicker means more drying ability. I have a plastic clarinet and use it to dry my reeds. Very effecticve.
Of course swabbing the bore and other parts dry is for keeping it clean. Also important if you live in cold weather. Its kinda like that full plastic soda bottle left in the freezer too long. Its gonna crack.
Besides keeping it dry you must make sure it is properly oiled. This is very important in reducing cracks. If your playing moisture/spit is going to end up in the bore it will soak in a little. If regularly oiled the moisture has no room to soak in.
I am not sure about the freezing properties of bore oil but I am guessing it is less than water which would mean a well oiled bore would have less chance of cracking in freezing temps.
And for all tone holes, if you have enough bore oil soaked in they should not be a problem. The moisture cannot soak into wood already full of oil so it will dry fairly quickly by itself.
I would just use the paper under pads to keep the pads and tonehole surface dry. Unless well maintained should not need any more worry.
Clarinet woods natural color is brown to light brown. A well oiled bore is very dark brown to black. Never put oil on the outside to make it look better. Put oil inside, it will soak through and eventually turn the right color.
Oh that was not the question
Post Edited (2004-02-06 17:07)
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2004-02-06 17:07
Swabbing a Bari sax involves a foam 'snake' in the crook, and a light dishcloth in the bottom bow.
********
Getting toneholes dry can be managed with slivers of Coffee Filter paper.
It's absorbent, cheap and readily available.
The downside of cotton swabs is lint, which should not be a problem if you're reasonably careful.
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2004-02-06 17:08
And saying you've never had a clarinet crack, regardless of poor hygeine will inevitably anger The Gods.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2004-02-06 17:49
cujo said:
> Besides keeping it dry you must make sure
> it is properly oiled. This is very important
> in reducing cracks.
That has yet to proven true.
Oiling may or may not reduce the possibility of cracking. ...GBK
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Author: hans
Date: 2004-02-08 20:04
Alexi,
After swabbing the bore and drying the joints, I use pad savers to wick out the small amount of remaining moisture because they reach into the tone holes if they are wiggled a little.
Most people don't seem to like pad savers, but they have worked well for me. Chacun a son gout.
I suppose you could use the canned compressed air that they sell for cleaning computers too, for a faster result.
Regards,
Hans
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2004-02-08 22:28
My clarinet does come with pad savers so I'll stuff those in there and let them sit there for a short while. Although I read some posts about pad savers hurting the pads . . . however since I had leather pads installed, I don't think it'll be too much of a problem.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: cujo
Date: 2004-02-08 23:14
Sure use pads savers it will keep the repair people in business.
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Author: c@p
Date: 2004-02-10 03:45
Hans
<I suppose you could use the canned compressed air that they sell for cleaning computers too, for a faster result. >
The compressed air comes out kind of cold. Would that be a problem?
C@p
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Author: Clarence
Date: 2004-02-10 05:17
I wouldn't worry about the water in the tone holes unless it is affecting the performance.
The water will soon dry up.
> I suppose you could use the canned compressed air that they sell for
> cleaning computers too, for a faster result.
Compressed air can damage bladder pads. use caution.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2004-02-10 08:40
It can also blow oil out from the mechanism, putting a thin film over everything, to gather dust.
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Author: hans
Date: 2004-02-10 15:40
C@p: re The compressed air comes out kind of cold. Would that be a problem?
I suppose if you used more than a short burst, which is all it should take to blow out water, it could be. I saw a compressed/canned product last fall that was being sold specifically to dry the inside of woodwinds but have not been back to that store to find out what it consists of. It might have been expensive air.
Concerning blowing oil out from the mechanism and/or damaging pads - I have seen small plastic tubes that fit into the nozzle to direct the air stream so that these potential problems might be avoidable if one needed to blow out a tone hole quickly, like in the middle of a performance. Air pressure high enough to damage a pad is probably great enough to pass through skin too. This represents a potential safety hazard and should be avoided.
IMO the drying paper suggestions in the posts above represent the most practical and safe way to dry tone holes, with low costs. They are no risk to anything, as padsavers can be if they are not used correctly.
Hans
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2004-02-10 22:12
"....Air pressure high enough to damage a pad is probably great enough to pass through skin too."
Although compressed air can TEMPORARILY raise the membrane from the felt of a pad, or enter a hole in a pad to 'explode' it, the most likely damage to a pad is for the air to get behind it and force it from the key cup.
From my personal experiments, compressed air up to 110 psi does no damage to normal skin. This notion is very likely a myth.
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Author: hans
Date: 2004-02-10 23:56
I wish now that I had not brought this up, but I can't let stand the impression that the danger of compressed air is a myth and that it represents no danger when it is, in fact, very dangerous. The compressor in my garage came with clear warnings.
You may want to have a look here: http://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/safety_haz/compressed_air.html
To summarize, it says: ..."compressed air can enter the blood stream through a break in the skin"... "an air bubble in the blood stream is known medically as an embolism"...."embolism can quickly be fatal".
I don't know how much pressure is in the cans - maybe they are safe - but compressed air is not something to play with or underestimate and must be used with great care. Also, children might find a can of compressed air and injure each other with it. Better safe than sorry.
Hans
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2004-02-11 06:36
I wasn't really contemplating squirting it into a wound!
I wonder if there really are documented cases of embulisms caused thus, and what the actual circumstances were..... It seems to me, with my limited knowledge, that a quite extraordinary set of cirmumstances would be necessary for this to happen.
The mains water pressure can be just as high as compressed air, and we do not seem to worry about squirting water on our skin.
Post Edited (2004-02-11 06:48)
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Author: GBK
Date: 2004-02-11 18:38
Pad savers (pad destroyers??) are the equivalent of keeping a wet rag in the bore of your instrument. I seriously doubt that they even make contact with the pads.
Over time the lint from the pad saver sheds into the bore and tone holes.
Kept in the bore for extended periods inhibits air circulation, which can cause moldy pads and a most unpleasant aroma in your case.
Whenever a new student shows up for a lesson with a Pad Saver that mom bought, I immediately suggest that it be returned for either a quality swab or a box of reeds.
A better use for them is to put it by a drafty door or window to stop the air from coming in the room...GBK
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Author: Bennett ★2017
Date: 2004-02-11 20:19
Thanks for your reply. It's funny but I never considered using pad savers
instead of a swab; I've always swabbed first and then put in the pad savers to pick up the residual, particulary around the tone holes which I think the swab might miss.
So not swabbing first is the misuse-never crossed my mind.
As for lint, I must confess I've never seen any.
I've also found them handy mid-performance to quickly dry out the barrel and mouthpiece (gently inserted without taking the reed off).
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