 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: meijipanda
Date: 2016-05-01 23:12
purchased a new clarinet a few months ago. difficulty in assembling it is that the corks won't go through smoothly,, and the cork grease no matter how much i apply, it doesn't work. not very strong either, is applying baby oil to the corks/tenon fine? new clarinet player.
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Author: GBK
Date: 2016-05-01 23:18
Either the cork is too thick, or the tenons have swollen and need to be adjusted by a tech.
Only use quality cork grease.
...GBK
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Author: kdk
Date: 2016-05-01 23:19
The corks should probably be thinned down a little, but someone who knows what to look for should check and make sure the actual material inside the sockets (wood? plastic?) binding with the outside of the tenon itself. If that's what is happening, no amount of lubricant will help and the joints need to be adjusted by a competent tech.
Karl
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2016-05-02 01:54
If you bought the clarinet from a woodwind specialist, have them refit the tenons (the wood and not the corks) so they fit better and neither bind nor wobble. You should be covered by the warranty as you've only had your clarinet a few month from new so this shouldn't cost you anything to be done.
This is normal with new wooden clarinets and don't attempt to do anything yourself and definitely don't use any oil on them as that will only make things worse and any damage you do will invalidate the warranty.
The tenon rings only need a tiny amount of wood shaved from them with a sharp steel tool (and only removing the high spots) and not sanded down as that can round the tenons off if done badly.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2016-05-02 02:11
Is this a wood clarinet or a plastic one? What brand and model is it?
Karl
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2016-05-02 16:13
Karl's question is an important one -- and so are the variables other people have mentioned. I agree with the advice from GBK and others to have a tech look at this clarinet. Here on the bulleting board, we can't see and feel whether the problem is with the thickness of the corks or with the construction and aging process of the tenons and sockets.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2016-05-02 20:21
Tenon corks are rarely the problem with binding tenons as cork will compress, whereas wood won't.
Plastic clarinets rarely ever suffer with binding tenons as plastic doesn't tend to stick to itself as wood can. But most plastic clarinets have average to poor fitting tenons and sockets anyway.
Ideally tenons should be a perfect fit in their respective sockets without the tenon cork fitted - that only acts as a gasket and also to apply outward pressure to the inside of the socket to keep the joints held together. But due to the nature of wood which will change with the humidity levels, they often bind up when clarinets are new due to the increase in humidity from playing.
So it's always advisable to buy any clarinet from a well respected woodwind specialist with on-site repair facilities so they can carry out any guarantee work such as binding tenons and keys on new instruments as these things will happen early on as the clarinet gets accustomed to being played full time. The maker can only do so much, but if they were to make the tenons a wobbly fit in the sockets, then that isn't ideal where mechanical reliability is paramount as you will want your long Bb to work all the time instead of being temperamental.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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