 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: jonathan.wallaceadams
Date: 2017-04-07 17:42
My keys are getting dirty inside of the rings, so I can't really get the nasty stuff out with my little key brush.
Is this a recommended method of cleaning the instrument? Would it be fine to do and make it easier to oil the bearings (with the screw out,) or is this a "leave it to your tech" sort of thing?
Just an aspiring student.
Buffet Tradition
Mpc.: Hawkins "G", Barrel: Moba, Reeds: Reserve 3.5+
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Author: TomS
Date: 2017-04-07 18:09
A moist cotton swap (maybe with some alcohol) will usually remove the gunk from the key rings. Just a circular motion swabbing the inside of the rings ...
A good, high quality and proper weight key oil will penetrate the pivot screws and suck up into the hinge tubing ... usually. Lubricate keys twice a year, at least. When the instrument is overhauled, the technician can do a more/better clean and lube.
Don't worry too much about a little dirt on the keys, most important is to keep the bore and tone holes clean ... especially the register vent tube.
Haven't tried the Tradition, I hear it is very good ... I am waiting for Greenline version ... I play in bad conditions often and afraid to subject wood to our quirky weather ...
Tom
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Author: Matt74
Date: 2017-04-07 21:09
Keys are usually oiled after they are installed. Technically the hinge rods and pivot screws are bearings, but they aren't referred to as such. Sgt. Dale Barton has some good YouTube videos for the armed forces bands if you are interested.
I would recommend taking it to a tech for cleaning. Owners can disassemble and reassemble, but you need to know what you are doing. Things can get bent, screws mixed up, put together too tight/too loose, etc. The tolerances are extremely small.
- Matthew Simington
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Author: kdk
Date: 2017-04-07 21:10
jonathan.wallaceadams wrote:
> Is this a recommended method of cleaning the instrument? Would
> it be fine to do and make it easier to oil the bearings (with
> the screw out,) or is this a "leave it to your tech" sort of
> thing?
>
It's a "leave it to your tech" thing if you don't think you can get the keys back where they started. Removing keys and putting them back should be routine for an experienced player. You may be better off not taking all the keys off at once, but there are a couple of them that are buried under parts of other keys, so you have to take them off together.
Karl
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Author: Ursa
Date: 2017-04-07 23:23
Another possibility: Go to any store selling school supplies and pick up an package of brushes in assorted shapes and thicknesses sold for use with kids' watercolour sets. You will likely find brushes in that set that work better for cleaning your clarinet than the one brush you have now. Once you do, go to a craft store and get better quality brushes of the same shapes and firmnesses.
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Author: John Peacock
Date: 2017-04-07 23:43
I'd say a degree of competence in removing keys is a skill worth having. At the most basic level, you can do cleaning and polishing, then move to glueing back bits of cork that fall off, before graduating to pad replacement. None of these things are very hard to do yourself; and if you try and don't get good results and end up going to a pro repairer, you haven't lost anything - and your skill will improve with practice.
The only golden rule is never do anything that damages the screw heads: if you strip them, that is a huge (and expensive) pain to get sorted. So make sure you have a range of appropriate screwdrivers (get a set of jewellers screwdrivers - easily found cheaply online). Pick one that fits well (don't use too small a head), and don't use too much force. If the screw doesn't turn easily, apply a drop of light oil and leave it overnight.
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2017-04-08 04:03
Just a comment on John's post.
Cheap screwdrivers can also be nasty screwdrivers.
It is very important in avoiding damage to screw slots that the shape of the very tip should be accurate, ideally hollow ground, so that the full force of the torque applied is spread correctly on the whole side of the screw slot.
Jeweller's screwdrivers can be a handy emergency thing to carry in your kit, but for the safe removal of screws, especially stubborn ones, a decent screwdriver with a longer shaft and good handgrip is essential.
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Author: MichaelW
Date: 2017-04-08 15:39
Attachment: Schraubendreher.jpg (123k)
For removing keys I also don't use the little scewdrivers supplied with the instruments or the cheap "jeweller screwdriver sets: "...a decent screwdriver with a longer shaft and good handgrip is essential", and: "...the shape of the very tip should be accurate". Take at least two better quality screwdrivers with blades of different width and grind the tips to an exact fit in width and thickness. Be careful not to round the edges (see photo).
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Author: Matt74
Date: 2017-04-09 03:09
I think a player should be able to dissassemble a clarinet. It's just that if you aren't 100% confident, it might be better to take it to a good tech. If you mess something up it can be fixed, but it's more delicate than you might realize. That said, most horns are in lousy adjustment anyhow.
- Matthew Simington
Post Edited (2017-04-09 03:15)
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Author: fskelley
Date: 2017-04-09 05:18
There is a good use for otherwise worthless $10 clarinets, especially those already having broken tenons or keys or other obvious damage. You can't hurt it any worse than it already is*, so you can try anything you want on it. The only risk I see (other than poking yourself with a needle spring) is that maybe, just maybe, it really is a valuable old wonderful clarinet (that does happen)- so do make sure your dud is really a dud before trashing it further.
*That reminded me of Johnny Carson and Ed Ames. No, I'm not telling that story here.
Stan in Orlando
EWI 4000S with modifications
Post Edited (2017-04-09 05:22)
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2017-04-09 19:57
I've been cleaning tone holes and around keys on my instruments for maybe six years, removing the keys to do so. Keep track of the pieces and what goes where - it's not rocket science (but not quite dirt simple either.) Work over a table or bench, not out in air over the floor or your lap, so you can recover well from drops. You'll learn about the needle springs.
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Author: pewd
Date: 2017-04-10 04:59
A spring hook is a good idea. Feree's Tools or Music Medic.
I use Wiha screwdrivers. A 2.0 mm one works for most clarinet keys. Occasionally I need a 1.8 mm one.
I take mine apart every 12 months or so, and polish all the keys with a polish cloth treated for silver plated keys (any music store). You can also get treated cloths for nickel plated instruments.
A good quality key oil is a must. I use the Doctor's Products oil, in a needle tip oiler. Pipe cleaners come in handy as well, for cleaning out the old oil from key tubes. Qtips are handy for removing gunk from tone holes.
Have a teacher or experienced player show you how to do this the first time or two.
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: shmuelyosef
Date: 2017-08-27 22:36
Question about screwdrivers. I have a good collection of Wiha screwdrivers, and the work great for saxophones, which are mainly what I work on. I'm getting an increase in clarinet repairs and occasional repads, and find that blades on my 2.0mm Wihas are too thick for the slots in many clarinet screws. The Wiha blades are also really hard...making filing them impossible. I have hesitated to take a Dremel to the tip. Curious what the clarinet techs here do for these narrow slotted screws?
Post Edited (2017-08-29 03:44)
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2017-08-27 22:52
How often or regularly do you have your clarinet serviced?
If you're unsure about removing keys, then leave it to your repairer when it goes in for its annual service.
In the meantime, you can use a cotton bud (Q-tip) to clean the tonehole chimneys and thumb tube out with so dirt doesn't build up in them.
If you have good mechanical reasoning/aptitude, then and only then should you learn to take things apart, but under guidance from a repairer for a while to be sure you're doing things correctly.
With clarinets, certain keys have to come off before you can remove others and then assembled in the reverse order. You also have to be aware that pads are easily punctured by both needle springs and point screws, as well as screwdrivers and spring hooks. So pay absolute attention to what you're doing.
. . . . . . .
With narrow slotted rod screws, I have a special machine cutter which cuts and depths the slots in all rod screws so they're the same. I do this as a matter of course on all clarinets, especially ones with really narrow or shallow slots (as well as on sax and oboe rod screws if they're really narrow or resemble a scratch and not a slot). For point screws I use a junior hacksaw to cut a decent slot in the heads if they're too thin or shallow.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2017-08-29 06:59
When horns are new such as your wonderful Tradition I would really and seriously considered having it serviced NOW. I'd spend the money to have it cleaned and serviced. I promise you that your clarinet leaks. Every new Buffet leaks. Also some rods are grinding.
Sounds silly perhaps but when horns are pretty new is when they need the most work. Rods grinding really bugs me and and a lot of the top manufactures all have a few rods that grind. The keys freeze. I can't actually think of a single company where I haven't had an issue with. Even Backun's and the top Buffet's. I also like to address the spring tension on some of the keys, which are too light and don't pop. The spring tension really needs to feel good when playing scales for hours and hours. The tension must feel so sweet.
Someone said that repairmen usually put oil on the screws and rods after they have been screwed in. This is often standard practice. BUT with new horns or horns that haven't been serviced in years the rods and screws can actually be pretty gummed up and even frozen, hard to remove the screws and rods. This is so annoying. We've all read about people stripping a screw trying to remove it because it is frozen. Saxophones are so much worse. Well when you finally get the screws and rods off you have to lightly oil the rods to free up the keys. If this doesn't works you can try 2000 or 3000 grit sandpaper to get rid of the ridges and smooth off the rods. 3000 grit is more of a polishing sandpaper. It's also hard to find. I tend to like marine oil simply because it doesn't freeze up if the players neglect their horns. I've noticed that this oil will last about twice as long as anything on the market. It doesn't really ever gum up. If there is play and chatter you can try using teflon. This really works great and stops any wear.
Anyway, get the clarinet serviced and it will feel even better. A good repairman will seal all of the pads, adjust the spring tension, get rid of any wobbles in the joints and any play in the keys. Then you are probably set for about 2 years. Just follow what the people above wrote.
Once all of this is done you will really love your horn. Also consider having it tuned, but make sure you are happy with the barrel you have. If you have your horn tuned and then change barrels you may have to have the horn redone.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2017-08-30 17:28
If you decide to take a clarinet apart make sure you place the keys in the proper order as you take them off so you can put them back in the proper order. Don't do what i did as a student because I had to put the left over key in box and take it to my tech to put back together. :-). very embarrassing but taught me a lesson.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2017-08-30 22:22
Ed, you remind me of one of my initial key removal efforts. After realizing I couldn't finish putting things back together, I had to take things apart again and ponder the problem, with another clarinet in hand for comparison. Over time my yearly hole cleanings have gotten a little easier - I don't poke myself with needle springs as often now. But it's still not a hurry up job.
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Author: jonathan.wallaceadams
Date: 2017-08-31 07:04
Wow, thanks for all of the advice everybody!
1. I've had this clarinet for six months now. I haven't sent it in for adjustment yet. Is this an issue?
2. What do I do if I send my clarinet off to get serviced and can't practice?
3. Bob, how much would a would instrument adjustment and tuning be, (like a general price range?)
4. Does anybody know any great technicians in central Texas?
Thanks for all of the information, again, I always learn so much when I post on the Board.
Just an aspiring student.
Buffet Tradition
Mpc.: Hawkins "G", Barrel: Moba, Reeds: Reserve 3.5+
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