 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Reformed
Date: 2021-12-14 17:37
One of the things that I have noticed about prewar Boosey and Hawkes 1010s is that there are recesses in the body for any key that hits/bumps the clarinet body. I can only speak for later 1010s, ~33000 and up, so post ~1937.
On the instruments that I have seen, the recesses are all filled in with something like shellac and bumper corks, felts, etc are glued to the keys in the "normal" way.
B&H did not cut recesses on any post-war instruments that I have seen.
I have cleaned out the holes in a few cases and fitted cork to the recesses for the RH ring key and for LH little finger levers. This seems to work well.
This raises a few questions to me:
- Do I have this completely wrong?
- Did any other makers do likewise?
- Is this an old technique that was dropped?
- Did players/repairers prefer the glued approach?
Personally, I'd prefer something that cannot become unglued and drop off, but appreciate that final adjustments to a cork with sandpaper would seriously risk scratching the body work, so final adjustment requires key removal.
Any thoughts?
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2021-12-14 18:04
B&H normally used ridiculously thick key corks on their clarinets, all glued to the keys and not set into slots or blind holes in the bodies - I haven't seen any that have them cut directly under where the keys are on any B&H clarinets (Regent through to 1010 and the various stencil models) from the '50s right through to the end of production.
There are some clarinets where some bumper corks (or other type of synthetic silencing materials) are set into blind holes milled into the joint. You'll see this on the lower joints on Buffets from the mid/late '80s onwards where they fit cork or black rubber bumpers for the RH E/B key and the LH F/C lever. Considering the tiny surface area of the linkage arm on the E/B key to glue a small square of silencing material to, having a 4mm diameter bumper set into the body will ensure it remains in place. Toscas have them for the RH rings so the adjusting screw to set the main action venting has a disc of something set into a blind hole directly under it.
Also on Selmers since the Prologue where they'd have black synthetic bumpers for the speaker key, throat A key and maybe some others as well.
To minimise the risk of scratching anything, you can either select the correct thickness silencing material and then glue it in and if it is still too thick (and if you've used cork), then trim it with a sharp razor blade instead of sanding it.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2021-12-15 15:59
Neither method is really better than the other.
The recessed corks pretty much never fall off, but regular corks almost never fall off if glued properly.
On the other hand, the recessed corks are much more annoying to remove and they need removing pretty often, since some clarinets use some kind of neoprene in them, which becomes sticky. The material itself becomes sticky so cleaning both sides works for a very short time.
I don't remember what Buffet is using (the 1999 clarinet I have here has cork and it's original) but Selmer top models use the neoprene.
Post Edited (2021-12-16 09:27)
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Author: Reformed
Date: 2021-12-16 12:58
Thanks for the comments.
I thought I would do a couple of the recesses properly, as opposed to stuffing a bit of rough cork that I had done previously. So I bought some hollow hole punches to make the bullets.
I replaced the stuck on bumper on the LH 1st finger A key.
Cleaning out the recess, the filling is less brittle than shellac and easy to remove.
The recess measures 3mm in diameter, about 2.9mm deep. So I needed something like a 5mm bullet.
Not having any 5mm cork sheet, I glued some 2mm and 3mm together.
A 3mm bullet was a bit loose, a 3.5mm has a nice secure press fit and will be easy enough to remove but will not fall out.
The very tip of the touchpiece meets the middle of the cork bullet. An elegant solution and easier for an amateur repairer (like me) to quickly produce something reliable and neat.
Of course, this particular example is slightly theoretical, because the final stop is the G# key touchpiece which has a glued cork and a screwed in pillar.
All of the recessed body corks that I have tried seem to be very quiet, including the LH levers. I thought of glueing some felt on top but it is not necessary.
Working on the 1938 1010 is an incredible delight compared to the 1978 one I recently purchased recently from an auction site. A real shame that the craftsmanship was lost.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2021-12-16 20:20
Attachment: P1010021.JPG (693k)
I use tech cork for these stoppers and punch out the appropriate diameter plug using a dermal punch or a punch that rotates anticlockwise as you push the handle down which can be found on eBay for around £5 with several cutters.
On Buffets where they have the stoppers for the RH E/B key, I use tech cork faced with ultrasuede to make sure it's quiet.
And talking of the quality of B&H instruments going downhill where you said "A real shame that the craftsmanship was lost", I've only just overhauled this mid '50s Emperor (which is in essence the same thing as an Edgware except for the bell logo) and all the pad cups were at different angles and set heights which made repadding it fun. But not fun as in a 'Ha-ha' way.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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