The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: wjk
Date: 2002-12-28 21:47
A repair person recently replaced several pads on a clarinet of mine and noted that they were attached with a black shellac. He commented that this shellac was more commonly used for saxophone pads. Is there any problem using this shellac for clarinet pads? Will it affect tone or pad longevity? Thanks.
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Author: ron b
Date: 2002-12-28 23:01
*Black* shellac? Black shellac sounds like furniture repair shellac - the kind with lots of pigment in it. I believe the heavily pigmented colors(including black) used for furniture (scratch repair) don't have the same 'holding properties' that regular repair suppliers' shellac does. Most repair shops use cream or white French cement for clarinets. Your repairperson is correct; clear or amber (brown) shellac is commonly used for saxes. The (amber or clear) sax pad shellac will also work for clarinet pads and some repairers feel it makes a stronger bond than French cement. However, it's not something they spend any time disagreeing over
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Author: Wes
Date: 2002-12-29 22:04
The white shellac commonly used in the past by manufacturers seems to melt quicker so I prefer the brown shellac for clarinet, oboe, flute, and sax pads. Many modern makers use hot glue, probably because it speeds up production. Some, such as Selmer, don't seem to use enough of it for their new saxes, resulting in insecure pad fit to the toneholes. Good luck.
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Author: ron b
Date: 2002-12-30 19:55
Well, of course maybe it "Shouldn't", 'anonymous', but, as Wes says... it does :|
Re-read his post.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2003-01-05 05:43
Some pad adhesives (my mind goes to the cheese-like substance that Le Blanc used for years) are poor indeed.
However pads falling out has more to do with the WAY an adhesive is used, providing the adhesive is reasonably sticky.
I have recently changed from cream shellac to a glue stick for clarinets, but only because the higer 'model' (same make) of pad I am now often using seems to have a coating on the cardboard &/or membrane that adheres poorly to shellac.
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