 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: jez
Date: 2003-02-13 16:12
The most common cause of key noise on my clarinets comes from the left little-finger low E and F# keys where a small metal rod from the touch-piece fits into a hole in the lower cross-piece.
I've taken to attempting to quiet this myself in between visits to my technician and have tried PTFE tape and simple cling-film, which seems to work better. This seems pretty crude and I wonder if anyone can suggest anything better.
I think on modern Buffets this link is made with a nylon bush but on my old Yamahas it's metal; there must have been something covering it initially but that's gone years ago and I don't know what it was.
I seem to remember that in the old days this link was not interlocked like this but was just the 2 parts touching, separated by cork. What was wrong with that? It was less fiddly.
'Why don't I ask my tech what he does?' I hear you ask.
He has a fixed pricing policy on jobs.
Standard rate for work. £.....
Rate if you want to watch.......plus 25%
Rate if you've had a go yourself.....plus 50%
jez
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2003-02-13 16:49
jez -
The traditional material used to cover the metal nibs is called goldbeater's skin, a/k/a fish skin. No fish are involved. It's the peritoneum membrane from a cow, pig or sheep, which is a very thin, tough layer that covers the viscera and keeps them from rolling around. At any rate, it's ideal for the purpose of quieting the keys. I have a piece I got from a repair shop years ago, and I cut new bits from it from time to time. I'm sure Ferree's stocks it.
People have said that plumber's Teflon tape also works.
In U.S. repair shops, the sign says:
Repairs $5
If you watch, $10
If you help, $15
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Ray
Date: 2003-02-13 20:15
I have used polyethylene (Br. polythene) from some small plastic bag or another. You can find bags in a variety of thicknesses which allows you to choose the snuggest fit.
For an R13, I cut a circle of plastic film 9mm in diameter. That's the hardest part. Put a dab of cork grease or something like that on the end of the pin and touch the sticky pin to the center of the plastic disk to pick it up. Carefully insert the disk and pin into the hole. Voila. The film is molded around the pin and disappears into the hole for a neat job.
I haven't had plastic disks on my clarinets for long enough to know, but I think they will last a long time.
If the action is still noisy even with the correct thickness of plastic disk in place you may also have a loose fit at the pivot screws of the keys (not the levers).
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2003-02-13 21:27
Oh, and by the way, the other sign says:
Answers - $5
Correct Answers - $10
Dumb looks are still free.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2003-02-14 03:31
Goldbeaters skin... If you don't have any, just take it form an old pad. Cut a rectangle about 4 x 6 mm. Contact glue is good for holding it securely on the pin and contributing to the silencing.
Or use sausage skin. Is that the same as goldbeater (when it is not synthetic?)
Goldbeater is tougher than any other plastic film I have tried or seen that is flexible enough. As soon as the film is punctured at the point of contact it loses much of its silencing effect.
Goldbeater is typically about 0.02 mm thick. When there is sufficient clearance around the pin I use spinnaker cloth, as used for the yachts in the "Americas Cup" yacht racing currently being held here on the waters of Auckland. This is an extremely tough, flexible, synthetic fabric with an extremely fine weave - only 0.06 mm (0.0024") thick. Superb! And I had no trouble obtaining it here in "The City of Sails". Ah - a benefit in living here!
Because of the geometry of the system, with the locus of th pin's receptacle being an arc in a plane at right angles to the plane of motion of th pin, a certain degree of sloppiness is needed either in the pin linkage or in the pivot of the lever (that the pin is part of.)
If the pin does not line up central to its respective hole, thus binding the linkage, it can be tricky to correct. It has become clear to me that some shoddy technicians simply loosen the key's pivot screw to allow the key some freedom to align. This seriously affects the reliability of the left finger fingering for mid-staff B. And adds a lot of noise to the operation of the mechanism.
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Author: graham
Date: 2003-02-14 08:24
The older simpler linkage you refer to is the Boosey & Hawkes design. The pin system you have now has been used by other makers for a very long time. For example my Martels (which predate any Boosey & Hawkes clarinet) is the pin design.
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2003-02-14 12:06
Another method involves shrink fit insulation from electronics or teflon tubing. This involves three steps;
Get the size that will fit over the pin in place.
Apply heat to shrink the material to size.
Adjust the receiving linkage large enough to accept the covering.
(This requires filing, carefully.)
If you intend to keep the clarinet for your lifetime, this method really works over the long haul. With annual application of cork grease, the linkage should remain quiet.
Me, I use the cut pad method mentioned above. Whenever I perform an overhaul the raw material is at hand.
Use a little cork grease to apply the skin to the receiver end, it will hold things in place during assembly.
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