 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2004-01-08 00:49
I'm playing my secondary clarinet until my new one arrives to my house, but the other night I was checking over my screws, tightening what had loosened, when I discovered my thumbrest was very very loose. So I tightened the first screw fine, but when I tried to tighten the other, it kept spinning. I guess the hole in the wood has been worn down so it doesn't offer any grip anymore. The problem is, I like my thumbrest the way it is (not inverted), and where it is! What am I to do? Once again, it's not THAT much of an emergency since this will end up being a second to my new [insert make/model here].
Alexi
PS - Don't turn into a thread asking about my new clarinet. I'm going to post about it once I recieve it, and possibly a new mouthpiece. So I'll be able to talk about a whole new "setup" in one post and not have it buried within some random post. (I figure it'll help those searchers when they look for particular brands of clarinets.)
US Army Japan Band
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2004-01-08 00:54
sfalexi wrote:
> What am I to do? Once
> again, it's not THAT much of an emergency since this will end
> up being a second to my new [insert make/model here].
It's a trivial fix for a competent woodworker (fill, drill & retap).
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2004-01-08 00:56
So I won't have to move it or shell out money for an adjustable? That's a relief. Didn't think that they could fill and redrill it. Thanks Mark.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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Author: Mark Pinner
Date: 2004-01-08 02:03
Ferree's alsoo make over sized thumb rest screws for this sort of occurence. Any repairer should be able to fix the problem.
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Author: JMcAulay
Date: 2004-01-08 10:20
For a less-than-2ยข repair: A properly-sized splinter (tiny) inserted in the hole can reduce its size enough so the screw can "bite" again. Do be careful not to apply so much pressure the wood splits. Ouch!
Regards,
John
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Author: BobD
Date: 2004-01-08 14:47
If you have no intention of easy removal in the future you can fill the oversize hole with epoxy, insert the screw and let it sit overnight. Or,for easy removal...an old woodworkers fix is to tamp in some steel wool,place the thumbrest and screw in the screw. If it does not hold at first you haven't tamped in enough steel wool. The old toothpick trick works too.
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Author: Avie
Date: 2004-01-09 23:20
Along with the other good suggestions I would probably go to a hardware store and buy an appropriate type of wood filler and insert the screw. Its simple and I have had good success with it on kitchen cabinet hinges, etc.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2004-01-09 23:59
I would be wary of using the splinter in the hole method. It is fine with soft timbers, where the screw capably compresses or cuts into the timber or splinter, but IMHO, in grenadilla screw holes need to be threaded with a tap to avoid sever forces tending to split the timber, or break the head off a soft-metal screw.
The epoxy method is OK if there is still a LITTLE purchase of the threads. leave the other screw out until the epoxy is set, and when driving the screw into the epoxied hole, press firmly down on the head of the screw, so that the rest is brought firmly to the timber without the screw being relied upon to do this. If there is no purchase at all then the method is likely to be unreliable, because if there is any wobble of the rest against the timber, there is greater chance of the screw hole again being damaged.
Many of the screws used to hold thumb rests have ridiculously few turns of thread gripping in the timber. The fix I normally use is to drill and thread (special tap required) the hole deeper, and use a longer, slightly larger diameter screw. Our suppliers supply one, but an even better one is a "valve guide screw" for a Yamaha flugel horn. I came across this part by accident, without even knowing what a flugel horn is.
Countersinking the screw hole a little further into the rest can improve the set-up in some situations.
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