 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: barry
Date: 1999-12-31 23:41
After a couple of hours playing, the barrel and bell of my Buffet-Crampon RC get stuck to the instrument as though held by glue. I do not want to force it apart for fear of damaging the keywork. if I wait several hours, the clarinet will usually loosen up enough to take it apart. My repairman says the instrument is a beautiful fit, and that nothing needs to be done to it. And I always use cork grease before assembling. So does anyone have ideas about how to take apart a stuck clarinet?
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Author: Lori
Date: 2000-01-01 00:08
Barry-
My barrel once got stuck the same way- and a friend who does some repairs suggested putting it in the fridge (!) I was worried about the upper middle joint, so I put a sock over the keywork and carefully placed it in the refrigerator. And voila, a few hours later I was able to pull off the barrel.
Good luck.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-01-01 00:15
Barry,
The instrument should never be so tight that it can't be disassembled. You're just asking for trouble - either a crack or accidentally bending or misaligning of keys.
Your repairperson probably doesn't know exactly how stubborn it is, since by the time you get the clarinet to them it's in fine shape. Try telling them that it's <b>really</b> impossible to disassemble. There needs to be a smidgen of cork or wood removed.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2000-01-01 04:31
I agree with Mark, particularly re: the tenon wood, which with moisture may expand enough to bind. I had this experience which was solved by minor and very careful sanding of the tenon ends by an expert repairperson!! Don
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Author: ron
Date: 2000-01-01 06:37
Barry,
Personally, I'd visit another repair person.
Lori,
I'd be very reluctant about trying the fridge method. You run the risk of a too-quick change in temperature causing worse problems than a stubborn cork. The way you describe it sounds like a temporary fix until you can get it to a tech who'll probably do as Mark and Don suggest and make a better fit for a minimal, if any, charge.
Happy 2000!
Ron
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Author: Lelia
Date: 2000-01-01 14:37
Sounds as though you have two separate problems: the tenon is corked too tightly and the repair technician won't listen. I've had that second problem with some people over the years and have found that it helps to adapt my speaking style to their listening style. Some people throw up a wall when they hear emotional language. They don't want to hear about other people's problems and may fail to hear the entire message while they're blocking out the content that bothers them. If you used phrases such as, "I'm afraid that if I pull too hard, I'll damage the clarinet," try again with a Mr. Spock "just the facts" approach: "The joint will not separate immediately when I finish a practice session. It will separate only after X amount of time and only with a lot of force." Keep the pitch of your voice low and even.
Other people react differently. Been there done that -- Nothing gets through to them unless there's a sense of urgency or crisis. If you already gave a dry recital of facts and that didn't work, then try the emotional approach. Raise the pitch of your voice a little bit, move your hands to show how you tried to force the joint apart (exaggerate the movement, to give the idea of applying excess force that could do damage), sound worried and be sure to use words like "worried" and "scared".
I know this probably sounds like psycho-babble, but it actually works -- sometimes. Somebody who really doesn't want to listen nohow, no way, ain't gonna. Hope this helps--
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Author: TeaPea
Date: 2000-01-01 20:19
I'm having the same problem now. I was able to take it apart the first couple times but now it's stuck. Went through past post and someone said the CORK is suppossed to compress but seems the opposite has happened to me.
Possible reasons?:
1)I live in Southern California and it started raining about the same time I had trouble taking the thing apart.
2)I had been playing it for several hours and hadn't swabbed it when I set it down for a while to eat dinner. Didn't know I had to 'till I read some past post. Now I know.
The mouthpiece is also stuck. I am able to seperate middle connection. I'll wait a couple days and if it don't shape up I'll take it in.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-01-01 20:41
TeaPea - you need to take it in soon. It won't get better.
Your guess about the weather is most probably correct. Humidity will cause the wood to expand just a bit - making the outside diameter of the tenon larger, and the inside diameter of the socket smaller. Playing makes the wood expand just a tiny bit more (due to warmth and humidity. The forces generated by the expanding wood are much more than you'd expect, even if the movement is tiny.
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Author: Rick2
Date: 2000-01-01 20:47
Yes, take it in. I have the opposite problem here in Arizona, the humidity is about 20% and my wood shrinks to the point that my bands become loose and fall off. Can't do much about it because if I tighten it, I am asking for a crack during monsoon season.
For me, I would always try sanding down the cork before I let anybody remove any wood. The cork can be easily replaced, the tenon wood, not so easily.
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Author: TeaPea
Date: 2000-01-01 21:15
Ok, wait a sec. Being that it rarely rains here in Southern Cali (it's usually desert like, not as hot though) wouldn't it be better to leave it be and wait for this freak weather to pass? Before this rain it seemed the fit was perfect. I have a plastic Clarinet by the way.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-01-01 21:52
TeaPea - not a good idea. It'll happen again, and the chance for damage during disassembly is too high.
Also, you may travel to a festival or such, and the weather may be different. My son had a problem with the barrel not going on all the way when he was at a camp, and couldn't tune with the orchestra properly until it got fixed (great way to get singled out by Joann Falleta :^( ). It's best to get it fixed while the problem is occuring. Remember - you can't swab out the clarinet's sockets when this is happening, either.
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Author: Dee
Date: 2000-01-01 22:10
TeaPea wrote:
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Ok, wait a sec. Being that it rarely rains here in Southern Cali (it's usually desert like, not as hot though) wouldn't it be better to leave it be and wait for this freak weather to pass? Before this rain it seemed the fit was perfect. I have a plastic Clarinet by the way.
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Then it does seem to be the the cork and it is best to have a technician sand a little off. The cork probably won't shrink back down when the weather dries up. And the moisture from playing probably would have caused the cork to swell a bit sooner or later even in a dry climate.
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Author: TeaPea
Date: 2000-01-01 22:50
I haven't disassembled it since it became difficult. Haven't tried forcing it or anything. Just placed it on a soft pillow somewhere where it can't get messed with. Should I stop playing it 'till I take it in? Is it possible it could swell so much that it could crack the clarinet from the inside by just handleing it?
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-01-01 22:52
TeaPea, since it's plastic you'll most probably be OK. I'm not sure I'd play it until it got fixed - more moisture might make it tighter, and your repair person would have an even harder time getting it apart.
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Author: TeaPea
Date: 2000-01-02 03:48
Bummer. The place doesn't open 'till Tuesday. I guess they'll give me a replacement while it's in there being that I'm doing the return option (rental) thing. Still, two whole days. It ain't right, even with this cheap plastic Vito, I'm missing that sweet sound... )*:
thanks all...
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Author: Kontragirl
Date: 2000-01-02 20:36
I know this girl who left her wooden clarinet assembled in her band locker. She was getting ready to dissasmble it and was surprised when the barrel didn't come off. She just got it back from the local guy that repairs the instruments, along with a lecture about leaving it together.
That was kind of a pointless story, but while she was panicing, people were telling her what to do, "put it in the fridge" and "let ME fix it" were the two bad answers that I can remember. Why anyone would leave a wooden clarinet together (or any clarinet for that matter) for a week is beyond me. She also had a huge crack in her barrel from the last time she left it together. So if I were you I would do one more checks for cracks.
Another thing, is I don't know how old you are, but us high schoolers can accomplish a lot with the puppy dog eyes at the repair shop (I really want to practice, but I can't because my instrument is broken) It's cheap, but it works...I mean it's true! Well, when it's the contra it's true for me.
One last thing, I have the opposite question with my little plastic squaker. When it gets cold, the cork loosens and the bottom half of the instrument gets really loose and sometimes I have to catch it before it hits the ground. It that just the way it is or is there something I can do. When it's warm, it's fine.
This has been a long pointless post from Kontragirl. Have a nice day.
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Author: Dee
Date: 2000-01-02 20:50
Kontragirl wrote:
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... One last thing, I have the opposite question with my little plastic squaker. When it gets cold, the cork loosens and the bottom half of the instrument gets really loose and sometimes I have to catch it before it hits the ground. It that just the way it is or is there something I can do. When it's warm, it's fine.
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Sounds like your cork is a hair undersized then. It may be time for a new cork. However the new cork may swell at first and need a little sanding if it does.
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Author: Kontragirl
Date: 2000-01-03 00:13
Thanks, that's what I figured...especially since I put my clarinet together right after I posted that to see if it was loose when it was nice and warm. It's a little loose, so I'll be taking it in sooner or later. It doesn't affect the tone quality or anything, so maybe I'll just order some cork and do it myself.
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Author: barry
Date: 2000-01-04 19:11
Will follow your good advice and take clarinet back to the technician. But today, the bell is an easy fit and the barrrel is even perhaps a wee bit loose. Wonder if it is anything to do with the hurricane we had here (in Paris) a few days ago.
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Author: Roger Merriam
Date: 2000-01-05 11:44
Many, many years ago (I was in grammar school) I had a joint that was too loose on my clarinet. The band director (who was a trombone player) put a match to the cork to make it expand. It fixed the problem.
Mark and Others:
Is this a viable solution as a temporary fix for a cork that is too loose?
I doubt I would do it on my R-13---but again he was dealing with a cheap student clarient (wood).
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-01-05 12:12
Roger,
Heating the cork isn't so temporary - I did it to my clarinet a year or so ago because of a loose cork in the middle joint. However, I didn't use a match. I heated up a knife blade on the kitchen stove, put a couple of drops of water on the cork, and then ran the side of the (very hot) knife blade around the cork.
The cork's still going strong.
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Author: Kontragirl
Date: 2000-01-05 12:31
That sounds like the perfect solution to my problem...although I'm not really coordinated when it comes to holding fire. Would using a candle instead of a match work? If not, I guess I be going though the silverware drawer.
Kontragirl
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2000-01-05 15:44
Yes, heating is a well known solution to a loose tenon cork. I would suggest [as KG said]using a low flame candle or alcohol lamp so as to not overheat or burn! I usually put on a new cork, or an overlay of very thin cork [if time and circumstance permits!] . Don
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