The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Mrs. Redfern
Date: 2004-12-04 19:36
adding to my problems... my bell, the spawn of satan, has decided it wants to be terribly hard to remove. even with the infinite amounts of cork grease I put on it. Does anyone here live in Escondido, Falbrook, or Riverside county?
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Author: mattahair
Date: 2004-12-04 22:09
Maybe you could try sanding the cork down a little, if it is the cork at all. Hope it's not the tennon on the lower stack.
Cheers!
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2004-12-05 09:01
If the cork is not obviously (to the eye) FAR too thick, and even a trace of cork grease does not enable a tenon to be assembled without jamming, then the problem is 99 % certain NOT to be the cork.
The TIMBER is jamming. A good technician will quickly correct the fit.
This adjustment is required for most new clarinets, at least in relatively humid climates. This situation is better than having the manufacturer make them too loose.
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Author: Terry Stibal
Date: 2004-12-05 17:43
I'd try sanding down the cork; 99% of 'sticking' clarinet assembly problem are due to over-dimensioned corks. Plus, if you take the cork down too far (not unheard of, mind you), you can always have it cheaply and easily replaced. When you sand, take care to remove only the cork, not the material supporting the cork.
I just got done sanding down the cork on my new Selmer G facing bass clarinet mouthpiece and it works like a charm. They are all "oversized" so as to allow "perfect fits" in all styles of bass clarinet necks, not just Selmer ones. I recall the LeBlanc horns as having a slightly larger socket, and without the "thick" OEM cork on same, a new Selmer mouthpiece would not easily be made to fit.
In order to sand tenon-style corks, I use a Dremel motor tool with abrasive drum, and a feather light touch around the entire cork. The Dremel sanding drums will not clog up with cork/grease gunk like a sheet of sandpaper will, and the drum and the tool do all of the work, leaving you to guide the tool in the fine detail manner needed to do it.
Like all other cutting jobs, it's more trouble to remove a little at a time, but you never end up removing too much at once if you follow the "easy does it" approach.
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