 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-04-18 00:51
Peter Spriggs has been ever so kind and allowed me to publish an excerpt from his care book on the break-in of a new wood clarinet. You can find it at:
<A href=http://www.sneezy.org/clarinet/Equipment/Care/Break-in.html><B>http://www.sneezy.org/clarinet/Equipment/Care/Break-in.html</B></A>.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2000-04-18 14:55
Mark - thanks for the citation. I think that one important point in this piece is to maintain the proper moisture balance in the wood. We are indeed lucky that our clarinets are made out such a stong and durable wood or we would have many more problems with cracking. Oiling the bore with many of the bore oils on the market (which are mostly mineral oil) does keep the bore from soaking up too much moisture - actually little or no moisture at all! The ideal situation is to treat the bore (my opinion) with a mixture of natural oils, antioxidants and stabilizers which allow the controlled absorption and desorption of moisture. Some elongated chain oils actually clog the pores of the wood and allow no moisture transfer (this might be fine for Arizona - dry inside and out but not so great for moist climates). I have done some experiments on a raw Grenadilla wood board - one area untreated, one area oiled twice with mineral oil, and one area treated twice with an exacting mixture(proportions are important to control water absorption) of sweet almond oil, olive oil, lemon oil, vitE,emulsion agents, and stabilizers. Applying similar amounts of water (containing a UV fluorescent compound) to each panel and allowing it to soak in for 1 hour. Under UV light the untreated panel had soaked up all the water and glowed pretty evenly, the mineral oiled panel still had droplets of water standing and areas of intense water absorption (where no oil had penetrated) and areas of no water absorption, and the natural oil treated panel had a slight but uniform glow but with droplets of unabsorbed water indicating the ability to absorb some moisture but not soaking the wood. I'll be glad to E-mail a photo of the experiment to any interested.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Don Berger
Date: 2000-04-18 19:32
Good for you, L O H, this is a subject needing research as you are doing. Bear in mind that, with significant results from the mixtures you are using, you will be an inventor and you likely could obtain patent protection for possible commercialization purposes. It might be a good idea to make detailed record of what you do and the results, signed and dated by you and "Read and Understood by" a knowledgable person and dated, and consult a patent attorney [not just a group who makes "models" and "contacts the industry"] in regard to filing an application in the USPO. Don't give away much info before you have written record [as above] so as to avoid "interference" proceedings in the future. Luck, Don
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2000-04-18 21:07
Dear Don:
Thanks for the encouragement. Patents work is in progress, and I like you are "from Missouri" and need to see the proof, and others like Paul will make me prove it in absolutely controlled experiments (as he should) which have also been done. Too bad that I have a "day job" that takes me away from such interesting work (now if I would only spend as much time practicing my clarinet I would be further along in that area too!).
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Beejay
Date: 2000-04-18 21:12
When I picked up my new Buffet Crampon a year ago, the only advice I got from my repair technician was to swab regularly and to leave everything well alone -- ie, no oil on the wood, and no cleaning materials on the keys. He said there was no particular reason to break modern instruments in slowly, provided they are kept dry.So I've been playing the thing pretty regularly an hour or so a day ever since. So far, touch wood, I've had no problems although I do live in a fairly damp climate.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: L. Omar Henderson
Date: 2000-04-19 00:04
Only speaking from my own experience - and I know that we all hate anecdotal stories (Mark does anyway)- I made the plunge about four months ago a bought a top of the line Buffet and have observed it very carefully ever since. Now, Buffet has a long and well deserved history in clarinet making but I observed that without treatment that the interior of the bore of top joint just below the barrel lost its sheen, turned a slightly more brownish color and felt damp to the touch (of my pinky there inserted into) from all the moisture entering there even after swabbing and a drying period. I applied some treatment to the bore, the sheen reappeared and the wood no longer felt damp to the touch. Will this water absorption cause cracks - maybe, maybe not -I guess that it depends on your particular piece of wood and the stresses that it can endure before cracking. Again, I believe in preventative maintence and from contacting museum conservators and caretakers of midevil wood artifacts, - they all say to keep wood exposed to a damp environment treated (oiled - natural or synthetic your choice). Another anecdotal story -I chose my horn from a batch of 5 in a sequential series (from a local shop that came close in price to the mailorder houses) and the repair technician reported (after returning it for some tight fitting joints - ob. cit. the previous posts on the subject) that 2 had been returned for cracks in the upper section (gladly replaced promptly by Buffet). Knock on wood - mine is fine.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: paul
Date: 2000-04-20 19:18
Well folks, I think I may not have made too much of a mistake very lightly oiling my recent vintage Buffet premium pro grade horn every few months. The maximum amount of pure Vitamin E enriched sweet almond oid that I applied with Q tips and an old swab rag was never more than 5 drops, including "painting" the bore for a preferential water drainage path. I oiled the outside and the inside, being extremely careful to use just the slightest tip of the Qtip cotton stick-swab around the pads. I have since dropped the oiling routine, and from what information I can gather, the small amount of oiling poses no harm to my horn.
However, one thing I do miss is the extremely careful study of my horn from tip to toe to make sure everything is exactly perfect. Not that anything changed on my horn, but I felt it helped me "bond" with it. At least now I deeply understand my horn's mechanics and nuances of feel, response, solidness and delicateness at the same time.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
