 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: chazman
Date: 2006-05-04 20:04
Good Afternoon,
I'm seeking out suggestions and professional opinions as to long term storage of wood clarinets. Long term in my mind is defined as 6mo to a year without being played or handled, these would be classic or rare clarinets.
Thank you in advance for your assistance.
Charlie
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Author: crnichols
Date: 2006-05-04 20:33
Keep them in a humidty controlled room, at about 50-60% humidity. I would oil the wood about every three months. It of course depends on what type of wood the instrument is made of, boxwood requires more frequent attention that grenadilla.
Christopher Nichols
1st Infantry Division Band
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Author: stevensfo
Date: 2006-05-04 21:22
Well, we live in a place where the air is bone dry in the winter, then by summer, we have water running down the walls in our basement. My wooden clarinets are just fine. We have a lot of antique wooden furniture as well and they don't seem to show any cracks.
I'm no expert, but I always thought it was sudden changes in humidity and temperature that harmed clarinets, rather than slow climatic variations.
I would have thought old clarinets will already have got used to the yearly changes. Why not just store them safely in their cases?
Steve
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2006-05-04 22:18
If you're parano,err,cautious about the safety and the well-being of your rare instruments, consider renting a drawer in a bank vault. It's cool and reasonably dry down there.
--
Ben
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2006-05-05 11:50
I own several clarinets that I don't play regularly. I make sure to put them away clean and as humid as a normal room, *not* specially humidified, because in Virginia, a humid climate, adding more humidity asks for trouble. I keep all wooden clarinets inside the house in their cases, and I make sure to open every case at least twice a year (I pick New Year's and 4th of July as my checking dates because they're easy to remember) to make sure nothing bad is happening in there. If the clarinet comes in a deteriorated case, I fix it enough for it to close properly, because I've found a lot of dead insects and even some old mouse nests inside garage sale clarinets. Mice will chew into a case if it seems abandoned and it's open enough for the critters to see the prospect of an inviting shelter inside, but mice are wary, and they're likely not to try to move their babies into a space if they smell recent human activity on it.
The clarinets I've bought in the worst condition have come from damp basement or garage storage. Dampness is a far worse cause of deterioration than dryness, in my experience here in Virginia, USA. I've noticed a definite correlation between the remains of orange peels and presence of bugs and mildew: case left too humid inside, with an attractively food-scented item that attracts small wildlife. I've even found a big, fleshy fungus growing inside a yard sale saxophone that must have come from a basement.
Smells are harder to get out of a wooden clarinet than any other instrument. Some of the unplayed clarinets have a stench that would gag a hyena. Thorough washing and Febreze will remove mildew stink from the case liner, and a good exposure to sunlight will kill active mildew, but that smell is hard to remove from the wooden clarinet without doing damage. A clarinet with mold or mildew will need complete repadding and recorking. Better not to let the cvarious kinds of damp damage get started--make sure not to overdo the precautions against drying out.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2006-05-05 12:14
Has anyone ever vacuum sealed each joint up in it's own self sealing bag (then put it all back in the case) for long term storage, or is that going a bit too far?
Would this cause mould, mildew or even rust to form as the joints aren't able to breathe?
And if it was left to dry (but not to dry out completely) before bagging it all up, would this make any difference?
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Author: BobD
Date: 2006-05-05 12:32
Yes, sort of. First I attempt to equalize the moisture content of the sections in the clarinet case along with my own humistats. Then I remove each section and wrap it in Saranwrap or equivalent. I then put the wrapped sections in either a self sealing bag or a plastic "shoebox" type of box. The clarinet case remains empty. My personal experience is that most clarinet cases "steal" moisture from the clarinet wood.
Bob Draznik
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Author: Brent
Date: 2006-05-05 14:21
One thing i might add is to see if you can find some cedar balls, and put one of those in the case to fend off the little crawlies that like to eat the felt of pads. If you use cork and synthetic, it's a moot point, of course, but i hate pulling out a clarinet that was put away in perfectly good condition and having to repad it before playing again.
Don't use mothballs! naptha is pretty nasty and you don't want it in your mouth.
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Author: chazman
Date: 2006-05-05 17:27
Thank you all for your help in this matter.
Let me pain the following picture, perhaps more information will help. I live in the North East and thus have all the seasonal changes in weather. In the house I burn a wood stove in the winter and in turn the house tends to be low in humidity (in the area of 40%).
This past winter I kept in each case a homemade humidor made out of a pill bottle with small holes drilled in it and cosmetic sponge (using only distilled water to keep it moist). This required weekly attendance to refill the bottles, but no cracks or damage resulted. Now this Spring and summer approaching I wanted to raise the humidity content in each clarinet, then oil with almond oil and store. Currently each clarinet is in a zip-lock bag with the home-made humidor. In the next week I plant to oil then store.
Here in lies the question. Do I then restore them back into the zip-lock and re-case or is there an alternative method of storage I should consider?
Thank you again for all your assistance.
Charlie
Post Edited (2006-05-05 17:29)
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2006-05-05 22:10
On a sidenote to this thread, what is good way for longterm storage if you won't be around to check on their humidity and check up on them for the same duration of time (6 mos to a year)
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
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