 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Bill
Date: 2007-02-14 22:54
Wondering whether it's the low temps here in DC that are causing the F natural/C natural LH pinky key to freeze (opening but no closing action)? One by one it's happening on several of my (FDR-era) clarinets.
I store them (snug in cases) in a cupboard shelf that is up against a north-facing wall. Thinking it's just too cold despite the indoor heating.
Or are all my vinatge pieces just dying at once? Lovely.
Bill.
Bill Fogle
Ellsworth, Maine
(formerly Washington, DC)
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2007-02-14 23:02
This is normal on plastic clarinets if there isn't enough end play between the pillars on long keys (in particular the LH F/C lever), as plastic shrinks in all directions in cold conditions.
On wooden clarinets it's usually keys mounted across the body that bind up (speaker key, all the side keys and the throat A key) as wood shrinks more in width than in length.
Make sure there is some end play between the LH F/C lever and it's pillars while it's cold, not too much though or it may rattle or feel too loose when it's warm.
But in this weather, keep your clarinets in the same room where you're comfortable - clarinets feel the cold as well.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2007-02-14 23:47
Bill -
The wood is shrinking longitudinally from cold and low humidity. Loosen the top and bottom point screws holding the long left low F key by about 1/4 turn. This should let the key move freely. They put some clear nail polish over the heads of the screws to hold them in place.
Put a drop of light oil at the intersections of the key and post. Nye Clock Oil is the standard, but it's whale oil, so you may not want to use it. Also, it goes rancid after about a year. The Doctor has good, non-organic, non-spoiling oil. François Kloc of Buffet uses axle grease, which is much thicker but, he says, doesn't interfere with key movement and doesn't dry out.
Next, get the instruments off the north wall and into a nice, warm place - perhaps on the south wall on a high bookcase shelf.
Finally, get some humidity into them. Wet a sheet of paper towel, squeeze most of the water out, open it out and lay it flat across the interior of the case. Close the case. The next morning, open the case, wet the (now bone-dry) paper again. Keep doing it until the paper doesn't dry out completely, and then stop, as you'll get mold. Then get a humidifier, or, preferably, play the instruments enough to keep them hydrated.
If you continue to have problems, you can have a bit ground off the ends of the point screws, but if this is a problem with instruments that previously played well and, as you say, are well broken in, then you probably won't need to do it.
Good luck. Let us know what happens.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Bill
Date: 2007-02-15 01:55
Thanks for your thoughts/suggestions - very valuable. Funny that on several of my instruments, it's this same lever/key that is feeling the cold.
Bill.
Bill Fogle
Ellsworth, Maine
(formerly Washington, DC)
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2007-02-15 09:41
"If you continue to have problems, you can have a bit ground off the ends of the point screws, but if this is a problem with instruments that previously played well and, as you say, are well broken in, then you probably won't need to do it."
Isn't it better and easier to countersink the ends of the keys slightly deeper(where the points fit)?
This could mean trouble when the clarinet is fully overhauled and all the point screws get taken out to be cleaned and polished (and possibly mixed up), so the screws could end up being put back in different pillars causing sloppy action in one place, and keys binding up somewhere else.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2007-02-15 16:35
I agree about putting your instruments on an inside wall rather than an exterior wall. I have mine in my study on the floor next to my desk rather than in a cabinet where it gets a bit colder than room temp. Wood instruments need more "coddling" than plastic or synthetic due to the reasons mentioned above.
I also keep my guitar on an inside wall and not inside a cabinet during these temps. It's also in an insulated case.
And, when I get ready to practice I put the clarinet together and let it sit in the open room for about 5 min. and then slowly warm it up before diving into my practice session.
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Author: mk
Date: 2007-02-16 03:45
northern exposure is the coldest place you can be....near a window even worse....how about moving to southern exposure without windows!
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Author: Bill
Date: 2007-02-16 12:58
The squad has been safely moved to an inside wall, on a shelf. I need to come up with some type of special climate control for that room, a sort of smaller-scale clarinet museum a la Nick Shackleton (who is missed). My error had been in recalling the advice that a piano is best kept in unheated storage (a piano is also in the room), so I felt the further from the heater the clarinets are, the better.
Washington, DC (a former swamp) enjoys dry, cold winter days. Then, on a single day in May, we awaken to the tropics.
Nothing in between.
Thanks again! Bill.
Bill Fogle
Ellsworth, Maine
(formerly Washington, DC)
Post Edited (2007-02-16 13:10)
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Author: ABerry
Date: 2007-02-16 15:15
Bill,
Another option wood be to purchase "Dampits" for each of your clarinets (I use three in a double case), you can get them in most music stores. I used them extensively when I lived in New England, the humidity there in the winter is about 0%…Now I live in the Pacific Northwest where the humidity in the winter is usually between 70 & 80% and much less in the summer. I remember reading here on the Board; the optimum humidity for wooden clarinets is around 45%. After the clarinets are hydrated you can monitor the humidity level with a digital hygrometer purchased from your local pet store (reptile section). You may find it cheaper on that auction site…
Allan
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2007-02-16 15:42
I also live in the D. C. area. The house humidifier that works pretty well for the ground floor, where my husband keeps his violins, doesn't humidfy the air up here in my attic office adequately, but this space (I know people with walk-in closets bigger than this office) is too small for me to put in a large, commercial humidifier. The solution: I keep a miniature gargoyle water fountain up here. It holds about a pint of water and works with a pump powered by a tiny motor hidden inside. The gargoyle spits the water out of his mouth and it flows over the edge of a shell-shaped top basin into a larger, shell-shaped bottom basin, then recirculates through the pump. That's all I need for this small room. Right now, with the temperature 11 degrees Fahrenheit outside at dawn today, I'm having trouble keeping the humidity at 50 percent anywhere in the house, even with the big humidifier going full blast downstairs, but the attic is no worse than the ground floor.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
Post Edited (2007-02-16 15:43)
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Author: allclarinets
Date: 2007-02-16 21:37
All really good advice!!! I'll just say, from experience, that cold makes any key stick, so good job moving your crew to a different spot. I've blown more hot air and held lighters to key work during marching season than I care to remember and it always returns action to the key.
Good luck with the cold!
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Author: Vytas
Date: 2007-02-17 00:52
allclarinets wrote:
> *** "I'll just say, from experience, that cold makes any key stick, so good job moving your crew to a different spot". *** <
Sorry, but that's BS!
Vytas Krass
Clarinet Repair
Professional clarinet technician
Custom clarinet mouthpiece maker
Former professional clarinet player
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Author: Bill
Date: 2007-02-17 21:44
Room humidifier (and two spare wicks) PURCHASED! $90. But I figure the extravagance is slight compared with the value of the clarinets.
I will say ... the R-13 overhauled by V. Krass came through the drop in temps without any problems That, as they said of Callas, is talent.
Bill.
Bill Fogle
Ellsworth, Maine
(formerly Washington, DC)
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