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 Clarinet stuck together
Author: thamesfamily 
Date:   2007-11-28 00:19

Hi, my daughter apparently did not use her cork grease for several days and now her pieces are stuck together. Please help! If anyone knows anything to loosen them up please reply. The pieces are her mouthpiece and the next little piece. (I'm not sure of the terminology [huh] )
Thank you for any and all suggestions.



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 Re: Clarinet stuck together
Author: DAVE 
Date:   2007-11-28 00:38

Is it a new wood clarinet?

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 Re: Clarinet stuck together
Author: Taylor Marino 
Date:   2007-11-28 00:44





Post Edited (2010-05-25 02:51)

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 Re: Clarinet stuck together
Author: thamesfamily 
Date:   2007-11-28 00:58

No it is three years old.

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 Re: Clarinet stuck together
Author: thamesfamily 
Date:   2007-11-28 01:01

Thanks I'll try to wait it out.

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 Re: Clarinet stuck together
Author: hans 
Date:   2007-11-28 02:35

thamesfamily,

It's not necessarily because your daughter didn't use cork grease. I've had this happen in spite of using cork grease every time.
If it won't come unstuck a repair tech can separate the pieces for you.

Hans

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 Re: Clarinet stuck together
Author: susieray 
Date:   2007-11-28 03:51

Sometimes you can loosen the mouthpiece by rocking it back
and forth rather than trying to twist it. I've gotten a lot of stuck
mouthpieces out that way. Sometimes you have to work at
it for awhile though. Good luck!

Sue



Post Edited (2007-11-28 03:53)

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 Re: Clarinet stuck together
Author: Wes 
Date:   2007-11-28 04:17

It could be best to see a good repair person on this. I've loosened stuck clarinet joints by inserting a single edge razor blade in the crack between the joints very carefully, not denting the wood and then rocking the joint to carefully pry the joints apart. The blade can be moved around the crack to all sides, rocking gently. Eventually, it comes apart. Perhaps the tenon has expanded a little and needs to be lightly sanded all around so that this doesn't happen again. Good luck!

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 Re: Clarinet stuck together
Author: C2thew 
Date:   2007-11-28 05:54

rock it, but don't over rock otherwise you might snap the joint off, or damage the barrel.

just wiggle and pull.

Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. they are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which was already but too easy to arrive as railroads lead to Boston to New York
-Walden; Henry Thoreau

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 Re: Clarinet stuck together
Author: buedsma 
Date:   2007-11-28 08:45

just play the clarinet for between one and two hours so that everything is wet again. You'll be able to pull the pieces apart ( maybe some cork lost )

YOu should always disassemble right after playing , otherwise this kind of situation can arise

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 Re: Clarinet stuck together
Author: Tobin 
Date:   2007-11-28 12:31

Rather importantly, we still haven't heard if this is a wooden clarinet!

Gnothi Seauton

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 Re: Clarinet stuck together
Author: claritoot26 
Date:   2007-11-28 13:25

Stick it in the fridge and try to pull it apart every 30 minutes. The cold will help the swelling go down. Before playing again, let the instrument warm up to room temperature. Also sand the mouthpiece cork down so it's an easier fit.

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 Re: Clarinet stuck together
Author: redwine 
Date:   2007-11-28 21:25

Hello,

The wood in the tenon may be the culprit too, not just the cork. I would recommend taking it to a technician, having them pull it apart, then have them sand the tenon joint, if that is what is necessary.

Ben Redwine, DMA
owner, RJ Music Group
Assistant Professor, The Catholic University of America
Selmer Paris artist
www.rjmusicgroup.com
www.redwinejazz.com
www.reedwizard.com



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 Re: Clarinet stuck together
Author: Bob Phillips 
Date:   2007-11-29 01:12

OH, don't put a wooden instrument in a refrigerator. differential thermal expansion causes thermal stresses that can/will crack the instrument.

Bob Phillips

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 Re: Clarinet stuck together
Author: skygardener 
Date:   2007-11-29 04:42

take the pieces and hold one in each hand and firmly rock the pieces in opposite directions (if you are putting force that would turn the mouthpiece clockwise, put force that would turn the barrel counter). You may want to wear garden gloves that are leather or rubber because this may take several minutes. Once I had this problem on a plastic clarinet- it took about 8 minutes of constant turning to get it off. There is truely no situation in world of clarinet problems that 2 things are truely touching and there is nothing between them. There may only be microns of space, but this is still enough to work.
However, you should have someone sand down the tenon (of the mouthpiece) or the tenon reciever so that this does not happen again. So, you will have to go to a repair person to do that... and if you go that far, then you might as well have them do the whole job.

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 Re: Clarinet stuck together
Author: claritoot26 
Date:   2007-11-29 14:18

Yeah, I had to get my bell removed by a professional recently. Would only come off after sitting on ice for a little while, though. Had to get both the cork and wood tenon filed down a bit. Do get the repair tech to do it. Good luck.

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 Re: Clarinet stuck together
Author: Jack Kissinger 
Date:   2007-11-29 16:26

I think a repair tech is the best solution. But, if one isn't readily available and you really feel a need to separate the two parts, a trick I was taught was to run moderately hot tap water around the top part of the barrel before rocking. It causes the barrel to expand and, because the water is being applied to the outside, the barrel expands more than the mouthpiece, which it insulates somewhat (and, yes, the inner diameter of the barrel will increase). Try to keep the stream of water on the barrel and off the mouthpiece as much as possible. Hot water can discolor a hard rubber mouthpiece.

Best regards,
jnk

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 Re: Clarinet stuck together
Author: D 
Date:   2007-11-30 16:52

It is possible to have too much cork grease or the wrong sort of cork crease. Although if she has confessed then you've already identified the source of the problem!

Anyway, if she isn't looking after it properly, confiscate it and start playing yourself.



Post Edited (2007-11-30 19:59)

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 Re: Clarinet stuck together
Author: C2thew 
Date:   2007-11-30 17:03

did you manage to get the clarinet unstuck?

Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. they are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which was already but too easy to arrive as railroads lead to Boston to New York
-Walden; Henry Thoreau

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 Re: Clarinet stuck together
Author: Gordon (NZ) 
Date:   2007-12-01 13:43

As a technician, I've freed many stuck joints.

Approach 1. Simply get a stronger person to twist them apart. It almost never fails.

Approach 2. Rock the mouthpiece until a knife blade, or razor blade, or other thin shim can be placed in the gap (even paper or hard cardboard). Then rock it the other way until a slightly thicker shim can be inserted. Keep alternating sides,with increasingly thicker 'shims'. After a mm or two, Use approach 1 again.

Then ascertain the cause, and deal with it. Here you may need a technician.

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 Re: Clarinet stuck together
Author: joeyscl 
Date:   2007-12-03 19:02

haha... yes, Bring it to a technician, WHo Could have possible thought of that!? :O

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 Re: Clarinet stuck together
Author: DavidBlumberg 
Date:   2007-12-03 19:10

A student of mine once tried to get his undone with a butter knife.

Operative word is "tried"......

Big gouge in his upper joint from it (wooden clarinet).

Happened before he studied with me, and probably never used cork grease before then.

http://www.SkypeClarinetLessons.com


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 Re: Clarinet stuck together
Author: EuGeneSee 
Date:   2007-12-04 02:26

My old Pourcelle Albert was kept for heaven-only-knows-how-long in the attic in one of those terrible long skinny "one-piece" cases . . . I got all apart except the bell is stuck to the LJ. As thin as that bottom tenon is, I was afraid to try rocking it. So, I just sent it off to DS (alas, he thinks I am mean to him!) Eu

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 Re: Clarinet stuck together
Author: Gordon (NZ) 
Date:   2007-12-04 12:25

"A student of mine once tried to get his undone with a butter knife. Operative word is "tried"...... Big gouge in his upper joint from it (wooden clarinet)."

Butter knife may be very useful, but only if the rocking technique is used.

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