The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Laur
Date: 2000-08-08 14:51
Hey -
Yeah, as you know i'm the kid w/ the swollen clarinet.. well.. is there anyway to take the bell off without cutting the wood ?! Please help !! I mean besides getting a fitted case......
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Author: Bill
Date: 2000-08-08 15:28
Run hot-hot water in your bathroom sick and place a thick towel over the sink so all of the steam is conserved. Hold the joint and bell (but preferably not that much of key section) in the steam for some time.
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Author: Bob Gardner
Date: 2000-08-08 15:56
Give it time. Maybe it will settle down. I would never cut the wood. I would rather live with it togeather then having to cut.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2000-08-08 16:39
I believe we had a go-round on stuck joints not too long back, make a search. As I recall, some of our repair-techs gave excellent, care-taking advice. Don
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Author: William
Date: 2000-08-08 17:04
What did you do??? Put the bell on with a pile driver? No, do not resort to the "hacksaw" method and cut the wood to get the bell off or buy an expensive "fitted" case. Try the steam trick and if that doesn't work, fing a repair shop--the minor cost of removing the bell "professionally" will be well worth saving the clarinet. The wood around the tendon probably needs adjustment (sanding) to prevent it from sticking again and the repairperson can also easily do that in a matter of minutes. From then on, the words are CORKGREASE and SWABBING. Good luck.
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2000-08-08 21:17
Laur wrote:
-------------------------------
Hey -
Yeah, as you know i'm the kid w/ the swollen clarinet.. well.. is there anyway to take the bell off without cutting the wood ?! Please help !! I mean besides getting a fitted case......
Laur -
Take the instrument to a repair shop. NOW. They won't charge much. They can find and fix what's wrong. They have special equipment. They have know-how. If they break it, they'll have to replace it.
If your instrument is made of wood, leaving the bell on forever is an excellent way to crack the bottom tenon. The wood is very thin there and can't take too much pressure. Even if it's plastic, it can still crack.
There's nothing you can do that a repair shop can't do just as well, and a lot of things that have been suggested can cause the instrument to crack.
Even an inexpensive clarinet needs good care.
Good luck.
Ken Shaw
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Author: J. Butler
Date: 2000-08-08 22:13
STEAM? I think it needs to dry out, not swell. I'd find the place in the house that was the least humid and circulate air around it. I've been chastised on this one before (and please,I don't want to hear about it again either),but it does work IF you are bound and determined NOT to get to a repair shop. Put the lower joint and bell in the freezer (only self defrosting type because they keep the humidty out) for about 10 min and check it. Does it come off? If not put it in for another 10 min and check again. Only do this for 30 min max. If it doesn't come off after that take it to the Pro's. You should definately take to the shop after it comes off to have the tenon/socket fixed so that it doesn't recur. I almost bet it's an Evette.
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Author: Dee
Date: 2000-08-08 22:35
Laur, it's now Tuesday. GO TO YOUR REPAIR TECHNICIAN.
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Author: Craig1
Date: 2000-08-08 23:06
Would putting it in the refrigerater for a short time to perhaps shrink it a little work? PLEASE DON'T DO IT UNLESS OTHER PEOPLE THINK THAT IT MIGHT WORK WITHOUT HURTING YOUR CLARINET. I've already loosened the bell on my clarinet by twisting it with the aid of 2 rubber bottle cap removers.
Good luck.
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Author: Laur
Date: 2000-08-08 23:07
Dee -
It's been at the repair man since Sunday morning ! Belive me, I'm not messing with it. It was up to me, whether I wanted to cut it or not. - I was just seeing if there is any way beside cutting the wood to help ~ sorry for asking !
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Author: J. Butler
Date: 2000-08-08 23:13
I'm sure your tech is talking about taking some of the wood off the tenon area AFTER the bell has been removed. This is a common practice although some take the wood out of the socket area instead. If this is not the case take it to a different repair shop.
J. Butler
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2000-08-09 07:31
If the repair shop is saying that cutting the clarinet away from the bell is the only way to fix the problem you're at the wrong repair shop. That's not your fault.
Even though they might have forgotten and typed it that way, I would hope no one really means to SOUND LIKE THEY'RE YELLING AT YOU, when all you did was ask for some help on a bulletin board.
But yeah, find a new tech.
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Author: Dee
Date: 2000-08-09 22:24
Laur,
You will get much better answers to your questions if you provide complete information in your request. You had never indicated that you had already dropped it off at the technician's or just exactly what his/her recommendation was. So of course a person gets a bit irritated when it appears as if you were going to personally undertake a rather radical methods of removing the bell.
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