 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: AS
Date: 2008-04-11 21:00
When I bought a second hand Leblanc clarinet a while ago, the putting the horn together was a bit on the hard side. Not that much, but since I had no idea about the level of care by the previous owner I decided to take care myself.
So I ordered "Doctor Slick" and a small "Bore Doctor".
"Bore Doctor" worked wonders. When I bought the clarinet the bore looked greyish dull. It took over a month and about 3/4 of the small "Bore Doctor" bottle for the bore to shine nearly as new. Now it looks like the "Bore Doctor" can be put away for a while.
Different story about the "Doctor Slick" though. First result was fantastic. Assembling was easy but firm enough at the same time, alltogether making assembling just perfect. After few days or perhaps a week the cork seemed to have dried out even more than it was before the first greasing. Assembling became veeery tough, much tougher than before the first greasing. Greased again. In about a week the same thing happened again. Now I am greasing regularly every other week. Without greasing the cork becomes so dry that I am even afraid to damage tenons while assembling. Before the first greasing I used the clarinet for about two month without such symptoms.
I am not sure if my clarinet finds the "Doctor Slick" so delicious that it got addicted and can't live without it, or the corks must be replaced, or another possibility should be considered? Any ideas about a theraphy against the additction?
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Author: bmcgar ★2017
Date: 2008-04-11 21:08
If you only grease your corks once a week, this will happen, regardless of what grease you use.
You need to use cork grease nearly every time you assemble the instrument.
B
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Author: AS
Date: 2008-04-11 21:25
Thanks for reply. It seemed strange because, as I said, before greasing, the assembly was a bit on the hard side, but nothing extraordinary. Without any greasing at all.
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Author: Avie
Date: 2008-04-11 22:01
IMO I would apply the amount of cork grease to shoot for a light press fit on the corks while the clarinet is warming up. I may have to lightly sand. You have to be cautious not to remove too much cork because the joints will loosen as the clarinet cools.
The obtimum result is to be able to disassemble all joints without putting a lot of force on the cork and tenons while still maintaining a perfect seal.
Your corks will last for years if treated with care.
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2008-04-11 23:25
> If you only grease your corks once a week, this will happen, regardless of
> what grease you use.
Huh? I grease maybe once a week, or before I put the instrument away for longer periods.
--
Ben
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Author: Iceland clarinet
Date: 2008-04-11 23:41
I had to crease almost every time I put my clarinet together and the cork was very dark. Now after about a year with the Doctor's slick my cork isn't as dark as it used to be and I only have to put it on every other week. I think I might though need to get the Doctor's cork life to get it more like new.
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Author: cigleris
Date: 2008-04-11 23:43
You know I only grease my tenon joints every month or so. I've had no problems with them in the the 6/7 years i've had my instruments. I was the same on my 1010s before that and they never had a problem and they were older than I was ![[whoa]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie10.gif) . I suppose it's to do with the different climate here in Blighty.
Peter Cigleris
Post Edited (2008-04-11 23:44)
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Author: C2thew
Date: 2008-04-11 23:44
put some bore oil on the cork to prevent the cork from getting brittle. you don't have to put much, just let the cork absorb some oil so that it can let loose some of that friction addiction that cork gets when it's dry.
Cork life just extracts the impurities of the cork to well.... make the cork new.
remember: chemicals fight chemicals, physical fights physical.
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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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2008-04-12 06:38
"If you only grease your corks once a week, this will happen, regardless of what grease you use.
You need to use cork grease nearly every time you assemble the instrument."
Sorry, but that is definitely not true. If you have to do this the cork is probably too thick. I add cork grease every time it feels too hard to assemble without. This is usually every couple of weeks or more. I never have this problem even if I don't grease for longer than that.
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Author: redwine
Date: 2008-04-12 12:16
Hello,
The beautiful thing about the Doctor's Products cork grease is that it uses all natural products and is not "grease" at all.
Grease will break cork down over time, so using a product such as the Doctor's grease will extend the life of your cork. Cork is a renewable resource, so the environmental impact of replacing cork a lot is not so heavy, but it certainly is better to have your cork leak or disentegrate less frequently, from a practice/performance standpoint.
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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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2008-04-12 19:12
Dry cork is a mild abrasive, every time you assemble dry joints you grind a small amount from your socket and after some time the socket enlarges and becomes a poor fit i.e. wobbly joint, especially centre one. No amount of cork thickness will properly compensate for this and repair is expensive.
A smooth but firm fit is surely the players ideal. I use a VERY small amount of grease virtually every time I assemble the clarinet, I last renewed the corks over 25 years ago and my tenons still fit perfectly.
For most of my playing life I made my own grease (tallow, beeswax, wool- fat) but for past 4 or so years used Dr Slick which works well.
I repair woodwind instruments and every week see the results of poor cork care.
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Author: Fred
Date: 2008-04-13 21:23
I think clarnibass got to the root of the issue. The issue is cork thickness and the amount the cork needs to be compressed in order to assemble the clarinet. The more compression you need to achieve, the more cork grease you are going to need.
That being said, be very careful about sanding cork yourself. Yes, you can do it. But if you get overzealous and sand the wood on your tenon, you're not going to be very happy with the results. And it's easy to make that mistake . . .
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