 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: eac
Date: 2008-08-25 15:55
My dad says one of his lower joint pads is sticking to the wood. He's concerned that the pad will tear. Cleaning it with water and dilute hydrogen peroxide hasn't help. Storing it with a piece of Kleenex keeps it from sticking but doesn't solve teh problem He's in a small town with no music tech. He can take off the key and inspect the wood but is open to any feedback. Any ideas? Thanks for you input!
Liz Leckey
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2008-08-25 16:39
You mean, it is not permanently sticking but is rather making that crackling noise when operated?
Things that helped in the past:
- wet a corner of a clearn cotton hanky and draw it between pad and hole (gently close the pad). This helps against sugar-related (soda!) stickiness.
- using a lighter, gently warm a knife (eating tool) blade and iron the pad. This helps against wrinkled pad skin
If, upon closer examination, the pad appears to be torn, there's no way around replacing it. (which isn't too difficult).
There might not be a music store around, but is there a community orchestra or a school nearby that has a competent player experienced in pad repair?
I'm not a fan of powder paper as they tend to be short-time remedies only, just like baby powder on toddlers' butts.
A dollar bill has a similar effect and certainly is worth a shot.
--
Ben
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Author: pewd
Date: 2008-08-25 17:31
this usually indiacates a problem with the pad...
its probably time to replace the pad - so you'll need a trip to a town with a repair shop
my experience has been that the other measures mentioned above are just temporary - you'll need to replace the pad for a permanent fix
hth
paul
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: eac
Date: 2008-08-25 21:12
Thanks for the information. Sounds like he needs to replace the pad, a job he has done before. Very helpful to have some input from those who have been done this road before.
Liz Leckey
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2008-08-26 06:58
Talc or the Yamaha papers sometimes work great, and sometimes not. Cleaning the pad and/or the tone hole might fix it permanently but maybe not. Replacing the pad might fix it but not necessarily. It all depends on why exactly it's sticking. I once had a repairer replace a non-sticking pad on my clarinet and the new pad was sticking from the start. Replacing the pad and cleaning the tone hole would most likely fix it though.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2008-08-26 12:43
Is it bore oil that has seeped along the tone hole to the tone hole face (and pad)?
If so, lightly drag tissue paper damp with lighter fluid from under the pad.
Or powder paper may work.
You can make your own powder paper, by rubbing talcum powder into a paper strip, then shaking off all visible traces.
Does he smoke? Tar wrecks pads.
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Author: redwine
Date: 2008-08-26 13:53
Hello,
I've had a sticking pad on my e-flat clarinet in the past. As a temporary fix, I took a sharp pencil, and coated the wood with graphite (this can be done in a boring rehearsal, without removing the key). This stopped the sticking!
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: John O'Janpa
Date: 2008-08-26 14:32
Closing the pad on a dollar bill, and dragging the bill through as a relatively gentle abrasive, will sometimes clean the "crud" causing the sticking off the pad and the seat. Worth a try.
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Author: William
Date: 2008-08-26 15:00
Two quick "emergency" fixes are: 1) dollar bill inserted between closed pad and tone hole, then gently pulled out; 2) powder (I've used old board chalk) placed on a piece of paper inserted under the pad and closed.
Neither of these remedies will be permanent, however, as it is almost futile to completely clean all of the gunk off freeing the pad from future sticking. The only good solution is to replace the pad and have the tone hole cleaned. Quick and usually inexpensive--can be done in the repair shoppe or by your band director (they ALL should know how to change a pad) or at home if you know how and have the right size replacement.
bty--a ten dollar bill is no more effective than a dollar bill (and not worth that much anymore :>)
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Author: mrn
Date: 2008-08-26 15:09
All this talk about sticky pads reminds me of a funny story. When I was in junior high school I played alto sax in our school jazz band. One day I had a terrible time with a sticky pad on my sax (sax pads stick the worst IMHO), so I tried using some Selmer "No Stick," which basically does the same thing as talcum powder (probably is talcum powder, for all I know), except the stuff comes in one of those little white containers like they sell valve oil in.
Well, I had some trouble getting the stuff out of the container, so I gave it a squeeze and wound up squeezing too much out. Now if this had been my clarinet, it would have simply fallen out the bottom--no big deal. But this was an alto sax, so all the excess collected at the bottom of the instrument, like the trap on a kitchen sink. In all my eighth-grade wisdom, though, I was not thinking about this.
So next thing you know, I'm standing up to play a solo. When the song's over, the director comes up to me with a smile on her face and tells me, "You were really smokin' on that solo---literally!" Sure enough, I had a plume of white No Stick "smoke" coming out of the bell of my sax!
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