 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: BandieSF
Date: 2009-01-20 23:42
I was putting my clarinet together to practice today and found what looked like it might be a crack in my barrel. It was a thin line that I would've otherwise dismissed as the grain had it not been for the fact that the line didn't follow the grain. It goes down about half the length of the barrel. The barrel is a Buffet Moennig and is about 10 months old now (will be a year in mid-March).
What should I look for to determine if this is a crack in the wood? And if it is indeed a crack, would it be worth it to repair it or should I just get a new barrel?
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Current set-up:
Classical:
Strength 4 1/4 Legere Signature Series
Vandoren M13 Lyre
Jazz:
Strength 3 3/4 Legere Quebec
Pomarico Jazz*
Clarinets:
Buffet E11 Student Model
Buffet R13 Greenline
<http://operationhighschool.blogspot.com
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Author: jparrette
Date: 2009-01-21 03:41
Put your mouth over the crack and suck on it. If you get air through it, it's cracked.
The best you could do to repair it is fill the gap with superglue, the thinner the better. It might take a few applications. The big orange and blue home improvement stores have a good variety of CA (cyanoacrylate) glues.
It's certainly not worth paying a repair tech to fix - the barrel isn't worth what the bill would be. Just glue it yourself, as neatly as you can.
Good luck,
John
John Parrette
CLARION MUSICAL SERVICES
john@clarionmusical.com
914-805-3388
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2009-01-21 04:48
>> Put your mouth over the crack and suck on it. If you get air through it, it's cracked. <<
And if air doesn't get through, it could still be a crack.
>> It's certainly not worth paying a repair tech to fix <<
With most repairs, including this one, some people can really mess up (not using the actual word I usually would....) and I wouldn't blindly recommend doing that yourself.
Since it's just filling with glue (unless there is some unusual unpredicable thing) this repair shouldn't really cost that much. It's a Buffet Moenig barrel and although I don't know the economy and repair prices in the area where Bandie is from, I can't imagine being so high to not be worth it.
Bandie, I would say it's worth repairing, but you say it's ten months old. Do you not have something like let's say a one year warrenty on this barrel? If you do, maybe you can return it for replacement in the store wher eyou bought it, or maybe they'll repair it under warrenty.
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Author: Liam Murphy
Date: 2009-01-21 10:15
Bandie,
My Moennig barrel also cracked after about 10 months of use. The crack you describe sounds identical to the one my barrel sustained. The repair (something involving grenadilla dust and super glue) was seriously cheap; about $20 (AUD)
I have no idea what constitutes a "crack" other than what the term intuitively implies. As I see it, you've nothing to lose in taking your barrel to a tech for a diagnosis and/or quote.
The barrel, after it was repaired, is still in use with only a very slight, almost invisible streak down one half of one side. There have been no further cracks.
I, with no clarinet repair knowledge, wouldn't dream of slopping superglue on my instrument.
Hope I've added something to clarnibass' sound post.
Hope it all works out,
- Liam
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Author: LesterV
Date: 2009-01-21 13:00
Don't cracks in grenadilla propagate along the grain as they do in other woods?
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Author: alanporter
Date: 2009-01-21 18:12
I rub over my cracks with beeswax which seals them quite effectively. It has to be repeated every few weeks, but it takes only a few seconds.
tiaroa@shaw.ca
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Author: BandieSF
Date: 2009-01-22 03:03
Thanks everyone for the responses and suggestions. I'll have my lesson teacher look at the barrel tomorrow as well and see what he has to say.
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Current set-up:
Classical:
Strength 4 1/4 Legere Signature Series
Vandoren M13 Lyre
Jazz:
Strength 3 3/4 Legere Quebec
Pomarico Jazz*
Clarinets:
Buffet E11 Student Model
Buffet R13 Greenline
<http://operationhighschool.blogspot.com
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Reply To Message
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