Author: fuzzystradjazz
Date: 2009-06-12 15:43
I live in Wyoming (10-15% humidity year round). Any old clarinet a person buys here is always terribly shrivelled in size with rings falling off. While I've never used oil, I do use water. I've always worried about rehydrating too quickly and causing cracks, but it has never happened.
A master technician who lived here for many years swore by taking a small pill bottle (about 3/4" diameter) and cutting a sponge off to fit in the bottle level at the top. Totally soak the sponge and place it into the bottle soaking wet, but don't push it all the way to the bottom...leave about 1/4" of free space at the bottom of the bottle, so a 1/4" of sponge is sticking out. Close it in the case and leave it for a few days. Open the case and check on it every few days. Monitor the sponge and only remove it when it is totally dry, then repeat the process. I've rehydrated approximately 10 clarinets this way and have never had any problems - all clarinets turned out beautiful. My last test was on a very old C simple system clarinet. I was worried about it due to the smaller size. I received the clarinet sans case, so I just rigged up a little case for it out of an old wine carrier (for picnics, and the like) with a bunch of cotton batting, placed my pill bottle in there, and left it. A week wasn't enough time, so I had to repeat the process. Worked like a charm.
Make sure the rings are where they are supposed to be though - even the bell ring (if present) has a "normal" position, and sometimes needs to be set BEFORE HYDRATION! Once the wood swells, the rings and such will be set.
Again, I don't know if this will work where you are, so it is something you'd have to try at your own risk, but for me, it has worked 100% of the time.
As a side note: my case ALWAYS has such a bottle/sponge in it. No commerically available products seem to work, and orange peels have yielded poor results for me. However, once I obtain hydration, it is well maintained for me by the continual use of the bottle/sponge.
Good luck in finding the solution that works for you!
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