 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Alan McDonald
Date: 2010-08-25 11:59
Can someone please advise me whether it is ok to use methylated spirits to clean grime and residue from a wooden clarinet prior to applying bore oil.
I have just got hold of a Boosey and Hawkes Edgeware clarinet, and although. it appears to be in excellent condition with no sign of damage to the wood and the logos are still in great condition. It would appear from it's state that the instrument has had little use over the years. I have now dissassembled it need to give it a good clean before using the bore oil.
Thanks
Alan
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2010-08-25 12:04
I have successfully and with no ill effects used mild liquid hand soap and lukewarm water. I use a 15mm ΓΈ bottle brush for the bore, a toothbrush for sockets, nooks and crannies and cotton buds for the tone holes. Rinse, carefully blow out all the posts, pat dry inside and out, and let dry for a day or so, away from draught, cold and heat. Yes, the sock drawer would be good.
--
Ben
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2010-08-25 13:19
Meths will strip the polished finish from the joints leaving the wood looking dull and the grain open.
You're best using a barely damp cloth or a length of stockingette (they sell it in Halfords) and stropping the joints to remove the gunk, then buffing them with a clean dry piece to bring up the shine.
If you have access to a buffing machine, first remove all the pillars (keep them in order so you know where they go) and buff the joints using a soft mop with tripoli or similar buffing compound, then use a clean soft mop with no compound to bring up the shine. Make sure you don't buff over the logos.
For the bore, remove the speaker bush and thumb tube (they're glued in with shellac, so heating them up will free them) and use a wooden cleaning stick with a cleaning cloth atached to it to clean the bore with.
If there's raised grain in the bore, use a wooden dowel with a piece of 1200 grit glued to it to polish up the bore with, then use the cleaning cloth on a stick to remove any dust and then oil the bore. The old cleaning mops with twisted wire handles are also good for this sort of thing.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2010-08-25 13:22)
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2010-08-25 14:29
Clarinets are designed to get wet.
I got a 1908 Buffet Bb/A pair that had been in a closet since they were made and were covered with crud. When Peter Spriggs http://www.pspriggs.com/ restored them, he said he took the keys off, put the wood parts in the sink and scrubbed them clean with soap and water. They came out gorgeous and play beautifully.
As Chris says, I'd avoid alcohol and abrasives.
If you use a brush on a twisted wire handle, be sure it has a plastic protector tip on the end of the wires. Otherwise it could dig into the wood.
Ken Shaw
Post Edited (2010-08-25 14:31)
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2010-08-25 14:44
Some of the clarinets I've bought from yard sales and flea markets have been filthy. I've taken the keys off these clarinets and washed the wood with dish detergent in room temperature water with no ill effects.
I never use abrasives or chemicals and strongly agree with what Ken Shaw wrote:
>>If you use a brush on a twisted wire handle, be sure it has a plastic protector tip on the end of the wires. Otherwise it could dig into the wood.
>>
After washing and rinsing, I dry the clarinet as well as possible, leave it exposed to the air (on a towel) and turn it over a few times, until I'm sure all the wood has had a chance to dry thoroughly. Meanwhile, I wash out the case and dry it open to the sun. If the case lining is as revolting as it usually is when the clarinet's that bad, I gut the case and replace the padding and fabric. Then I oil the wood and start on whatever other work needs to be done on the clarinet. All the clarinets I've bought that were so dirty they needed a bath also needed fresh corks and pads.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
Post Edited (2010-08-25 14:45)
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2010-08-25 18:49
Mixing approx 1 part meths to 3 parts linseed oil can be useful - just work quickly with a soft cloth and the meths in the mixture won't soften the alcohol based stain unduly and the linseed will nourish the wood.
Finish by ragging the surface with a strip of cotton or linen cloth.
Don't use linseed on the bore though.
I would not recommend buffing the exterior - you could so easily ruin the sharply defined edges of the tonehole seats.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2010-08-25 22:28
"Methylated Spirits" is such a vague term. In any event I wouldn't use it. I wouldn't use linseed oil either, raw or boiled and alone or thinned out. Like some of the others I've had the best luck with soapy water...Murphy's is fine. Just be sure to completely dry every nook and crannie when you're done. I'd finish off with a hair dryer on low setting. Then I'd use lemon oil and allow it to be absorbed. And finally Doctor's Products bore oil on the wood and Renaissance Wax on the keywork after any necessary polishing.
Bob Draznik
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Author: Wes
Date: 2010-08-25 22:42
Two weeks ago, I bought a dirty Conn propeller wood clarinet at an antique market for a very low price which I did not bargain with in a new quality case. It responded very nicely to Lemon Pledge(which Laubin recommended), a ragging strip, and a fiber bore brush. After overhaul and repadding with Ferree's double skin pads with a sealer, it rings well at A440 on a great old Woodwind mouthpiece from my collection and has quite good twelths. The bore is about 0.597 inches and there is no undercutting of toneholes. With my R13 mouthpiece, it is a little sharp, as the barrell is 64 mm, perhaps A442. As on many clarinets, the high F# is a bit low but it can be pinched up or the long fingering used.
It is quite a good clarinet. It has all the pesky setscrews on the sides of the posts, however. It is simply beautiful!!
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2010-08-25 22:57
As I recall, Lemon Pledge contains petroleum distillates (check the label on the bottle). That may or may not be a problem but I think anyone using it should be aware of the fact.
Best regards,
jnk
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2010-08-25 23:22
I saw a Conn propeller wood oboe on the famous auction site - however, the top joint had been flush banded. Looked a bit like kingwood, though the 'grain pattern' was a bit too perfect. I didn't realise they made Pan Am oboes too.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: pewd
Date: 2010-08-26 04:40
2nd what Jack said.
I strip the keys off, go to the sink and scrub it with a Murphy's Oil solution.
I dry it off, then let it dry wrapped in a cotton towel for 24 hours.
Then I use the Doctor's Products Bore oil on it.
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2010-08-26 15:47
"Propeller wood" clarinets, contrary to the urban legend, were NOT made from old aircraft propellers. Rather, they had plastic bodies overlaid with a plastic sheath with the wood grain printed on the outside. No wood at all.
They've been discussed several times. The consensus is that they were bottom-of-the-line instruments with, I think, pot-metal keys that broke easily. Also, the sheath had a tendency to delaminate from the inner body, producing non-sealable leaks.
They look great, but their highest and best use is as a lamp.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2010-08-26 15:53
How come this Pan Am oboe had been flush banded? If it had a plastic body it wouldn't have split or delaminated.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Wes
Date: 2010-08-26 18:27
Just to continue a bit on the Conn clarinet, the keys are silver plated over what seems to be a nickel silver base, as seen on the register key wear from some use. The wood grain can clearly be seen inside the sockets and the bell.
The keys can be bent to straighten which could not perhaps be done with a pot metal clarinet. Also, I doubt that a pot metal clarinet would have setscrews on most posts. A small chip in the center tenon also showed that it was wood. There are six plastic tone hole inserts for the open holes plus the metal thumb hole.
Intonation in general is on a par with the three R13s that I have and use a lot.
The large bell ring is missing and I have no source of bell rings at all. Something may have to be fabricated for that. Any assistance on the bell ring would be appreciated. Thank you all for your interest.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2010-08-26 19:44
Chris -
The propeller wood clarinet had a two-layer body, an inner (plastic or perhaps wood) layer and an outer plastic laminate layer. The adhesive holding the layers together often failed. A flush band would be perhaps the only way to hold the layers together and prevent leaks.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2010-08-27 11:55
>>The propeller wood clarinet had a two-layer body, an inner (plastic or perhaps wood) layer and an outer plastic laminate layer.>>
Did you mean to write that the outer layer may have been wood while the inner layer was plastic? Btw, there are some Conn clarinets, in cases that look 1950-ish to me, that appear at a glance to be propeller wood but are really solid plastic. I've had a chance to look closely at both types at flea markets. One of those solid plastic "propeller wood" clarinets came in a green and white case that's identical to the original case for the grenadilla Conn Director that my father bought for me new in 1957.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2010-08-27 21:39
Am I nuts or what! I thought this post was about cleaning.......
Bob Draznik
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2010-08-28 16:00
We're getting back to it. Specifically, re. the Conn "propeller wood" clarinets:
>>Also, the sheath had a tendency to delaminate from the inner body, producing non-sealable leaks.
>>
And the relevance to cleaning is that, although these clarinets aren't much good, they're scarce, and because they do have this problem with de-lamination, dunking them in water is probably a bad idea. Water that gets into any area that's not completely tight will hasten the de-lamination process.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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