 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: deejay
Date: 2001-01-28 03:43
Hi,
I just recently seen that my Selmer Special clarinet has a crack inside the bell the is almost the whole length long. My teacher told me I should go ahead a buy a new bell, but I don't want a new one. How big will the pins be? He told me how they would do it. How could this happen?? After I play it do I always need to swab the inside? I also have another question. What would I need to have done to my clarinet if the key are nickel or silver plated, what can I have done to get them to look shinny once agin??
thanks,
deejay
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: jbutler
Date: 2001-01-28 03:59
Bells can't be pinned, the wood is too thin. It will have to be glued with a cyanoacrylate either with a grenadilla dust "filler" or without. Keys can be polished but if the plating is worn through down to the base metal, usually nickel silver, then they will always show the wear. The only other option is to have them replated. Replating will set you back about $75-$125 above the cost of a normal overhaul.
John
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Mrdi
Date: 2001-01-28 20:52
A crack in the bell isn't going to diminish sound quality , neither is the shininess of your plating. If the shininess bothers you alot then you may use a little silver polish on it even if it is nickel. Be aware however that any polishing only accellerates the wear thru of any plating, especially silver.
Rather than worrying about how shiny it is , think of it as a patina that attests to your dedication to your playing !!
Mrdi
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Anji
Date: 2001-01-28 22:17
I have a nice old Thibouville with a seriously cracked bell, caused by a really tight lowest joint.
Rotated a little, you can't hear any buzz while playing.
If you want to test how little the bell really does, leave it off and play a some.
It really doesn't have much to do until the last two keys.
If must replace it, try out a few used ones at the repair shop. They needn't be of the same make to sound good.
Sorry to hear about the crack.
anji
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Doug Perrenoud
Date: 2001-01-29 00:42
I agree with Anji who said that the bell doesn't necessarily need to be fixed - it isn't in a "pressurized" area of the horn. I have an Eb with a cracked bell that sounds great!
If you do have it glued, be sure to check to make sure that the tenon socket ring at the top of the bell is tight. A loose ring will allow the bell to crack when the lower joint is inserted into it. You can tighten it up temporarily by removing the ring and wrapping one or two wraps of scotch tape around the wood before putting the ring back on. If the ring isn't tight, it will crack again the first time you assemble the clarinet.
Good luck (and be sure to check the other rings while you are at it)
Doug
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2001-01-29 09:16
You asked why did it happen. Probably because you struck a substandard piece of timber or unsatisfactory aging/processing of that timber. The world is getting vey short of high quality clarinet timber (grenadilla, ie mpingo). See: http://www.blackwoodconservation.org/index.html#map
Glueing/filling the split in this location is easy and quick. Just get it done and forget it.
If you use any liquid or powder polish dont get it anywhere near the pivots. Powder residue will help them rust by drying out the oil from where it should be, and some tarnish remover is quite corrosive. polishing/buffing is really a job to be done during overhaul/repadding where the parts can be properly cleaned after buffing.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2001-01-29 09:18
I have never heard of a silver polish that works on nickel, and I've never heard of a nickil polish that would not quickly wear through silver. But there may be something I don't know!
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: deejay
Date: 2001-01-29 23:02
hi,
well i desided I can live with the crack.. and as for getting the keys done, I can't and I am not... I getting a car and need to save up my money.. getting the car tomorrow to tell you the truth.. 
thanks for the info!
deejay
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: mrocro2
Date: 2001-02-22 16:30
I had the same problem with my clarinet. The biggest problem is that it is a natural grained instrument undyed. They fixed this problem by replacing the bottom ring on the bell which held the crack. This was repaired over 28 years ago and is still going strong.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
