 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Timmy7930
Date: 2012-10-18 22:49
Hi, my new buffet 1183 bass clarinet has a problem. The lower joint has a tight tenon and this make it impossible for me to line up the bridge keys. Also it's a struggle everyday to put the joints together and take them apart without damaging the keys. Any suggestions on what should I do to fix this problem?
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2012-10-18 22:56
Sounds like the tenon wood (just possibly the socket has moved too but more usually the tenon) has swollen or warped slightly.
this is best dealt with by a competent tech.
If the instrument is "new" then this should be covered by the dealer.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2012-10-18 23:00
You should take it to your tech and have them skim (or shave) an absolutely tiny amount of wood off around the circumference of the tenon ring to make it fit better.
It's where the wooden tenon ring binds in the socket that makes ot hard work to assemble/disassemble and no amount of extra grease will do anything, so you're best having the tenons fitted to the sockets properly.
My Buffet bass had binding tenons not long after I bought it, so I skimmed the tenon rings which cured it. This can be done with a sharp scalpel or suitable width scraper that's sharpened well.
The amount of wood removed is absolutely minimal - pretty much removing wood dust which is enough to make the joints fit well and so they won't rock or wobble.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2012-10-18 23:44
Wood binding against wood is a sure way to crack the socket, particularly since the wood is thin there. It could also crack the tenon.
Kal Opperman said that if a joint "bites" as you take it apart, it should be fixed ASAP. For Bb clarinets, he had two socket reamers, one for the top of the barrel and the top of the lower joint and another for the bottom of the barrel. Each was was a wood handle with a 3-stepped shape: the area you gripped, a second area slightly smaller than the socket to be reamed, and a third area that fit into the bore. The second area had a scraper set into it longitudinally and angled very slightly from top to bottom. This worked perfectly to remove wood from the bottom of the socket. The third area keep the scraper aligned and ensured that the socket stayed round.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2012-10-19 06:00
I'd like to have one of Kal's reamers --for economy, I'd settle for the one for the top of the barrel. I have a heck of a time keeping mouthpiece corks fitting to the barrels of my various horns.
Bob Phillips
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2012-10-19 10:21
The socket that the mouthpiece fits into is a pretty standard size for most clarinets However one size fits all for the clarinet's centre sockert would be a serious mistake! A wobbly centre joint is a problem , and expensive to correct.
Perhaps Karl's clarinets were all the same brand/model and he struck it lucky.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2012-10-19 13:35
Gordon -
For every clarinet I've played, from a Bundy through an R13, the mouthpiece fit perfectly into the socket at the top of the lower joint.
Kal set up solely Buffet R13s, though when I came across a pristine 1928 Buffet C clarinet he set it up for me. I was in his studio when he made a mouthpiece for Larry Combs, who I'm pretty sure was playing an Opus. I don't think Larry used it in Chicago, but I'll welcome corrections.
Ken Shaw
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Author: pewd
Date: 2012-10-19 17:39
Almost all new Buffet's (Bass, E11, R13, whatever) have this issue, a quality issue
at the factory. I see dozens in beginning clarinet classes each year. Take it to a tech to have it fixed, its a 5 minute adjustment.
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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Author: Wes
Date: 2012-10-19 22:34
Perhaps the Buffet makers feel that not all wood will expand the same amount so they leave it to the buyer to have the tenons shaved if they need it.
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2012-10-19 22:58
This could be an American issue. Last time I was there I had a similar problem, only it wasn't tenon and socket but belly and jeans.
Must be the air, or the longitude. ![[tongue]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie6.gif)
--
Ben
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2012-10-22 11:53
<<Gordon - For every clarinet I've played, from a Bundy through an R13, the mouthpiece fit perfectly into the socket at the top of the lower joint.>>
Ken, I have six different brands of clarinet here. One mouthpiece could be forced into the centre socket. The other 5 would take really extreme force, with risk of splitting the socket. For two Yamahas, a student one and a "62", simply would not go in. So reaming out the centre tenon to take these mouthpieces would make the centre joint very wobbly.
For the student Yamaha, the socket diameter is 21.70 mm. The 4C mouthpiece tenon diameter is 22.26 mm. That is a huge difference.
For my own 62 Yamaha, teh centre socket diameter is 22.02 mm. The barrell's mouthpiece socket is 22.48 mm. Even that is a big difference when it comes to the fit of tenons in sockets.
Perhaps all your center tenons have been reamed out? Shikes!
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2012-10-22 12:41
Gordon -
I yield to your experience. It certainly worked on my junior high school Bundy, which made satisfyingly weird noises, and I remember seeing new music scores calling for that setup.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Timmy7930
Date: 2012-10-30 02:40
Fixed the problem by sanding the corks with 1000 git sand paper. I'd rather damage something that can be easily replaced.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2012-11-04 03:25
I'm surprised you managed to sand a tenon cork that has had grease on it, with such fine sand paper!
The best solution is not automatically the one that is least permanent. It is the one that deals with the specific problem. Are you saying that before you started sanding, you diagnosed the problem as a cork issue? If so, did you make sure you did not sand the timber at all?
Actually I find myself wondering if you have used cork grease, let a lone a decent one.
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