 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: locust
Date: 2013-06-12 03:29
Hello Friends,
I'm just wondering where I can get the clarinet mouthpiece refacing kit . I have asked Ferree's Tools, Inc and they have been out of stock for couple years ...
please let me know if you have any information .
thanks a lot !
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2013-06-12 13:42
I've ruined a number of mouthpieces while attempting to reface them. Some could not be rescued, even by Everett Matson. Nothing I've done has ever improved a mouthpiece.
If you want to learn refacing, join the Yahoo Mouthpiece Work group http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/MouthpieceWork/ and find someone to take lessons from.
Ken Shaw
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Author: kdk
Date: 2013-06-12 14:57
Ken Shaw wrote:
> I've ruined a number of mouthpieces while attempting to reface
> them. Some could not be rescued, even by Everett Matson.
> Nothing I've done has ever improved a mouthpiece.
>
Most of us could make the same statement about adjusting reeds. We learned by ruining piles of reeds before we could reliably improve them. I still occasionally have to toss a reed that is clearly getting worse instead of better as I work on it.
There is a definite learning curve, and you generally start by ruining a lot more mouthpieces than you improve. Ken's advice about joining the Mouthpiecework group at Yahoo.com and about getting someone to sit with you and show you what they do is excellent, if you can find someone within a reasonable distance. Also, collect all the scrap production mouthpieces you can find - ask techs at music stores, local school band directors... Sometimes you can find "junk" mouthpieces by the bag on EBay - people buy them hoping to find a hidden gem, but you can use those quite nicely to practice refacing techniques and feel first hand the effect on the mouthpiece's playing qualities of each thing you do.
The kit, as I remember it, consists of a piece of flat plate glass, a tip opening gauge, a set of metal feeler gauges, a piece of glass glass with markings every 2 mm that you use with the feelers to determine the opening of the curve at specific points (to enable comparisons and consistency) and some starter abrasive. You can get all of it piece by piece from various suppliers - the tip gauge probably from Feree's, the plate glass from a hardware outlet or glass supplier (you just need a small piece - they might give it to you as scrap), the abrasives also from a hardware store and the feelers from an auto supply (possibly might need to compromise on specific thicknesses, but as long as you're using the same ones consistently they'll do the job). The only part that might be a problem is the graduated glass for measuring the curves. Now that I think about it, one or more of the members of Mouthpiecework@yahoo.com may sell kits of their own design - some of them use many more feeler gauges than the 5 that were included in the original Eric Brand kit.
Karl
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Author: NBeaty
Date: 2013-06-12 15:55
There is a babbitt refacing kit with an instruction manual. I have one, amongst other tools, but they are very difficult to find and I can't even think of a place to look.
There is a very steep learning curve. Even deciding on what you want to do with mouthpieces as far as philosophy can be difficult at first. Learning and trying as many different mouthpieces as possible is a good start (trying every, or most, vandoren models so you get a feel for tip opening differences and facing differences). Trying custom makers can be a little less helpful since many aren't forthcoming with facing numbers and tip openings.
Finding someone to learn from can be difficult. Some of the "hobbyists" (for lack of a better term) can teach you the ropes as far as measuring. However, many don't know enough to produce a mouthpiece in the ballpark of the custom makers listed on the website.
So, if you can find someone that really knows the ropes, go for it. If it's something that you're just curious about and want to see what you can do, go for it. You can learn a lot from the experience. You can also spin your wheels and go no where very easily.
Personally, I don't think I would still be doing it, or have had any real success, without a top notch mentor to teach me the ropes and the "tricks of the trade".
I lived in Montreal for a few years and I don't recall any mouthpiece refacers in quebec or ontario. I could very easily be wrong, but no one I can think of off hand.
I second the idea of getting a ton of mouthpieces for cheap off of that auction website. I got 50 plastic mouthpieces for 30 bucks when I first started. It was definitely worth it, since you can destroy a mouthpiece very easily.
After my first lesson, I was able to put a good facing and tip opening on a mouthpiece without too much difficulty. I know I would not have been able to do this without someone knowledgeable in the room instructing me on the techniques.
One lesson was = to months (or years) of just messing around trying to figure things out.
If you're seriously interested- spend the money to go visit someone reputable and take a few lessons. It's not cheap (I know canadian flights to the U.S. aren't cheap...) but it would get you going in the right direction.
Bon chance
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Author: locust
Date: 2013-06-12 18:06
thanks a lot guys . All I need is the information that where I can get the kit . I mean in the US .
Thanks anyway !
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Author: Merlin_Williams
Date: 2013-06-13 20:25
When I started refacing, I got my glass gauges from JJ Babbit. I believe Keith Bradbury has glass gauges now, and may offer feeler gauges as well.
Jupiter Canada Artist/Clinician
Stratford Shakespeare Festival musician
Woodwind Doubling Channel Creator on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/c/WoodwindDoubling
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Author: GaryH
Date: 2013-06-13 22:22
Locust, the Music Medic link takes you to the gauges you need for refacing.
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Author: SteveG_CT
Date: 2013-06-14 04:24
GaryH wrote:
> Locust, the Music Medic link takes you to the gauges you need
> for refacing.
It's worth mentioning that you could buy the same size feeler gauges from most industrial suppliers for much less than the cost of that Theo Wanne set from Music Medic. Most feeler gauges sized between 0.001" and 0.040" can be purchased for <$2ea.
I would also suggest that some of the lager sizes in that Theo Wanne set (0.075", 0.100") won't be used when working on soprano clarinet mouthpieces so they could be left out.
Post Edited (2013-06-14 04:35)
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2013-06-14 11:30
Auto repair stores sell inexpensive sets of leaf gauges, graduated in thousandths of an inch.
Ken Shaw
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Author: rdc
Date: 2013-06-14 13:38
Several years ago I wanted to replace the feeler gauges in the set I got from Ralph Morgan because of some oxidation that I felt was affecting their accuracy. Here are some of the problems I encountered:
1. At that time, the industrial supply firms I looked at did not supply all of the correct sizes needed unless one purchased an expensive "precision" set made by Starrett or other such companies.
2. An inexpensive set from an auto repair or hardware store had some problems with accuracy. I began using a .0015 gauge from one such set and was getting unusual readings with it. When I measured it with calipers, I discovered it was not even close! I don't remember now the actual measurement, but it was significantly thicker than .0015.
I note from the Music Medic link above that the Theo Wanne traditional set does not even include a .0015 gauge. There is also at that link, however, a set of the five gauges in the correct "traditional" sizes that, if accurate, would be in my opinion a bargain at $12.50.
R. Chest
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Author: GaryH
Date: 2013-06-14 13:58
The 5 gauge set at Music Medic is not too expensive. The $99 set is ridiculus. The problem with buying the cheap gauges at hardware stores is that they are not all sized correctly, and you end up with a bunch of extra pieces. You may need to go thru several sets to get the correct sizes. Just because one is marked .034" does not mean it actually measures the same.
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Author: SteveG_CT
Date: 2013-06-14 17:56
rdc wrote:
>
> 1. At that time, the industrial supply firms I looked at did
> not supply all of the correct sizes needed unless one purchased
> an expensive "precision" set made by Starrett or other such
> companies.
>
You definitely do want to buy gauges from Starrett or one of the other well known precision instrument companies. The trick to getting what you need at an affordable price is to buy gauge stock rather than finished gauges. Basically you get a much longer strip of precision thickness material (usually around 8" long) and you don't get the holder but it will only cost ~25% of the cost of a finished gauge. You also have the option of only buying the sizes you need this way.
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Author: GaryH
Date: 2013-06-14 23:59
Mark, thanks for the link.
Post Edited (2013-06-15 00:03)
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