 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: BbClari.net
Date: 2013-08-08 14:20
Hello fellow clarinet players,
I played my clarinet a few days ago and when I was finished, I could not remove the barrel from the upper joint. Something similar has happened to me when I was playing in a musical two months ago, except it was between the upper and lower joints. At the time I left the clarinet alone and after about 10 minutes it was able to come apart.
Now however, I have left it together for over 24 hours and I still cannot get it apart, and I have been trying every few hours to get it apart. It is a wooden clarinet, and I am fairly sure it's the clarinet itself and not the corks. (During the winter the rings fall off too)
So far I have tried waiting it out, force, and have tried warming it up slowly through blowing air through the pieces. Nothing has worked so far and I have done some research online but what I have found were things like putting it in the refrigerator and I'm not sure how I feel about that.
EDIT: Where I have been staying is fairly cool so that is why I have been trying to warm it instead of make it colder. In my mind, that seems the appropriate thing to do?
Any ideas would be much appreciated. I know that if I cannot get them apart I have to call a repair tech.
Post Edited (2013-08-08 14:29)
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2013-08-08 14:38
Never fails:
First get a person with stronger wrists to try to twist it apart. If that fails...
Bend the clarinet at the junction as if you were trying to break the tube in half. A tiny gap will open. Slide something appropriately thin into that gap, eg a razor blade.
Then bend the opposite way, and a slightly wider gap will appear on the opposite side. Slide something into that, eg a vegetable knife.
Bend the first way again, and you will get a bigger gap. Remove the razor blade and slide in something thicker, say the back of a craft knife.
Keep alternating these bends with thicker and thicker things jammed into the gap.
By the time the gap is a mm or two, you will be able to twist the barrel apart.
Then, most important, take it to a technician to adjust the fit of the timber such that the timber does not jam again. (Depending on the climate, the timber is likely to jam in this fashion somewhere on most new clarinets after some solid use brings up the moisture content in the tenon timber. It's better like this than buying clarinets that have a too-sloppy fit!)
If all that is too scary, then as for all other scary procedures on a clarinet, get a technician to do it.
Some people may recommend freezing the joint. I think that is an excellent way to invite splitting.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2013-08-08 15:01
The wood parts of the joint are binding - you're right that it isn't the corks - probably the end of the tenon at the bottom of the barrel socket. It usually results either from a poorly fitted socket and tenon and swelling of the wood under very moist or very warm conditions. I've not generally found that chilling the clarinet works very well - I would never actually freeze it, but even putting it in a refrigerator makes me uncomfortable (though I've done it without success a couple of times).
I would generally echo Gordon's advice - you can try two people, one on the barrel and one on the upper clarinet section, to try to twist them apart. You should be the one holding the clarinet part and being as careful as possible not to be holding on to anything that can bend. I have usually been able to separate stuck barrels by carefully rocking the barrel (what I assume Gordon means by "bending"). In almost every case, the bind has eventually let go just enough to get the barrel moving. I'm a little leary of trying to wedge the barrel up once an opening is created (with razor or knife blades), mostly because once I've gotten the barrel to budge even a little, it usually relaxes without it and will gradually twist off.
Definitely have a tech adjust the fit once the parts have been separated (or, since you're going to take it to him/her anyway, have it separated at the shop if you can't budge it). Also have the tech check for any bent keys that may have happened while trying to separate the parts. And if you get it freed yourself, don't push it together all the way before getting it to a shop, even if you don't feel it starting to bind when you assemble it. Extra cork grease won't solve this problem even in the short run.
Karl
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2013-08-08 16:09
Just as a matter of interest, is your clarinet a Buffet E11?
Tony F.
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Author: MSK
Date: 2013-08-08 16:54
I have had success on a cheap wood clarinet by wrapping the barrel with one of those microwavable heating pads used for sore muscles. I left it on for about five minutes. I haven't had the nerve to try it with my good clarinet. The professional techs can speak to whether this is a wise strategy.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2013-08-08 17:08
I should add to my other post that sometimes all you need is a better grip on the barrel when trying to turn it. You can try wrapping a heavy rubber band several times around the barrel or use one of the rubber pads that are made to help grip jar lids that are hard to open the first time.
Karl
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Author: BbClari.net
Date: 2013-08-09 01:13
See, I don't think that I am quite brave enough to try the bending and wedging although i have tried gently rocking. I feel like the wedging would lead to cracking the tenon. I have tried getting a stronger person to pull it off, but I think that if one has to use that much force, it shouldn't come off that way..
I will try the rubber band trick, but both me and the other person had a fairly good grip (well, I did... he was afraid of bending the keys. I would rather bend the keys back into place, personally) I wonder if maybe playing it would help any? To get some warm air through it?
Tony, it is an R13, maybe something with the brand, then?
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2013-08-09 01:41
"Tony, it is an R13, maybe something with the brand, then?"
I asked because a number of posters have reported problems with E11's with stuck joints. Buffet seem to have a long-standing issue with build quality assurance on the E11, R 13's seem generally to be OK.
Tony F.
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Author: BbClari.net
Date: 2013-08-09 01:59
Ah, I see. I think my issue is probably with the 70% humidity in my case (according to my hygrometer at least...) and my cold apartment.
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Author: marcia
Date: 2013-08-09 02:59
>Buffet seem to have a long-standing issue with build quality assurance on >the E11, R 13's seem generally to be OK.
I had that same difficulty with a new R 13 a number of years ago, so they are not immune to this issue. Morrie reamed out the tenon ever so slightly, and that was the magic cure.
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Author: Grabnerwg
Date: 2013-08-09 03:11
Use dry heat, like putting the clarinet under a warm desk lamp. This will remove the moisture that is causing the swelling. I usually leave the affected joint under the lamp, overnight, and next morning the sections come apart without extreme effort. Afterward, wood must be removed from the tenon, or the tenon socket, or it will just happen again. Best to visit a technician who is handy on the lathe.
Walter Grabner
Www.clarinetxpress.com
Buffet new and used clarinets
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2013-08-09 21:56
The timber is jammed most likely because the timber of the tenon has expanded from moisture absorption.
If you dry out the tenon, then it is likely to free itself. However IMO, drying the clarinet from the outside risks cracking, because it would further dry out the timber of the socket, hence shrink it, before having any effect on the tenon.
If the socket tries to shrink but cannot, because of the still jammed tenon, then it is highly likely to split.
Bbclari wrote "I feel like the wedging would lead to cracking the tenon."
The forces involved are not in a direction that tends to make grain part( except at the very jammed shoulder of the tenon), so I don't see how that could lead to cracking. (I have never had bits of timber sheer off the shoulder)
By contrast, severe twisting in order to get the barrel off, does exert forces that could tend to part the grain (through sheer), but in practice I have never had this occur.
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Author: BbClari.net
Date: 2013-08-12 11:41
I finally got it unstuck. I tried the wiggle method, so wiggling with force, rotating a quarter turn, and wiggling. After a few minutes it came loose and popped free.
Thank you all for your ideas and help. I am going to get a check up from my repair tech so I can play soon.
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