 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Funfly
Date: 2014-02-04 20:06
The dangers of the wood splitting on a clarinet are oft repeated and most clarinettists seem to take extreme care of their instruments particularly in order to prevent this.
I know that people say they have kept their clarinets dry and well oiled and they have never had a split, but is this like saying that I have sprinkled some anti-elephant powder over by garden and have never had an elephant in it.
Is it possible that the clarinets would not have split anyway?
I have heard that with a clarinet over 15 years old, if it hasn't split by now chances are that it never will.
Is it a myth? how often do wooden clarinets actually split?
(Not that this will stop me being careful..'just in case".)
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2014-02-04 20:25
Wooden clarinets can split at any time or not split at all - it's the luck of the draw.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2014-02-04 20:45
By splitting I assume that you mean a crack that appears at the surface and actually goes through all the way to the bore.
You are right in the assessment that there are plenty of instruments that are not cared for that survive just fine, and there are those mollycoddled and just go ahead and have cracks anyway. I agree that it is hard to extrapolate any meaningful data out of various individual stories.
Let's look at it a different way.
Oboes.............these guys are thinner walled wooden instruments with a conical bore getting pretty small up at the top. Oboes are MUCH more prone to cracking than clarinets due to their less stalwart architecture and if you want to see mollycoddling, just follow an oboe player for a while.
The other example I'll shoot out there is wooden mouthpieces since I've had a bunch of them. You can pretty much guess that the greatest stress will be down the bottom of the mouthpiece from the table where the condensation starts down to the tenon. Of eight wooden mouthpieces that I have had, two split right down the center of the table (one irreparably). Both of those happened BEFORE I began regular oiling of both my mouthpieces and my clarinets. None of the wooden mouthpieces I used regularly since the oiling regimen have shown any signs of swelling out of shape or cracking.
Even the sum total of my experience doesn't help arrive at any meaningful answer but this is how I look at it. You could execute all of your driving in life going 20 miles over the speed limit, always zipping around the 'next guy' and never get in an accident and never get a speeding ticket, but why take that chance?
.................Paul Aviles
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2014-02-04 21:11
Oboe and clarinet joint wall thicknesses are usually around 7.5mm to 8mm thick, so oboes have relatively thick walls in relation to their bore size compared to clarinets. Piccolos have a much thinner wall thickness in relation to their bore size as do wooden flutes.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2014-02-04 18:54
An older wood clarinet that hasn't split has a higher probability of not splitting in the future than a brand new one - but that does depend on the way it is used.
Abuse an older clarinet and there is still a fair chance it will split.
Abuse a new wood clarinet and there is a much higher chance it will split.
So why take a chance?
Some people never wear a seat belt when driving and are still alive (at the moment anyway) but I wouldn't choose to model my behavior on them.
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Author: kilo
Date: 2014-02-04 19:33
Anecdotal accounts suggest that newer clarinets also run a risk due to poorer quality blackwood (grenadilla, mpingo), either from improper seasoning or from using stock of insufficient size. As wood seasons potential stresses develop and when the wood is formed into a hollow cylinder these stresses can turn into fractures, axially and radially. Tone holes and screws increase the chance that a crack may occur. Combined with the varying amounts of moisture and changes in temperature that normally occur in the use of musical instruments the chance of a potential flaw developing into a split is increased. Blackwood is very dense and often the wood is dyed to a uniform color so it can be very difficult for a buyer to detect the sort of imperfections in grain which might lead to problems. Careful maintenance is the best we can do.
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Author: MichaelW
Date: 2014-02-04 22:25
I suspect that young instruments from manufacturers with high output, even from renowned brands, have a higher risk of splitting than older or even newer handcrafted instruments: The latter come from smaller workshops with low turnover and stocks of wood still nowadays hopefully air- dried for decades (as opposed to kiln-dried younger wood); and besides, as was said before, the risk of cracking diminishes with age (other than with you and me).
From my own experience- no rule without exception, as the adage goes:
Goulding C ca. 1800, boxwood: three hairline cracks in the bell
Carl Kruspe , 3 boxwood C ca. 1830 to 1880: No cracks;
dto. 2 Grenadilla Bb ca. 1900: No cracks
Selmer Paris Alto Grenadilla 1955: Cracks in the lower socket (descibed as typical for Selmer Bass clarinets)
F.A.Uebel Bb Grenadilla 1936: No cracks
F.A.Uebel Bb Grenadilla 1961: No cracks
F.Schüller A Grenadilla 1965: 2 small repaired cracks
Püstophon Bb Grenadilla ca. 1970, Student grade: Small repaired crack in the lower socket
J.Püchner C Grenadilla ca. 1980: crack in barrel
W. Dietz Bb Grenadilla 2001: No cracks
(...and: H.N.White, Silver King 1920ties: No cracks!)
Post Edited (2014-02-04 22:38)
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