 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: kdk
Date: 2014-02-19 00:24
I have a Patricola C clarinet made of rosewood - I don't know more specifically what wood it actually is. I don't use it very often. Although I very much like the sound of the Patricola, I have a grenadilla C clarinet that plays slightly better in tune that I use more often, but a couple of weeks ago I wanted to bring both to a rehearsal, planning to let the 2nd clarinet player use the grenadilla instrument for Tchaik 2 - the last movement is a bear to transpose and lies much better as written on a C clarinet.
I got the rosewood horn out the night before (fortunately) and tried to play it. The register key and throat A key were both binding - they opened easily enough but didn't close on their own. I cleaned the mechanisms and re- oiled them. They moved perfectly freely on their pivot rods when I held the rods between two fingers and spun the keys, but still no freedom of movement when I reassembled them on the clarinet.
To make a slightly shorter story, I began humidifying the inside of the case, first with Dampits, which seemed to revive the A key, then with orange peels. After a couple of days (a week of humidification total) the register key freed up as well.
Clearly the wood had contacted from dryness and disuse. The last time I played on the instrument was last summer. Yet, I have grenadilla instruments, including yet another C and an old late 1950s vintage R13 Bb that I play just as rarely, and I've never had a problem like this with either of them or my bass, which also lives most of the time in the same closet.
Is there something other than deliberately playing on it every week or so that I can do for this instrument to keep it more dimensionally stable? I realize cracking is always an additional danger, but the main issue for me is to have the keywork functional when I need to use the clarinet. Is "rosewood" more susceptible to temperature/humidity issues during the winter heating season than blackwood?
Thanks,
Karl
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2014-02-19 07:09
I suspect that your "Rosewood" Patricola is actually Cocobolo. It looks good, but it lacks the dimensional stability of good Grenadilla and is more subject to temperature and humidity issues. You might consider removing a very little metal from the end of the rod tubes with a fine stone or appropriate tool, it may be that the fit is a bit tight. I once had a recorder in Cocobolo and the tightness of the tenons varied summer to winter, so the movement is significant. Pearwood recorders seem more dimensionally stable.
Tony F.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2014-02-19 07:16
Do you need to take metal evenly off each end or will it be too little to matter?
Karl
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2014-02-19 08:56
We're not looking at more than a few thou here. If I were doing this I'd take a couple of wipes with a fine stone on each end and then test-fit. If the key is secured with pivot screws then make sure that the screws do not bottom in the holes.
Tony F.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2014-02-19 09:32
Is this better done now while the wood is humidified and the keys are working smoothly or if there is a repeat of the binding down the road?
Karl
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Author: cyclopathic
Date: 2014-02-19 10:50
the only solution I found to work on rosewood (east indian kind, Dalbergia latifolia) barrel was to repeatedly oil it with bore oil, and then seal it with renaissance wax dissolved in even more bore oil. It had to be polish in/out drying out; the other "minor" inconvenience was that after oiling it swell up and had to be reamed back to proper dimensions. Either way it is very stable now.
Most of Dalbergia generas with exception of Dalbergia melanoxylon (Mpingo), have rather large open endgrain, and while they have similar to grenadilla shrinkage rates, they are far more susceptible to changes in environment.
Sealing endgrain against checking with wax-based products such as ANCHORSEAL is common practice in woodwork. Some of the sealants use paraffin, others use micro crystalline waxes. I read somewhere that microcrystalline waxes are better b/c they are less hydrophobic and allow sealed surface to breathe.
In the past to seal they used to burnish clarinets with shellac. The idea is by sealing you reduce water exchange rate and help to create equilibrium, so sudden changes in environment will not have sudden impact. Same with oiling it creates stability by displacing empty space wood.
Disclaimer: use at own risk. If you decide to try it, try it on some unrelated piece of wood to see if you like results good luck
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2014-02-19 12:41
If you're going to oil or otherwise treat the wood in an effort to stabilize it, I'd leave the keys as they are for now. If the problem recurs then I'd consider removing a little metal at that point.
Tony F.
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Author: cyclopathic
Date: 2014-02-19 11:53
Another disclaimer:
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if you go oiling route, you'd need to remove all keys; otherwise pads will get contaminated.
If there was any intonation work done by adding soft material into toneholes, it may be lost or disturbed due to oiling.
Not careful application of wax may result in wax built up around tonehole edges and can have impact on intonation/voicing. This will need to be checked and corrected.
Corks could fall out or may need adjustment after procedure. Pads will need to be re-checked for seal.
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Is you Patricola still under warranty?
are you going to do the work? Do you have a good technician to do the work? it could be a good opportunity to correct intonation issues as well. Just let the wood stabilize before undercutting, and clean toneholes with alcohol if you need to add material (depend on what you fill with).
If you don't use it often perhaps keeping it humidified and filing a couple keys would be an easier solution good luck
Post Edited (2014-02-19 16:58)
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