 The Clarinet BBoard
|
Author: kj2008
Date: 2016-11-18 18:30
Both sides of tenon corks from upper joint have gotten loose and separated recently (upper one 3 weeks ago, and bottom one last night). And the equipment is relatively new that I bought in March this year. I do assemble and disassemble twice a day (except weekends) for my daily practice. I wonder whether this happens to be with poor workmanship on my particular purchase or this model (and/or all other Buffet models) has a tendency of such breaking off after a while (as a normal wear and tear).
Note: I had B12 for 2.5 years prior to this model, I never had this problem. Since it was plastic model, I didn't do the assemble/disassemble everyday, but I did once a week.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: pewd
Date: 2016-11-18 20:17
It seems to me the quality of the cork, and of the glue used on the cork, has deteriorated significantly on Buffets in recent years, among other quality control issues. Good for me I suppose, I make spare change repairing such issues.
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Shaun L
Date: 2016-11-18 21:02
Buffet's material use has definitely been slipping in the last 5 years. They're even putting that synthetic cork on their top shelf clarinets now too. That 'cork' gets played out and rips so quickly. They're using a similar material for the tenons on the Divine and listing it as a feature. Natural cork is the way to go for tenon joints. Tech cork with a thin layer of Teflon for the thumb ring to f# and f/c lever to f/c key. I've seen both Buffet and Selmer go to using natural cork in those places too. It'd be gone in a month of regular playing like that!
Backun Protege Coco/Gold
Selmer S10A
D'Addario X0
MoBa barrel
Buffet 1193 C
Vandoren B44
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2016-11-18 22:01
Natural cork has its place and that's for tenon corks as I've never found anything that comes near it. Use a decent cork grease that's not going to soak through the cork and destroy the adhesive.
If the tenon slot hasn't been degreased before fitting the tenon cork, then it won't adhere to the wood and won't take much for it to come adrift.
But natural cork used on keys and linkages has had its day as far as I'm concerned as there are other more durable and quieter options. I only use natural cork for the throat A key stopper on clarinet keywork (and cork pads), otherwise it's rubco (tech cork) in most instances and ultrasuede on the undersides of open standing keys where natural cork or anything firmer will make too much noise.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Tony F
Date: 2016-11-19 00:33
I echo what has been said about Buffet quality, I've seen a lot of problems on new Buffets that should never have got out of the factory. The tenon cork issue may be more of the same, but it could also have been caused by using an inappropriate cork lubricant. It's not clear if your problem is the adhesive failing or the cork tearing, but if you're using a hydrocarbon based lubricant such as Vaseline it can degrade the adhesive.
Tony F.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2016-11-19 01:02
Buffet have ditched the flesh coloured foam key 'corks' in favour of using peel'n'stick white foam shapes and that's across the board from the B12 (even if they're not made by Buffet) where that sort of thing would be acceptable right up to the Divine where it is anything but considering the price of them. You'd have thought a high end clarinet would demand high end materials and finishing, but that's not the case.
Ever get the feeling you've been had? I would be pretty furious if I was to buy a Divine and saw it was finished like that when I'd expect to see that on a B12.
In the '90s Buffet used synthetic 'cork' everywhere and that caused problems with the tenon corks compressing very quickly and not recovering as well as the thumb ring and LH F/C lever sticking. They ditched the synthetic tenon corks (until the Divine) and used the more durable rubco on the LH1 ring key and RH F/C key linkages, but the geometry of the F/C linkage was still poor. But they continued to use synthetic key corks glued to the keywork which peeled off from the adhesive easily.
Peel'n'stick shapes tend to migrate when the adhesive layer (double-sided tape) becomes gooey with higher temperatures, so in hot climates it's going to be a disaster for players whose key corks are all sliding off the keys.
Yamaha use pre-cut Hycotex (tech cork/rubco) and natural cork shapes on their clarinets, but they do use a decent contact adhesive so they do stay put. They could use the same type of felt they use on flutes or saxes for open standing keys to reduce key noise as well as reduce the spring tension for a better feel.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: kj2008
Date: 2016-11-19 02:19
To Tony F.
"It's not clear if your problem is the adhesive failing or the cork tearing, but if you're using a hydrocarbon based lubricant such as Vaseline it can degrade the adhesive".
It is adhesive failing since cork was still in the right shape (no tear). I use 'Doctor Slick' grease (since it has no fragrance).
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Tony F
Date: 2016-11-19 04:03
I've never heard anything bad about the doctor's products and they're highly regarded, so I doubt if that is your problem. Sounds like its back to poor QA at Buffet.
Tony F.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2016-11-19 22:27
And oily wood won't do much for adhesion as well as very little surface area for them to adhere to what with their stupid wavy tenon slots where the cork only makes contact with the peaks of the waves. I find tenon corks on Buffets often come away in one single piece with little effort.
I turn down the wavy surface of the tenon slot to make it completely flat so the new tenon cork has maximum contact with it. If you find that makes the slot too deep, then glue a layer of rubco (tech cork) into the slot, then glue the cork strip on top of that. Or build up the tenon slot with superglue and wood dust and machine it flat.
Combed or grooved tenon slots are also just as bad as the tenon cork is only making contact with the sharp peaks and the majority is just sitting on air. Flat tenon slots are the best as sheet cork is flat and the best surface for a flat one to bond to is an equally flat surface.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
