The Clarinet BBoard

The Clarinet BBoard The C4 standard

New Topic | Go to Top | Go to Topic | Search | Help/Rules | Smileys/Notes | Log In

Previous Message | Next Message

Re: Bore maintenance advice

Author: Chris P
Date: 2017-06-17 00:12

No oboe repairers or any woodwind repairer I know of would ever use beeswax to coat tonehole bedplaces with to seal leaks as beeswax is very sticky. The best way to seal porous or damaged toneholes is to use superglue and then apply wood dust to fill in the imperfections, then recut them or level them leaving a perfect bedplace crown for cork pads to seat onto. Wax can be used to tune and voice toneholes, but it's use as a filler to fill cracks is as bad as filling them with grease as it will prevent much better fillers like superglue adhering to the wood if a permanent fix is to be used.

Anything that is fitted into the joints on woodwind instruments can be a potential source of a leak, be it the speaker tube, thumb tube, tonehole chimneys, pillars, pillar or thumbrest screws, slots cut into the joints or any other drilled or cut holes or recesses. The C#/G# tonehole on the top joint and C/G tonehole on the lower joint are very close to the edge of the tenon shoulder (C#/G#) and socket base (C/G) so it won't take much for a leak to happen there.

One way to test for leaks is to plug all the toneholes and tenons or sockets with Blu-Tack or better still, silicone rubber bungs with one of the end bungs being fitted with a tube connected to a bike pump or mag machine to apply air pressure in the bore and do a pressure test under water (only takes a matter of seconds to do instead of being submerged for hours) and the bubbles will show where the leak is, in the same way you'd test a punctured or repaired bike inner tube for leaks (but without the patches and French chalk). Then when the leak is detected, apply a drop of superglue and use suction to draw it into the crack. Best to remove all pillars and fittings wherever possible to do this and that will also gain you better access when applying the superglue.

Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.

Reply To Message | Avail. Forums | Flat View

Newer Topic | Older Topic

Topics