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Re: Getting cork pads to seat and seal better?

Author: Chris P
Date: 2017-10-02 00:22

jdbassplayer wrote:

"Kinda seems like a lot of unnecessary work considering floating the pads on glue already works perfectly well and takes minutes"

Yeah - that's far more work than there really needs to be.

The pads are usually the last major part of finishing or overhauling an instrument once everything else has been done. This is how I prep and install cork pads which is far less time consuming and once in, they're there for the long term.

Find the correct diameter cork pads for the pad cups. If they're too large, then sand them down to the correct diameter using a spinning disc to mount the pad on and sanding the sidewall until it fits the pad cup.

Grind the faces of all the cork pads down on several grades of abrasive (I use pumice blocks ground flat) from coarse to level them, medium to even out the surface and fine as a finishing one to get a perfect blemish free face. Discard any with imperfections in them which may end up on the tonehole impression - any either dead central or on the extreme edge can be used should you wish to provided they don't cause any problems.

Use a coarse emery to sand and dome the backs of the pads down to make them the correct thickness if they're all too thick - aim for an even amount of pad sidewall showing around the pad cup once the pads are in place.

Apply a suitable amount of molten shellac to the back of the pad and once cooled, check the face is still level by going over it with the fine abrasive. Depending on how much room you have when the necessary keys are on, you can either slip the pad into the pad cup, heat it and seat the pad, or lightly install the pad in a gently heated pad cup, install the key and further heat it and seat the pad.

Once all the prep is done, padding is often a reasonably quick process relatively speaking. You don't need to wedge them shut to make them seat - just level them using very light finger pressure to close them against their toneholes and check all around with a feeler gauge. Aim for them to be slightly lighter at the backs than the fronts instead of heavy at the back and light at the front (likewise with all pads) as this makes for a far more positive feel and for longevity.

Another way of seating pads which is more laborious is to install them into the pad cups with shellac, then grind the face down until they seat. But you'll be there for ages with keys going on and off and on and off and on and off and on and off and on and off and on and off and on and off and on and off until you get the pads to seat - only problem is if you encounter a hole or a hard lump in the pad, all that effort is undone and you'll have to start all over again.

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

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