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Buffet E12

Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2018-08-16 04:37

A student came to tonight's lesson with the top two r.h. trill keys completely jammed. The top pad cup was off center and may or may not have been covering the hole. I quickly realized that one of the sides of the saddle guide the two keys rest in was bent inward and was pressing on the keys, pushing them off line and keeping them from moving. Once I got the trill keys off the instrument (the pivot rod was also hard to move because the keys were at an angle), I tried to bend the side back to being straight. Although I was a little nervous that the piece might shear off from metal fatigue, I tried to nudge it back gently with a small round-nose plier. I was a little surprised when the piece, rather than shearing, actually snapped off. Looking at the broken piece and the spot on the saddle where it broke off, I strongly suspect that the whole thing isn't metal at all, but plastic. I'd need stronger magnification than my reading glasses to be sure.

Could that be the case? Is Buffet making hardware on their sub-R13 models out of plastic? The way it snapped off just didn't feel like metal gradually weakening and shearing.

The two keys are now, of course, moving freely, the pivot screw slid and screwed back into place with no real effort, and the trill keys seem perfectly stable even with one side of the guide missing. Is there likely to be a problem over time with just leaving it that way? I suppose I can probably get a part from my repairman - he may have a cadaver E-12 or two in the shop, or maybe one from an R-13 would fit. But I'm not sure if it matters. I've never had one of those break off before.

Opinions from the repair people here?

Karl

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