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Re: repair / spare parts question

Author: clarnibass
Date: 2020-03-07 09:50

I don't remember the springs from J.L. Smith specifically, but I also don't remember getting flat springs from anywhere without holes in them. Springs are hardened to some degree, not fully hard, but still harder to drill than in non-hardened steel.
BTW I think Smith has both blued steel and stainless springs.

Can't say about the size of the spring... I just stock many and start with the closest to the original, but never keep that information since it's pretty random with many models and keys, and looking it up is probably slower than what I do now.
You can shorten a slightly too long spring so make sure to not get ones that are too short.

To bend it, in general it needs to not touch the hinge in the middle and not slide on a sharp edge, so it means it might need a couple of curves in it.
You can bend the very edge a fraction and/or slightly round the edges of where it is touching for that. I almost always do that. This makes it slide better and especially help prevent it from digging and eventually getting stuck.
If you bend the end it will also shorten it essentially so keep that in mind (the shorter the spring, the more the feel changes between its positions).

Adding a metal plate is a good idea. I use silver because I happen to have very thin sheet, but can't see why stainless wouldn't be as good or better. The issues from bearing of similar metals are probably irrelevant in this case... but not sure.
It will almost certainly move very nicely even without a plate. The only problem is if it starts digging and tries to "climb" over something and can get stuck a little. This can happen with a metal plate, but can happen more quickly without.

Spring bending pliers and tool are only really useful for needle springs. For flat springs I mostly use round nose pliers, small flat nose pliers (or larger ones, but usually not for clarinets) and just as often... my fingers.

Post Edited (2020-03-07 09:55)

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