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Re: Loose ring on bell.

Author: kdk
Date: 2021-10-18 04:14

SunnyDaze wrote:

> Hi Karl,
>
> It is the top ring on the bell, but it doesn't bother me that
> it's loose. I just had another look and the ring is held in
> place by some dried up old glue which makes the wooden part a
> bit wider and kind of grippy like sandpaper, so the ring
> doesn't rattle. I think the glue must have been added on one of
> the many reconditionings, because the ring no longer falls off
> (I had forgotten that).

A loose tenon ring shouldn't be left loose. It's there to reinforce the tenon wall, which is more vulnerable than other parts to crack from any stress during assembly because it's thin and relatively weak. It also shouldn't be glued in place. I'm assuming humidifying the instrument doesn't expand the tenon against the ring (have you tried that?). I've always shimmed them by adding a thin layer of paper under the ring and pressing the ring down over the paper (there's a little more involved in cutting the paper to fit). That to me has never been a temporary fix - it's in fact how Hans Moennig and other highly reputed repairmen in my younger days solved the problem. I think I remember someone here warning against shimming in this way, but I don't remember who or why.

Karl

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