 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Hunter_100
Date: 2023-06-13 20:55
Attachment: 20230612_205124.jpg (79k)
Attachment: Bb barrel 66 mm.png (29k)
Attachment: A barrel 65 mm.png (36k)
Attachment: Eb barrel 42 mm dimensions.png (24k)
I had some extra time this spring and access to a decent metal lathe, so I tried making my own barrels for my clarinets. I will attach images of the final results and the dimensions in case anyone is interested in reproducing this. My clarinets are Buffet E11 A and Bb instruments, and a Noblet Artist eb. I use a Vandoren B45 mouthpiece for the Bb/A and a Vandoren B40 for the eb.
The material I chose is black Delrin. It is cheap, easy to machine and holds decent tolerances. In order to set the taper angles for the bore, I used a device called a Sine bar on my lathe, which lets me get to about 0.01 degree precision on the taper angle. It would be nice if I could reduce that a bit, but I was limited by my measuring tools. For my purposes, it was close enough...
The barrel for the Bb is essentially my best clone of a 66mm long Moennig taper, with that sockets sized to match my own tenons as best as I can measure. The barrel for the A is a little steeper taper angle, since I used the same reduction in bore as compared to the Bb barrel, but the overall length is 65 mm. I read on several posts on this BB that A barrels work well when they are a few thousands of inch smaller than the Bb equivalent, so I decided to make the bore 0.005 smaller than what I used for the Bb. Tuning results so far on both of these instruments with the new barrels have been really good. Much improved compared to the stock E11 barrels or the R13 barrel I had on the Bb.
The Eb barrel was more tricky, since I could not find any relevant dimensions posted anywhere for this one. I knew from my current eb barrels that I wanted something about 42 mm length. I made different test tapers trying to come up with something that tuned well. I finally settled on a much steeper taper angle compared to the Bb/A barrels. This barrel really helps sharpen the throat A and Bb notes, which tend to go really flat and also flatten the upper clarion B and C notes. I'm not totally sure I have the taper just right though, the clarion B and C are almost too flat now and I have to make sure I don't let them drop too much.
Looking back, the hardest part was getting the socket dimensions right. I made several test sockets that were either too tight or too loose on the tenons. I could measure the wood parts of the tenon accurately enough, but I had to figure out how much to adjust dimensions for the cork compression. I also found that all the barrel sockets I have from Buffet have a taper to them, I would assume it is on purpose. I did not make tapered sockets and I think it resulted in the fitting be a little more tight.
Has anyone else on this board ever tried to make their own barrels? I would be interested to hear how it worked out for you.
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2023-06-13 23:14
Hunter 100,
Great work. I am anxious see these babies up close. Nice job!
Hank
PS I have some Robert Scott barrels that you might be interested in measuring.
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Author: Hunter_100
Date: 2023-06-13 23:24
Sounds good. I will bring my calipers and bore gauges when we meet up next.
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The Clarinet Pages
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