 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Kenwrick Chan
Date: 2001-08-15 05:16
I have an older clarinet that has a loose thumb rest due to the hole that the screw comes into the wood being worn. Any suggestions?
-kenwrick
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Author: ron b
Date: 2001-08-15 07:14
Hi, Kenwrick -
I presume the threads in the wood are stripped.
I've had pretty good success with epoxy on plastic horns. It might work with wood horns too but I've never tried it with wood. I use grenadilla dust and super glue on wood horns. Next time I have a wood horn thumbrest to fix I plan on using the same method but with some grenadilla dust mixed in for appearance sake.
Whichever method you use will require patience. Lots of patience. Don't try to hurry through this job.
I use slow setting epoxy, the kind in the double tube syringe type dispenser, so you have a half hour or so before it starts to set up. It's available at most large hardware outlets. I like to use black but I suppose clear will work too since no one's going to examine it. When you've mixed up a small amount set it aside and take your time to clean the holes out really well. There should be no oil or grease at all in there. By the time you've cleaned the holes the epoxy should be like soft putty. Put it in the holes with a tootpick or something similar that will make a neat job of it. Use nail polish remover or acetone to clean up if it gets out of hand. When it begins to set up, half hour to an hour of so, put the thumbrest and screws back in place leaving the screws a little loose. After a couple of hours turn the screws all the way in but not tight. Wait 24 hours before making them firmly tight. By then the epoxy has set up well. I've had no trouble since I've been doing it that way.
I've filled holes in wood after pinning a crack with grenadilla and super glue. Use your woodworking skill to clean up afterward. For a thumbrest, plan on drilling and tapping because it sets up in seconds. You have no time to 'work' it before it sets up so you have to work it after it's hardened - a very short time.
- ron b -
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Author: Dee
Date: 2001-08-15 11:32
Just take it into a repair tech. This is inexpensive and I wouldn't hassle with trying to do it myself.
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Author: Bart Hendrix
Date: 2001-08-15 14:05
In an emergency, a sliver of toothpick in the hole before replacing the screw will do the job.
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Author: Anji
Date: 2001-08-15 14:44
This MAY work... Nail polish inna hole, let it set up a bit (45 seconds or so, longer than you might think) then put in the screw and tape the works overnight.
Better still, take the horn to a repair tech and have the thumbrest moved up...
might be easier on the player's wrist, too!
Me, I rebuild holes with grenadilla dust (all over my house, I play so fast) mixed with two part epoxy or super-glue.
You must then redrill and tap anyway.
anji
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2001-08-15 15:37
It needs a special tap. The pitch of the thread is far too small on standard taps.
Most thumb rest screws hold only by about two turns of thread. The screws are too short.
Yamaha flugel horn (whatever that is!) valve guide screws are ideal replacements - a couple of threads longer and possibly minutely larger in diameter.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2001-08-15 15:43
I seldom need to fill with epoxy, redrill and tap.
As long as the threads grip a smidgeon I just fill the holes as described and screw the thumb rest on while the glue is wet. Use plenty pressure down on the screws and enough turning so that the threads don't quite slip.
Even for normal tightening of these screws always use heaps of downward pressure - with a screw driver with a large handle that you can get your whole hand around. This puts far less strain on the threads themselves because the threads are not used to do the tightening - only the retaining.
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Author: ron b
Date: 2001-08-15 18:52
Dee -
As usual, your assessment is very direct; take it to someone who does it all the time, who will charge you a reasonable amount and you don't have to mess with it ever again :] (Why didn't I think of that?) Well, that's why I appreciate your posts so much. You get right to the heart of the matter. I tend to think more subjectively in terms of the do-it-yourselfer :
- ron b -
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Author: jbutler
Date: 2001-08-15 22:05
Suppliers make an "oversized" thumb rest screw that is self threading. As long as the wood isn't too "wobbled" out they work fine.
John
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Author: Robert Gifford
Date: 2001-08-16 02:48
A Flugal Horn is a marching Baritone...... or is it a marching French Horn..... one of them.
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Author: jbutler
Date: 2001-08-16 23:58
Robert,
Not so, a flugel horn is a flugel horn (Bb) more akin to the cornet. I think of Chuck Mangione when I think of flugel horn...does anyone remember "Chase the Clouds Away"? A marching French horn is a marching French horn (in Bb like the short side of the French horn).....some band directors prefer mellophones to marching French horns, but they are not the same either (different keys, F). A marching baritone, well that's in concert pitch Then there is your Flugabone! The latter is a valved marching trombone.
How did this issue come up in this thread anyway? Oh, yes, Gordon's mention of a flugel horn valve guide screws.
John
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