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 Tight Bell!
Author: maureen bleiman 
Date:   1999-08-02 05:47

My daughter is having problems pulling the bell from her wooden(buffet and crampon e-11)clarinet .She is rigorous in cleaning properly when she finishes, and in applying cork grase,but she finds she has to sort of rock the bell before it budges,I would be very grateful if someone could advise
if this action could damage the clarinet and if so what can she do to get thebell off? many thanks maureen

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 RE: Tight Bell!
Author: Fred McKenzie 
Date:   1999-08-02 11:03

maureen bleiman wrote:
-------------------------------
My daughter is having problems pulling the bell from her wooden(buffet and crampon e-11)clarinet.

maureen-

The obvious answer would be to take it to a repair person!

Examine the joint and verify that the problem is a tight cork, rather than wood interfering with wood.

If there is a build-up of dirt and grease, remove as much cork grease as you can using a dry paper towel. Apply a light coat of fresh cork grease, and see if the problem is solved.

If it becomes obvious that the cork is just too thick, you may be able to reduce it by wrapping some fine sandpaper around the cork and twisting. Be VERY careful that you don't take too much off.

Fred
<A HREF="http://www.dreamnetstudios.com/music/mmb/index.htm">MMB</A>


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 RE: Tight Bell!
Author: Don Berger 
Date:   1999-08-02 15:25

Good advice, Fred - I had a wood vs wood too-tight fit on my old Selmer-Paris lower joint tenon - bell socket interface, prob due to expansion of the very bottom wood of the tenon and/or bell contraction. Asking my repairman-friend, he said to sandpaper lightly [with periodic trials] which I did and it now fits well and snugly. Be careful! ; also be very careful in "rocking" any and all joints, a broken-off tenon and/or a cracked socket could need costly repair , if not fatal to the cl's value. Don

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 RE: Tight Bell!
Author: Ray Swing 
Date:   1999-08-02 15:51

When assembling or disassembling the clarinet I always use a gentle twisting motion of the two parts. When doing this however insure you have the two parts firmly in hand such you will not have pressure on any protruding keys, especially in the lower joint. In grasping the lower joint, I use my 3rd and fourth fingers of the left hand to close tight the two lower tone holes and rings and use the area between the thumb and 1 st finger to hook the thumb rest. Do not have the left hand in contact with the protruding E.F.C # long keys. If you use this method you will not damage any keys due to a twisting motion.

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 RE: Tight Bell!
Author: Tim Tinnirello 
Date:   1999-08-02 16:41

I have a Buffet International, and after about Six months from purchase the bell became really(really) tight.

Turns out the upper part of the tennon(the 1/8 inch above the cork) was not turned/cut down properly. Fortunatly, I had a year warranty on it, and the repair person put it on the lathe and trimed it. works great now.

Tim T.

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 RE: Tight Bell!
Author: Don Berger 
Date:   1999-08-02 16:55

Good advice above. Personally, I take the UJ in my left, palm up, pressing down the "D"? ring, to raise the bridge, and looking down on both joints, gently turn them together. To each his own, I guess! Tim, is your Buff-Intl a C 12 or 13, if so what do you think of it? I've been considering buying a C 12, so as to round out my "stable", so I can pursue Lee Gibson's lengthy "Claranalysis" .

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 RE: Tight Bell!
Author: Ken Shaw 
Date:   1999-08-02 17:40

maureen bleiman wrote:
-------------------------------
My daughter is having problems pulling the bell from her wooden(buffet and crampon e-11)clarinet .She is rigorous in cleaning properly when she finishes, and in applying cork grase,but she finds she has to sort of rock the bell before it budges,I would be very grateful if someone could advise
if this action could damage the clarinet and if so what can she do to get thebell off? many thanks maureen


Maureen -

Rocking the bell is dangerous, but we all do it.

The problem is caused by swelling at the bottom of the bell socket, causing it to bind on the wood of the lower joint tenon below the cork. This is very dangerous. The bell socket is reinforced with a metal ring, and the tenon is quite thin at the end, which leads to a serious risk of cracking the end of the tenon.

You should take the instrument to a repair shop as soon as possible and have them ream out the bell socket, particularly the area all the way at the bottom. Do not under any circumstances let them file down the tenon instead, even though this is much easier to do. There's not enough wood there to risk taking anything off.

See also my posting a few messages down under "Help" on a sticking mouthpiece.

Best regards.

Ken Shaw

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 RE: Tight Bell!
Author: Rick2 
Date:   1999-08-03 04:20

I find it interesting how people hold the horn to put it together. I hold the upper joint inthe left hand palm on the bottom and 4 fingers on the tone holes and the one pad cup there. For the lower joint, I put the thumbrest in the notct between the finger and thumb on my right hand and then place the correct figers on the three tone holes, leaving the pinky off in the air like holding a little tea cup, with the thumb resting on the posts near the thumbrest, or sitting quietly next to my fingers off the horn. Depends what I'm putting on or taking off at the moment. Then twist the tenon into place. Fortunately my bell slides on with just the right pressure to hold it inplace so I have never had to rock it. 40 years of wear I guess, plus I'm still using the same artificial cork I put on the horn in january. Barrel tenon started coming off but I used contact cement to put it back on. The stuff never seems to compress.

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