 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Cindy
Date: 2002-07-29 22:56
I am repairing and repadding my clarinet, and some of the screws are completely stuck. I have already tried WD-40 and heating the outside to loosen it, it just doesn't work!. If anyone else has any ideas as to how I could possibly get them loose I would greatly appreciate it!
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Author: Wes
Date: 2002-07-30 00:47
Sometimes a larger handle, long screwdriver with the same small tip will do the job. They can be bought at Ferree's or can be made from a big screwdriver using a motorized grinder. When removing screws, one doesn't want to ruin the screw head, however. Success can result by patiently alternating heating with oiling with penetrating oil for a couple of days, waiting in between tries.
The repair people sometimes have to resort to drilling the screw out or sawing the screw off at the joint with a very thin jeweler's saw, making or buying a new screw. These are desperate measures for those skilled in their use, but, if carefully done, may not be visible later.
Gordon in NZ probably has good advice on this.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2002-07-30 01:03
Do you heat it enough for the trapped air in the pivot to bubble out. Do that, so that when the part cools the WD40 is drawn in. As Wes says, repeat the process for several days. A top quality screw driver is a must. The blade should be about 5" long and the exact width of the screw slot, and the handle at least 10 mm diameter . Those from Kraus are fantastic - about US$21
Shaping your own screwdriver will be very inferior unless you have considerable experience of shaping driver blades.
Sometimes I re-form the slot by using a very small dental drill.
As mentioned, sometimes a destructive removal process is required, folowed by making a new pivot rod, and swedging the pivot tube back to the correct length.
Overhauling an instrument in the state that this one apparently is in, is a task where you are likely to need special equipment or skills many times along the road. And each 'botch-up' along this road will mean more work for the technician who eventually does the patch-up.
Sorry to be negative, but tghis is the reality as I have so often seen it.
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Author: Cindy
Date: 2002-07-30 01:18
I realize that every botch up I have will have to be repaired, bu this is only a 25 dollar clarinet I got off ebay, and I doing this to gain experience and be better prepared if my good instrument has a minor repair need. It'll also help me know how each part works and connects.
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2002-07-30 02:48
Cindy,
I recently found a pretty decent screwdriver like Wes and Gordon have described at Home Depot. It was part of a 5 small-blade screwdriver set made by Rigid Tool. I think the set was less than $15 but, so far, it has shown itself to be pretty well-made and sturdy to me.
Best regards,
jnk
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Author: ron b
Date: 2002-07-30 05:44
I don't much care for WD-40... for anything :| I find it messy and it leaves an undesireable residue. Some folks use it for everything and love it. Ferree's Corrosion Cracker is a very good penetrating oil. I also like Hoppes penetrating(solvent) oil, available at gun shops. Just ask for Hoppes oil. It's a bit expensive but well worth it in my opinion. You won't need much, just a small bottle. Apply it with a toothpick or a bench oiler if you have one. **Be patient** can't be overemphasized. As Wes and Gordon advise, repeated applications and heat will eventually allow the screw to move. Be careful with the heat though; too much will melt plastic and possibly unsolder a metal horn post. There is a way to dissolve ferris metal (screws and pivots), if all else fails, and is better (again, in my opinion) than drilling or sawing. In any case, if you've gotten far enough to contemplate this you've ruined the screw anyway. See how you do with oil and heat first.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2002-07-30 13:27
I don't know why I inadvertently and mistakenly mentioned WD-40. I never use it myself - only Ferrees or other penetrating oil.
According to my research and my experimenting with evaporation, WD-40 contains no lubricant, only solvent, hence NO residue, and hence the way it cleans oils from surfaces ALLOWING them to rust more easily.
I, too cannot find much use for it. I believe penetrating oils DEPEND on carrying a lubricant, anomg other products, into the coroded or gummed-up area.
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2002-07-30 13:30
Same problems, here...
Whatever penetrating oil used will have some smell, and will spread
due to the low viscosity of the oil (the reason it will flow into the mechanism by capillary action).
The Corrosion cracker smells awful.
Store the works in a tupperware container with plastic wrap to retain the vapor.
Applying an open flame to this should be undertaken with care, as these solvents may 'flash' explosively. Eyebrows grow slowly.
If a good soak and long screwdriver don't turn the trick, it will be cheaper to have a pro remove the stuck works than to have the resulting damaged parts replaced.
(Not that I have any experience with this, of course.)
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Author: Bob
Date: 2002-07-30 14:05
Cindy...long experience with "frozen" screws is that patience is top priority as others have indicated. I would suggest,if possible,that the assembly containing the frozen screw be removed from the wood. That being done you can then apply heat with a heat gun followed by putting the assembly in your refrigerator freezer for awhile. Try this repeatedly along with judicious use of a liquid penetrant such as those mentioned. I can appreciate your desire to "do it yourself" while also appreciating the services of professional technicians.
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Author: Vytas
Date: 2002-07-30 15:07
Bob wrote:
>I would suggest,if possible,that the assembly containing the frozen screw be removed from the wood.<
Huh... Unless you're a magician, it's not possible without damaging the wood! Dream on!
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Author: ron b
Date: 2002-07-30 16:30
Gordon - maybe the 'residue' I mentioned earlier is just leftover stuff the WD-40 loosened : Anyway, I agree, I find it inferior to other products for pruposes being discussed here.
Synonymous Botch cautions against open flame around volatile materials. Heed that warning!
To apply heat for this purpose I use what most shops use - a soldering gun. Cut the tip so you have two prongs no longer connected. Smooth the ends with a small fine file or sandpaper so you don't scratch things. You can bend the ends to suit your need. Touch the prongs to the metal part, in this case the threaded post (pillar), which will bridge the missing part of the heating element. It will get hot rather quickly so be attentive. You won't get shocked by touching the open ends but they'll heat rapidly when touching one another or another metal piece.
The soldering gun will also be a nice heating tool for re-padding when you get to that step. (Plan ahead
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2002-07-30 17:05
WD-40 was developed as a water-displacement formulation for electrical connections. It is also a very low viscosity lubricant dispersed in a solvent and does leave a lubricating film behind (originally it was just a water barrier film, but it was reformulated a long time back to leave more of a film). Its penetrating characteristics work fine in "large applications" (frozen bolts, nuts, that kind of stuff) but real "penetrating oils" (very low viscosity) will work better, especially on the small stuff.
Mark C. (who regularly worked in one of the most metal-corrosive areas known to man - the enginerooms of ocean-going ships - and who learned a few tricks about what to use where when metal things are - inevitably - frozen together because of a salt water environment)
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2002-07-30 22:46
Thanks for the clarification, Mark. My WD-40 experience was, indeed, some time back, and must have been before the reformulation you mention.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2002-07-31 00:14
Gordon - WD-40 was created in 1953, and the re-formulation took place well before 1972 since the people I talked to back then told me it had been used as a lubricant for at least 10 years prior to that.
Even though it seems "dry" it isn't.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2002-07-31 00:25
And, after researching this interesting subject (well, to me, anyway) the WD40 company claims it's never been reformulated.
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Author: Gordon (NZ)
Date: 2002-07-31 11:32
In my experience, 'Never", to many involved in industry, means not during their involvement with the company. But I'm not saying this is necessarily so in this case.
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