 The Oboe BBoard
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Author: ohsuzan
Date: 2012-03-10 17:44
This morning my oboe got knocked over at a Youth Symphony Rehearsal. (I HATE it when that happens.)
What's not working: RH C#.
RH C and RH Eb are working, although the Eb key inexplicably causes a little wobble in the C key when it is depressed. (I say inexplicably, because they are not on the same rod.)
When RH C# is depressed, it does not return -- stays depressed.
When RH Eb is pressed, it releases the C#.
Everything else is playing. All visible springs are engaged. No apparent binding of keys, although I certainly think the C# must be binding somewhere.
Any ideas for a quick fix? Concert tonight . . .
Susan
Any ideas
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2012-03-10 18:36
It's a bent C#/Eb steel - the C#/Eb keys are both mounted on a pinned steel where the C# touch operates the C# pad.
Both those pieces are screwed (or pinned) to the steel and the Eb key runs on the same steel, so that's most likely the key that's been bent and is binding on the steel.
To straighten it out means taking it all apart, straightening out the steel (which must be done carefully due to the pinning holes driled through it) and also the Eb key barrel needs straightening out.
There is no quick fix for this - only quick fix is to borrow someone else's oboe for the concert unless you can take it to your tech pronto.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: ohsuzan
Date: 2012-03-10 19:43
Right you are, as usual, Chris! And thank you for weighing in. That is what I was hoping for!
And now, I would also like to say a public thank you to Alvin Swiney, of Richmond, VA, who has been maintaining my oboes for me the past couple of years.
Alvin responded very promptly to my panicked phone call, and walked me through the fixes he himself would have tried. He called it "whack therapy". Involves a screwdriver and a hammer. Not something you would want to try at home, kids, without someone knowledgeable guiding you.
But, mirabile dictu, the keys are free! Especially nice on a program that involves four sharps in the key signature . . .
Tonight's program:
Brahms First Symphony, first movement
William Walton, Concerto for Viola and Orchestra
Gyula David, Viola Concerto
Oh, yeah! It's gonna be a GOOD time tonight. Thanks again, Chris.
Susan
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2012-03-10 21:39
Good to know you got it sorted out with such short notice!
Provided the screw or steel is perfectly straigth (and they're relatively easy to straighten out by spinning them in a bench chuck and running a piece of wood with a hole drilled through one end along the length while bending the screw to form an arc), you can straighten out key barrels with the "whacky therapy" method - place the rod screw in the bent key barrel and feel where the resistance is, then if it goes all the way through, find the point where the bend is and tap it with a wooden mallet handle or wooden screwdriver handle as that won't damage the key. Do this several times until the rod screw can be slid through with no resistance and the key will spin freely on the rod screw.
It's all part and parcel of woodwind repair and manufacture - keys will always get bent at some point, so it's useful to knwo how to sort them out so they all run freely on their steels or screws.
The hardest keys I've found to straighten out are the RH1 fingerplate, the bell key and both cor anglais G# keys. I often get numb hands from straightening them out.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: huboboe
Date: 2012-03-12 00:18
Chris -
I was taught when spinning a rod in the bench motor to straighten it, never to flex it directly over a screw hole as the chances of it breaking at that point due to the hole weakening the rod was so great.
Do you find you can do this safely? (Although the bend is seldom at the hole...).
Robert Hubbard
WestwindDoubleReed.com
1-888-579-6020
bob@westwinddoublereed.com
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2012-03-12 02:11
Yeah - avoid going anywhere near the screw holes when straightening them out using this method.
Make sure the steels are mounted firmly in the chuck so they won't work loose during straightening and the screw holes are also well within the jaws so there's no danger of the steel braking off at that point.
There's usually a fair distance between the pinning holes where the Eb key is mounted and spins freely (just a bit over the length of the Eb key barrel), so that can be straightened out in two goes - do one half of the section first then the other side. The part of the steel covered by the C# overlever or pad cup won't need straightening as it's screwed directly to the key barrel.
Same applies with the feather key and trill beam steels - avoid bending them where the pinning holes are drilled through otherwise it could be tricky (but not impossible) fitting a new steel if the original one breaks - the tricky part is making sure the holes get drilled through the new steel and the key barrel perfectly without widening or emerging next to the existing holes in the key barrel.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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