 The Oboe BBoard
|
Author: newedit617
Date: 2014-11-27 05:33
Well this was quite a bad surprise!
In 1997 I purchased a new Rigoutat RIEC. It has never cracked, and it continues to play very well. I used a case humidifier and swabbed the oboe after playing, but I can't say I was particularly careful to do anything else to avoid cracks.
A couple of years ago I purchased a used Marigaux 901 made in 1993. It had two small repaired cracks in the upper trill key area. Last week I took it in to an excellent local repair person for regular yearly maintenance. I had noticed that high F# would not play, and quiet dynamics were difficult. He discovered NUMEROUS new cracks: below the B key, two within the A tone hole, below the A key, within the G# tone hole... and filled in some other places in the upper joint. He repaired them and the oboe played wonderfully this evening... but... is this unusual? Have I somehow been extremely negligent? The oboe never leaves the house (I don't perform right now) and thus isn't exposed to temperature extremes. I still have the RIEC, kept in the same house and played occasionally, and it still has no cracks.
?
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2014-11-27 13:58
Attachment: marigaux901carbonbanded 001.JPG (645k)
Attachment: marigaux901carbonbanded 002.JPG (665k)
Attachment: marigaux901carbonbanded 004.JPG (683k)
All wooden instruments have the potential to crack. I've recently banded a cracked Marigaux which had a crack running from the 3rd 8ve tonehole to the LH1 tonehole and through the trill toneholes, so I bushed all the affected toneholes. The carbon fibre bands went around the joint above the 3rd 8ve tonehole and below the LH1 tonehole so that should keep things in check.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: jhoyla
Date: 2014-11-27 14:55
Is this a new technique, Chris? Those CF bands are practically invisible. Do you buy them at the correct diameter?
J
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2014-11-27 15:18
Attachment: buffetdgcarbonfibrebanding 001.JPG (156k)
Attachment: buffetdgcarbonfibrebanding 002.JPG (153k)
Attachment: buffetdgcarbonfibrebanding 003.JPG (159k)
Attachment: buffetdgcarbonfibrebanding 005.JPG (156k)
Attachment: buffetdgcarbonfibrebanding 007.JPG (159k)
They're loose carbon fire strands (carbon fibre tows) cut from a spool which are wrapped around tightly and glued into slots cut into the joint (with superglue), then filler (superglue and wood dust) is used to hide them once it's been filed and sanded down, then blended in with the surrounding joint surface.
Some people prefer to have the carbon fibres left showing on the surface but I prefer to make the job less conspicuous by using filler to hide them. And they're far less conspicuous than metal flush bands that look ugly, as well as you don't have to remove the crown to fit carbon fibre bands as you would have to do when fitting metal flush bands.
You do have to find a good spot where you can cut a slot that isn't interrupted by pillars or toneholes, so I use a pencil mounted in my pillar drill and find a spot where I can rotate the joint between centres to draw a line around it that is clear from any pillars or toneholes - not an easy thing to find but I got as close to the pillar holes without cutting across them.
See the attachments of a few stages of the same kind of carbon fibre banding job, but on a clarinet.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: jhoyla
Date: 2014-11-27 16:09
Brilliant.
Looks like you cut pretty deep (2+mm) on that clarinet - is that necessary? The shallower the better, surely? As long as you have enough depth for the filler to take. Sanding lengthwise to set the "grain" - you have this down to an art.
Also, with an offset lathe could you band obliquely? It would give you more degrees of freedom and let you get closer to the crack.
But I can't argue with the results, which are superb - aesthetic and effective.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: newedit617
Date: 2014-11-27 17:25
It's intriguing to see your repair work, Chris. I wish it hadn't been necessary! But thanks for showing the process.
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: mschmidt
Date: 2014-11-28 10:30
Wow, that's a beautiful fix.
Mike
Still an Amateur, but not really middle-aged anymore
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: OboeAgain
Date: 2015-01-03 20:18
Chris, why did you choose banding instead of pinning on this oboe? Do you prefer banding over pinning?
Walter
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
Author: Chris P
Date: 2015-01-03 22:33
Banding supports the entire diameter of the joint whereas pinning is more localised, but both methods have their pros and cons and I use both depending on the situation - banding can only be done where there's a good clear spot around the joint with nothing in the way (apart from maybe a logo or a shallow slot which can be recut afterwards so long as it doesn't cut through the band) and pinning can be done in tight spots where banding is impossible such as places where there are too many pillars and toneholes in the area which will make it impossible to cut a slot around the joint without intruding into them.
I find pinning very nerve racking to do as there isn't a great margin of error should it go wrong - you can end up drilling into the joint fairly shallow and having the wood break away from the surface or too deeply and into the bore if you're not careful. There's only around 7-8mm of wall thickness for a 2mm threaded steel to be fitted into at an angle whereas with banding you can see the exact depth you're cutting into the joint.
Banding has more history as it was used by both Chinese and Japanese bamboo flute makers, only they used rattan, cherry bark or thread binding to both decorate and also to repair split bamboo instruments. But they have no keywork to worry about so the bands can be placed anywhere and with plenty of room between the toneholes.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
Post Edited (2015-01-03 22:34)
|
|
Reply To Message
|
|
The Clarinet Pages
|
 |
.jpg){kind=small}
