Author: Dutchy
Date: 2007-03-13 21:35
Yeah, the thing about bird feathers is, they're designed, by and large, to repel moisture, so the idea of using a feather to swab out moisture always seemed rather peculiar to me. But even the silk swabs aren't *that* absorbent. I find that it helps if, after I pull it through the top joint the first time, and it comes out wet, I dry the swab itself off with one of those micro-fiber face cloths (which are wonderfully absorbent, but too fat to fit into the top joint), and then pull the silk swab through the top joint again, which gets even more moisture out.
Make sure Anne understands never to force a pull-through swab through the reed well. Oboes are notorious for getting pullthroughs stuck there. Pull it through very gently and slowly, so if trouble develops, you notice ahead of time and can pull it back out by the "tail" and start over. The swabs also sometimes manage to get knots in the string, so you wanna be sure you're not trying to force a knot through the reed well.
And frequently the tail end string will get wrapped around the keywork while you're busy dropping the weight into the joint segment, and if you are in the habit of grabbing onto the swab and dragging it through really fast with a masterful "swoosh", sooner or later you're gonna drag a vital bit of keywork with it, oopsie.
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