 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2014-04-09 10:19
I've just picked up a clarinet to fix. The caller (the mother of the 8-Y-O player) said that the reed needed changing, so I explained that this was normally a task performed by the player and offered to talk them through the procedure. She was OK with this, but we ran into problems when we came to unscrewing the ligature. She said there wasn't anything with screws on. I asked what was holding the reed on and she said that there wasn't anything holding it on, it was just sort of there.
At that point I said I'd call in on the way past this morning and replace the reed and show them how to do it next time. She was right, there is nothing holding the reed on, except the dob of superglue her husband used to fit the reed because he'd mislaid the ligature. I'm not sure how I'm going to get the reed off, superglue is water-soluble, so I'll try soaking the reed/mouthpiece for a couple of days and see what happens. I thought I'd seen everything.
Tony F.
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Author: PaulIsaac
Date: 2014-04-09 11:30
Tony, could you see evidence of support for Collingwood in the house?
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Author: Dibbs
Date: 2014-04-09 12:36
Lovely story. It reminds me of the guy who welded up his guitar's machine heads to stop it going out of tune.
I'm pretty sure super glue isn't water soluble but you can buy super glue remover.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2014-04-09 15:37
Super glue remover is acetone.....commonly found in nail polish remover. Of course I'd check a lower corner of the mouthpiece (an edge near the tenon) to see how hard rubber reacts to acetone first (ya don't want to melt the table!!!).
..........Paul Aviles
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2014-04-09 19:54
>She was right, there is nothing holding the reed on, except the dob of superglue her husband used to fit the reed because he'd mislaid the ligature. >
Great story! I empathize -- I'm a retired stained glass designer-builder. I did quite a lot of restoration work on Victorian and early 20th century windows. The curse of the industry was silicone caulk, but I did repair one window where someone had "fixed" rattling panes (which should have been re-puttied) with SuperGlue. Acetone worked there -- no harm to the glass or the metal. My favorite was the window that had done time in a frat house. The guys had sealed up the leaks with pink bubble gum.
For the mouthpiece, I second the recommendation to try nail polish remover, but do try it carefully, maybe in a small spot on the bottom edge above the tenon, away from the lay, where a scuff-like mark might show but it wouldn't affect the lay or the tenon sealing.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: Tom Ridenour
Date: 2014-04-09 19:58
Acetone and hard rubber do not go well together.
Ted Ridenour
Ridenour Clarinet Products,
rclarinetproducts.com
sales@ridenourclarinetproducts.com
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Author: ThatPerfectReed
Date: 2014-04-09 19:58
What Paul said. Mineral spirits I think work too: potential damage to the mouthpiece notwithstanding. Search the web for your super glue (I don't know if you refer to it as a trade name, or a generic term for extremely strong glue) where its solvents may also be listed. Sometimes hospital emergency departments and Poison Control centers know these things or have reference guides.
I would actually be surprised if it turned out that the glue was water soluable.
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2014-04-09 20:26
Thanks for the suggestions. The glue is one of the proprietery cyano-acrylate glues, not sure of the specific name as it was no longer to hand. I've actually got the reed off now, I was able to slide a craft knife blade under the reed and once I'd got a bit of leverage it just popped off leaving some glue and wood fibre traces on the table. I did some careful work with some 600 grit and it now looks and plays OK. I'll take it back tomorrow with a new ligature and a slightly modified view of humanity's chances of survival. The mouthpiece was a Yamaha 4C plastic, so I was a bit reluctant to try acetone. Fortunately, not necessary now.
Regarding the solubility of cyano-acrylates, I've successfully used water soaking to separate my fingers when I glued them together, but that may have just hydrated the skin, allowing the glue to pull away.
Tony F.
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2014-04-09 20:43
Might have driven home the lesson a little stronger if you'd just told them they needed to replace the mouthpiece - 4C isn't expensive and it might have become a pretext for upgrading.
Good job on the repair, though. I hope they appreciate it.
Karl
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Author: cyclopathic
Date: 2014-04-09 21:52
@Toni
> I'll take it back tomorrow with a new ligature and a slightly modified view of
> humanity's chances of survival.
Pessimist: it is so-o bad it can't get worse!
Optimist: it sure can.
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Author: fskelley
Date: 2014-04-09 19:38
When I saw the title of this thread, I thought somebody had finally figured out how to eliminate the ligature altogether. Which I figured is what most clarinetists seem to want anyway- no interference to reed vibration whatsoever. But I don't think superglue is the answer, LOL.
Personally I'd like a ligature that would give me thumbscrews to adjust the position of the reed horizontally and vertically, similar to the regulator on a good reed trimmer. And I thought about starting a thread for that- but then realized since I'm a mechanical engineer, it should be my job as much as anybody else's to create such a thing.
Stan in Orlando
EWI 4000S with modifications
Post Edited (2014-04-09 19:38)
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2014-04-10 00:38
fskelley wrote:
> When I saw the title of this thread, I thought somebody had
> finally figured out how to eliminate the ligature altogether.
> Which I figured is what most clarinetists seem to want anyway-
> no interference to reed vibration whatsoever. But I don't think
> superglue is the answer, LOL.
But there are easily removable adhesives. I used to use rubber cement to hold my rubber patches on the mouthpiece when I used to cut them from rubber work gloves. There's double-sided tape. I haven't tried such a thing ever. But I have some time tonight... :-)
Of course, reed changes would be less convenient with an adhesive. Might be ideal, though, with a synthetic reed.
Karl
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