 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: LJBraaten
Date: 2025-09-09 21:20
I have a new middle tenon that’s a little loose, I sanded down the edges {of the newly installed cork*} a little too much, and the clarinet rocks a little. (After intervening with a little masking tape I found out it is also leaking a little.) I’ve seen other posts suggesting a thin layer of Tech cork over the existing cork rather than a whole new cork. My question is how do I safely clean off any remnants of cork grease without compromising the contact cement that’s holding the existing cork in place? Is sanding the only safe option? Any tips on installing the new cork so that the edges don’t catch and the new cork get ripped off while assembling the clarinet will be much appreciated!
*Edit: the beginning of this post should read that I sanded of the newly installed tenon CORK, not the tenon itself. I’ve corrected the post, sorry for any confusion.
Final Concluding Unscientific Postscript: thanks to all who’ve responded, the bottom line is that eventually I will be stripping off the old cork and putting on a new one. In the meantime, the masking tape is working well. For those who suggested that there might be something wrong with the tenon, the problems have all been at the other of the mouthpiece. My last post describes the many errors and mishaps that have resulted in the several tenon problems I’ve had.
Laurie (he/him)
Post Edited (2025-09-14 21:03)
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2025-09-10 02:02
Attachment: tenoncork2.png (1042k)
Why did you sand the tenon ring down? You've buggered it up by sanding it and no amount of cork is going to help, as well as it being prone to being torn off during assembly.
If the tenon was binding in the socket, it's much better to scrape around the tenon ring by hand using a sharp scraper until the ideal fit in the socket is achieved. You'll see the high spots which will go shiny when you fit the tenon in the socket, so carefully remove those high (shiny) spots until things fit nice and neither binds nor wobbles.
The only real course of action is to machine down the tenon ring you've rounded off, degrease it well and build it up with superglue and wood dust or superglue and carbon fibre and then machine it down to the correct diameter so it fits nice and snug in the socket. Or fit a metal tenon ring (machined from brass or nickel silver) that's both the correct diameter in relation to the socket and also covers the end of the tenon.
If the tenon is slightly shorter than the socket and there's enough of a gap left when assembled, you may not even need to shorten the tenon. Otherwise you'd machine down the existing tenon ring and also shorten it by around 0.5mm at the most, then machine a metal tenon ring to fit nice and tight (an interference fit) and glue it on as well with either epoxy or superglue.
When fitting any tenon cork, make it barrel shaped instead of leaving the edges completely square as seems to be popular in America. To sand the tenon cork nice and evenly, you can mount the joint in your lathe and sand it down whilst it's spinning to get the ideal shape. Then check the new tenon cork will go around 2/3 into the socket whilst still dry, then apply cork grease once you've got a good fit as it's not easy to sand greasy tenon corks down. See attachment which is from a Buffet where I had to rebuild both tenon rings as the tenon rocked around like anything.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
Independent Woodwind Repairer
Single and Double Reed Specialist
Oboes, Clarinets and Saxes
NOT A MEMBER OF N.A.M.I.R.
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: LJBraaten
Date: 2025-09-10 02:53
Chris P said:
“Why did you sand the tenon ring down? You've buggered it up by sanding it and no amount of cork is going to help, as well as it being prone to being torn off during assembly.“
I sanded the tenon cork after I installed it because it was too thick. I’ve probably done 20 of these and I’ve never had one that fit just right. The directions with the cork and given by everyone else say sanding is required. I just happened to sand too much off on this one.
“ When fitting any tenon cork, make it barrel shaped instead of leaving the edges completely square as seems to be popular in America. ”
That’s what I always do, and what I did here. It is the source of my problem. I sanded too much off the edges and that’s why the clarinet wobbles.
It appears my OP wasn’t clear. I didn’t sand the tenon per se, I sanded the newly installed cork. I corrected the problem, I apologize for the confusion. And thanks for the very detailed response.
Laurie (he/him)
Post Edited (2025-09-10 05:59)
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Author: kdk
Date: 2025-09-10 13:23
LJBraaten wrote:
> I have a new middle tenon that’s a little loose, I sanded
> down the edges {of the newly installed cork*} a little too
> much, and the clarinet rocks a little. (After intervening with
> a little masking tape I found out it is also leaking a little.)
> I’ve seen other posts suggesting a thin layer of Tech cork
> over the existing cork rather than a whole new cork.
Is this a DIY cork replacement, or was it done by a repair tech?
My first reaction is that trying to fix the problem with Tech cork or any other filler is more trouble than it's worth. It would be just as simple to remove the cork and replace it again. If it's done in a shop, make sure it fits before you take it back. If you're doing the work yourself, this time be a little more deliberate (slower) about adjusting the fit if it's too tight at first.
Whatever you do to fix the looseness will, I think, be necessarily less secure than a whole new cork would be, and replacing a tenon cork takes a only few minutes.
Karl
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Author: Ed
Date: 2025-09-10 16:23
When I have had issues with a cork that is too small, a quick remedy I have used is to clean any excess cork grease and then wrap with teflon plumbers tape. It works well for a quick fix and lasts very well and seals great
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Author: LJBraaten
Date: 2025-09-10 19:22
Thanks for the responses:
Karl, it’s a DIY., and a new cork would be my preference. I have done many of these, but for some reason I’ve had multiple fails on this one over the past three years. The current cork is my fourth one. I’ve replaced two other tenons on this and my bass in the meantime with no problems. This joint is jinxed! I’m willing to take the risk on the quick solution of tech cork. If it doesn’t work I’ll just be back where I started, using masking tape and eventually having to start over with new cork. If I had a tech nearby I’d take it to them. But my repair person is a two hour one way drive, and then I’d have to wait for the repair to be finished and make that trip again. Every time I think about this the DIY option looks like a better option. (I know, I guess it’d be fair to say now, “how’s that working for you?”)
Ed: I’ve had mixed results with teflon tape not staying in place. Seems like it needs replacing or adjustments after every use. Someone in my band suggested the older style brown masking tape and it is working very well. The joint is very snug, and the tape shows no signs of coming off when I assemble and disassemble the instrument.
Why I think a layer of tech cork might work:
Last year I was asking here about thickness of cork for my bass since it requires a a thicker layer than my soprano Bb. Someone suggested applying a thin layer of tech cork over the top as an option. (I think this person had some success, perhaps I need to find out how to dig up that old thread and pm them.) I went ahead with a completely new cork. Because my Bb tenon is the center joint, which involves removing keys with a complete replacement, I’ve decided to risk the tech cork layer as a quicker fix. Cleaning off the old cork grease is the problem. I’m concerned that whatever I use might soak through and loosen the bond on the first layer. Would a slightly damp rag with alcohol work? Would a light sanding with fine sand paper be a better place to start? Would soap and water be effective?
Thanks again for your responses!
Laurie (he/him)
Post Edited (2025-09-10 19:34)
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Author: RBlack
Date: 2025-09-10 20:22
Any and all of your ideas to remove a majority of excess cork grease should help. However, I am extremely skeptical still that the tech cork layer will stay in place.
If this is an instrument you’ve had issues with getting too loose in the past, that raises suspicions for me that the tenon to socket fit itself may be excessively loose, thus over relying on the cork to provide stability. Of course that is definitely not a diy fix, but something to ponder.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2025-09-10 20:23
As it's just the tenon cork you've sanded down too thin, then carefully remove it WITHOUT gouging anything up (I've seen loads of tenons all chipped and gouged up by so-called 'professional' repairers, so don't be like them). Use a screwdriver to get under the overlap and then peel the old cork off and gently scrape it going around the tenon and not across it.
Use acetone on wooden clarinets to remove the old adhesive - soak an area of a strip of rag with solvent and strop the tenon slot to clean all the old adhesive off and that will also degrease it. Any stubborn bits of adhesive can be lifted off by gently scraping them with the tip of a screwdriver - don't dig the tip into the wood as you just want to nudge or lift the stubborn bits off.
With plastic clarinets, you're safer degreasing them with isopropyl alcohol and that won't make the plastic suddenly turn to dust as seems to be the popular myth. Don't use acetone on plastic or resin clarinets. You can however use solvents on ebonite (hard rubber) and bakelite (phenolic resin) clarinets and mouthpieces.
If the tenon slot is grooved, you can then go around the grooves with the edge of a screwdriver to remove any adhesive still in them - you won't find any remnants of cork in the grooves as the cork strip only has minimal contact on grooved tenons. Then clean up and degrease the grooves with solvent (but only on wooden or ebonite clarinets). The best adhesive surfaces when using contact adhesive are both completely flat or smooth surfaces.
If the tenon slots are grooved with very sharp peaks, then you can always machine them down to flatten them out for maximum contact between the cork strip and the tenon slot when using contact adhesive - grooved tenon slots DO NOT offer a greater surface area for contact adhesive to bond to the cork strip, unless you can make the underside of the cork strip grooved to perfectly mesh deep into the grooves which isn't ever likely to happen.
That's often why tenon corks fail with grooved tenon slots as there's hardly any contact made between them and the underside of the cork strip - that and tenon slots that haven't been degreased thoroughly, or if you use that cheap lipstick-style cork grease which contains petroleum which soaks into the cork and destroys the contact adhesive.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
Independent Woodwind Repairer
Single and Double Reed Specialist
Oboes, Clarinets and Saxes
NOT A MEMBER OF N.A.M.I.R.
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: LJBraaten
Date: 2025-09-10 20:47
Thanks for the advice. I have a friend who tells me that after he removes the tenon cork he then applies a layer of contact cement on the tenon. He lets it sit several minutes, then wipes it off with a rag. He claims that this will remove the remnants of the older dried contact cement from the instrument. I haven’t asked if he follows up with a quick wipe down of another cleaner, I suspect it would be necessary.
Laurie (he/him)
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2025-09-10 22:01
You can never over degrease anything - if you think you've already degreased enough, there's no harm in degreasing at least once more just for luck.
Once the new tenon cork is fitted, only then should you oil the bore and not before just to be on the safe side.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
Independent Woodwind Repairer
Single and Double Reed Specialist
Oboes, Clarinets and Saxes
NOT A MEMBER OF N.A.M.I.R.
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2025-09-11 09:56
>> Someone suggested applying a thin layer of tech cork over the top as an option. <<
I don't like that. Very occasionally I use a layer of tech cork (aka rubber cork) under the layer of cork, not on top of it. I do this when the thickest layer of cork that I want to use is still too thin, but thickening the tenon itself (under the cork) is not an option (usually time or budget constrains, it's pretty much always an option otherwise).
This doesn't help in case you don't want to remove the entire cork, but...
>> I’ve decided to risk the tech cork layer as a quicker fix. Cleaning off the old cork grease is the problem. I’m concerned that whatever I use might soak through and loosen the bond on the first layer. <<
Risk is kind of a strong word for a DIY but I wouldn't trust anything glued to already greased cork (at worst that layer or the cork itself peels off... I guess you can decide how much of a risk that is). Even degreasing it to the point of definitely risking the glue separating is not enough to really clean the cork itself to trust gluing anything to it.
>> This joint is jinxed! <<
Usually middle tenons are the trickiest in that respect because they are relatively short.
It's also possible that the tenon itself is a little loose and you are trying to compensate by an extra thick cork (is it an old and/or very used clarinet?).
Post Edited (2025-09-13 10:49)
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Author: LJBraaten
Date: 2025-09-13 18:54
Thanks for all the responses, it looks like the consensus is not to put a thin layer of cork over the existing cork. I will eventually replace it, but for now I’ll swallow my pride and continue to use the masking tape since it is snug and is working well.
And… I finally found that post where I thought someone advised gluing a thin layer over the top of existing cork. Turned out I misread it. I spent 30 minutes searching on this site and couldn’t find it. It only took 5 seconds on Google. I’ll never use the search function here again!
FWIW: I think the tenon itself is fine, I’ve just had a series of mishaps and dumb user errors.
First, I am usually careful, but I one July I had the clarinet in a hot car too long. I should have let it cool off before assembling it at rehearsal. When I put it together the heat had reactivated the contact cement and the cork came loose.
Next, I did a very sloppy job installing the next cork. It was crooked and a little out of the channel at one spot, mainly because I didn’t bother to remove the bridge key. It didn’t last long before it was ripped out of place.
Then on the next two installations I sanded down the cork too much. The current one seems fine when I first assemble the instrument, but with just a little playing and warming up it loosens. Live and learn.
Laurie (he/him)
Post Edited (2025-09-13 19:39)
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Author: m1964
Date: 2025-09-13 22:17
LJBraaten wrote:
"Last year I was asking here about thickness of cork for my bass since it requires a a thicker layer than my soprano Bb. Someone suggested applying a thin layer of tech cork over the top as an option. (I think this person had some success, perhaps I need to find out how to dig up that old thread and pm them.) I went ahead with a completely new cork. Because my Bb tenon is the center joint, which involves removing keys with a complete replacement, I’ve decided to risk the tech cork layer as a quicker fix."
NOT on TOP of the regular cork.
I had a problem when a "tech" decided to enlarge the socket on my brand new R13 Prestige when the tenon started to bind, instead of shaving the tenon shoulder.
After that, the joint would become loose during practice and thicker tenon cork did not help because eventually it would compress enough for the tenon to start separating during practice.
Someone on this board suggested to apply a layer of the thin tech cork first, then a second layer of the regular cork and that worked very well. The tech cork does not compress and the outside thin layer of regular cork also would not have much thickness to compress.
My advice is to apply thin (0.2 mm-0.3 mm) tech cork first, then go with the regular cork, maybe 1mm-1.2mm on top of the tech cork.
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