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Wiggle - A Problem?

Author: Clariphant in Bb
Date: 2007-07-05 07:58

I'm terribly sorry for posting two questions in such a short timeframe, but I'm curious about something...

When I first got my Greenline R13, it had a defect in the upper joint. The area of wood (well, plastic) below the cork of the upper tenon had a diameter slightly larger than that of the area above the cork. Because of this, not even the stock barrel could be put on all the way. There was always a distance of about .5mm between the barrel and the upper joint, and trying to force it all the way on would result in binding (and frenzied hair dryer antics......). Unfortunately, being the naive 9th grader I was at the time, I did not exchange the clarinet. Instead, I brought it to my local tech (the best in my area) and asked him to fix it. Again, being naive, I had the tenon "evened out" rather than getting the barrel adjusted. For a time, I used a very tight-fitting Scott barrel, so I didn't even notice a problem. However, after getting the cork thickened to use another barrel, I realized that none of my barrels, not even the stock barrel, could be used without wobbling. As far as I can tell, the tech over-sanded the lower area of the tenon. The cork was definitely thick enough, but the wobble remained.

That brings us to today.

I've used multiple barrels, and I have not had any trouble with squeaking/leaking with any of them. Provided that I can adequately tune by pulling out the mouthpiece rather than the barrel, is the wiggle a problem? I'm planning on getting another barrel soon, and I may find one that's tight enough (but it's unlikely).

If it is a problem, is it possible for a tech to add material (epoxy of some sort?) to the the tenon? Is this something most tech do, or would I have to send it to a "top tier" guy? I've seen posts about using nail polish or superglue for just this purpose, but, my instrument is a greenline, and, I believe the acetone used to remove any accidental drops of these substances from the clarinet body may actually eat through the resin of my instrument as well, so it's not a risk worth taking.

Thanks