 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: wiclarinet
Date: 2008-03-11 03:06
So I was taking off the LH Pinky keys and when I put them back on, I accidentally put the rod for the Ab/Eb lever into the on for the E/B one. Now, obviously, since it's shorter, I cannot get it out. Any help here?
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Author: AllanMc
Date: 2008-03-11 03:52
Take it to a qualified repair person, which is what you should have done in the first place. While you can do a lot of repair work youself, you need to make sure that you learn exactly how to do it before you attempt anything yourself.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2008-03-11 05:05
Do you mean that when the rod is screwed open all the way it is still inside the post? If it is then try to play with it slightly while still turning it to open, or try to drag it with the screwdriver, or maybe move the key a little, or the clarinet, and see if it falls or moves out more. Try combination of these things too, and make sure you try it with the slot end of the screw pointing down. I don't know if the rod is very tight in the key or not. I'm sure there other ideas maybe others will know. I just thoguht of some stuff now since this has never happened to me.
Edit: Another thing for next time, before you screw in a rod you can put it above the posts to see if the length matches so you know it's the right one. If the difference is small enough so you still get confused it's going to be close enough to not have the problem that happeend to you this time.
Post Edited (2008-03-11 05:11)
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Author: skygardener
Date: 2008-03-11 05:41
If this is an older clarinet the screws might be magnetic and you may try to draw it out with a very strong magnet (if you have one).
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2008-03-11 07:29
(Well, even professionals goof up sometimes. No need for stern looks and the warning finger)
Get a toothpick or a wooden match and some penetrating oil. With a knife or sandpaper, form the toothpick's tip into what resembles a screwdriver's tip. Apply some penetrating oil into the screw hole. Place the toothpick into the (recessed) screw's head. Wait till the wood swells and gently pushes against the flanks of the screw head's slot, thus gripping a bit. Then c-a-r-e-f-u-l-l-y try to pull the screw out while rotating it. Be sure there is absolutely no tension on the lever, else the friction of the screw is stronger than the friction between toothpick and head.
It might not work at the first attempt.
Resist the temptation to use a bigger screwdriver for the same job - its hard tip will force the screw head slot apart, and then you've lost.
Another method might be canned (pressurised) air, blown into the rear end of the lever assembly (probably between the rod and the rear pillar). Don't overdo it because the air is ice cold and may damage the wood.
--
Ben
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-03-11 07:40
If it's loose, try tapping it sharply against a hard surface (like a table top covered with a folded cloth to protect the clarinet) with the LH lever pillars pointing downwards - the force might shift the screw enough so you can grip the head with pliers once it emerges from the pillar.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2008-03-11 07:44
I thought abotu the magnet but you really need a strong one which I doubt you have (but who knows?). Just had another idea after reading Ben's post. The toothpick is a good idea, and you can possibly use a tiny drop of glue to glue the toothpick (or whatever you choose) to the rod. Make sure not to glue it to the key or post walls too. After it dries pull it out. Make sure the rod is completely loose and not screwed in even a little or else the glue will just fail. Maybe even something just a little sticky will be enough.
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2008-03-11 08:07
> Maybe even something just a little sticky will be enough.
I was reluctant to suggest glue, because if you have a nervous hand and the glue lands between screw and post...
Having two kids I know what's both sticky and water-soluble: Syrup. Dip the toothpick in (thinned) syrup (because you still want the wood to swell), place into screw and wait...
--
Ben
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Author: stevesklar
Date: 2008-03-11 10:22
or try using a really fine screw. soft brass preferably. the threads (like Ben's toothpick solution) will catch in the slot head. Be careful not to screw too tightly otherwise it might expand the slot. Then pull out.
or take to a tech, or the toothpick idea
i've done this recently to the trill Bb - accidentally put a short screwrod in while watching some tv. fortunately you can push that one out from the other side.
==========
Stephen Sklar
My YouTube Channel of Clarinet Information
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2008-03-11 13:29
I call the two LH lever rods "mixupables", as are/maybe the thumb ring rod with the G# rod , of course the pivot screws can be mixed as well. I have seen several techs use a wood block with holes to keep these straight, but I simply return each rod/screw to its location after removing its key. It works for me with little lost time, for my low-tech repairing. Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2008-03-11 13:31
I live in fear of making this type of mistake, even though I've been working on clarinets for years. Do I want to trust myself never to have one moment of absent-mindedness? Uh.... A big helper for me has been an item sold through the Ferree's Tools catalogue:
http://www.ferreestools.com
See page 106 of the 2008 catalogue for "Assembly Boards" (available for clarinet, flute, sax, oboe and bassoon) These are boards with holes drilled in labelled drawings of the keys. While disassembling the clarinet, stash each rod and screw in the appropriate hole on the board. The rods will stand up vertically in the holes with no problem.
I prefer using the assembly board to putting each screw back in its hole on the clarinet or through a key, because most of the clarinets I restore are old and filthy. I like to clean all the screws and clean out all the screw-holes with a damp pipe cleaner, let them dry thoroughly (empty) and then lightly oil the holes and screws with a different pipe cleaner. By the time I finish all that, I'm bound to have forgotten what goes where when I reassemble the instrument.
The assembly board is a particularly good investment right now, because when I'd just gotten started on a restoration job (1921 Buffet in A), I had to set it aside to travel for an unexpected family event. Soon after I returned, I badly sprained my right wrist, with some tendon damage, and won't be able to do what's necessary on that clarinet for (I'm guessing) at least another couple of weeks. By then, the clarinet will have been sitting around, disassembled, for about two months. If I'd left the screws sitting around loose, even if I'd set them out very carefully in order, they'd have moved by now: My husband and I have had too many opportunities to jostle that box. Without the screw assembly board, I'd be...screwed.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
Post Edited (2008-03-11 13:45)
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-03-11 14:29
Assembly boards are useful, and easy enough to make by drilling blind holes into a block of hardwood.
I mostly use a block which has holes in a 3x18 formation so all the rod screws go into their relative holes as they are on the joints, and it can be used for any instrument.
Also a block with holes in a 3x6 formation which I use for the long oboe steels (over 2mm diameter), so the top joint screws are in order of length, and the bottom joint and the bell screws which all go in the three different columns. I use the 3x18 board for the small screws (2mm diameter and under) which all go into their relative positions. Useful when polishing them up as it keeps them off the bench after they've all been straightened out and shiny. And when recutting the slots, you know which ones you've already done.
http://freespace.virgin.net/pete.worrell/slottingmachine.htm
With point screws, I usually stick these in a wine cork in their relative positions as well as a seperate wine cork for needle and flat springs, so they too don't get mixed up.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2008-03-11 15:33
Ben I was also thinking jam or something like that. Syrup is probably better, especially the bits that are a little dry on the edge. You know the old saying, hungry minds...
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Author: C2thew
Date: 2008-03-11 16:01
if you have a teflon spray, use just a drop and let it sit on the screw to loosen it up.
if the screw is still partly sticking out, use a wrench to clamp the end (don't use a screw driver as if the screw is really stuck, all the screwdriver will do is shred the metal, making it impossible to ever use the screw again. just clamp the screw, and turn it with a wrench.
or if that doesnt work, you can use a combination of a screw driver and plyers to get extra leverage to make sure the screw rotates. word of warning though, if the screw is stuck, then it might strip the screw.
go with liquid teflon first.
Nonsense about taking it to a professional to have it regulated. DIY allows you to be resourceful on projects. when there's something you can't do without aid of a professional such as undercutting tone holes to fix tuning, that might be something to take to a professional. not so much fixing a screw.
hope that helps
Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. they are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which was already but too easy to arrive as railroads lead to Boston to New York
-Walden; Henry Thoreau
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Author: rtmyth
Date: 2008-03-11 21:02
There are tools made to extract screws. The extractors are left-handed screws which , with a very narrow tip, and which, with a little pressure, lock into the slot of the recalcitrant one , which can then be extracted with a counterclockwise motion of a screwdriver. But, I have never had experience with clarinet pins!!
richard smith
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2008-03-11 21:19
The inside posts for the left-hand little finger keys are usually drilled and tapped all the way through. If the opening isn't embedded in the wood, you can straighten out a thin paperclip and shove the end through the post with needle-nose pliers, pushing the rod out.
If the rod hasn't reached the inside post, it may be possible to unscrew the exterior post, with the key on it, but I'd leave that to a repair shop.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-03-11 23:49
On an early Leblanc Concerto where the threads had been stripped on the LH lever screws, I drilled into the ends of them with a 1.1mm drill, tapped them with a 12BA tap and screwed in a 12BA screw to grip them with so I could just pull them straight out.
Then re-tapped the inner (embedded) pillars with a 2mm tap and fitted the new screws. Job done - though it would have been fine if the previous repairer didn't over-torque the screws to begin with.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Don Berger
Date: 2008-03-12 13:39
Yup - For some of these "jobs" it sure takes a very skilled machinest to solve. I've always been impressed by one of my friend's ability to straighten-out long rods [by rotation] . Don
Thanx, Mark, Don
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2008-03-12 14:22
Not only straightening long rods, but straightening out bent key barrels (and long key barrels such as several oboe/cor anglais keys and flute/piccolo trills) is also a good skill to acquire - and very useful if you work on B&H 1010 clarinets as they have rod screws throughout, so getting both rods and key barrels straight is part of the process.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Avie
Date: 2008-03-12 21:35
A photo of it may be helpful to determine the best way to remove the jammed rod without damaging the clarinet.
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Author: D Dow
Date: 2008-03-13 00:26
You may be able to push the screw back through with a regular needle spring of more than one inch in size.
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