 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: tdinap
Date: 2011-01-08 20:51
So after about a week off from practicing over the holidays, I picked up my R13 Bb to find that the left-hand F/C key fails to return to its normal place after being pressed down; thus the related pad stays (mostly) down when it shouldn't.
Having taken all the keys off of the bottom joint and checked the relevant spring, it seems that the posts through which the key is screwed are too close together--perhaps the wood contracted just enough to make things stuck.
I assume the cause is one (or both) of two things: 1) as I do every year, I failed to humidify my case properly (never had this problem before though) and 2) my most recent repair person may have been a bit overzealous on the swedging, as she was on several screws which were nearly impossible to get out.
Any advice on what to do with it? I don't have a regular repair person at the moment, and would prefer to do it myself if possible.
Also: is it unwise to leave the currently-keyless joint out overnight in a secure area of my desk? Would it be bad for the springs to be without constant pressure for that long, or anything like that?
Tom
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2011-01-08 22:49
1. leaving clarinet keyless is no problem
2. try to rehydrate wood by placing the joint in a plastic bag with a moist sponge or cloth.
use a largish bag and keep the actual joint and sponge apart from each other.
don't make sponge too wet
seal the bag to keep humidity in.
leave for some hours even days the refit f/c key to check of fit is now free.
If key shaft is binding between the pillars then alternative is to very slightly shorten the shaft with a very fine file
If binding is between the point screws then temporarily easing one or both back may help. Don't make screws so loose that you risk losing them
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2011-01-09 08:35
First make sure if the binding is the hinge between the posts or the screws pressing on the hinge. Put the F/C lever back and tightened the screws on both sides. I assume it is now binding. Back off the screws slightly. Is it still binding? Back them off more and more and check if at some point the binding stops.
Another very possible option is that one of the posts is not secure and turned a little, creating less space between them and causing the lever binding. Make sure this is not the reason.
If not, like Norman suggested, if the lever is "too long" for the gap you can file some carefully. If the screws cause the problem, you can very slowly and carefully, very little at a time, sand some of the screw while it is spinning in a drill. It's easy to do too much so really becareful. Also make sure to keep each screw to its place since they might be interchangable even if they look the same.
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Author: tdinap
Date: 2011-01-11 03:31
Thanks for the tips guys. Unfortunately, I'm unable to move two of the screws on this joint, including the bottom one for this key, so while it's likely just a screw binding issue, I probably still have to take it to someone with better equipment than I have...
Tom
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Author: Grabnerwg
Date: 2011-01-12 03:37
I am running two humidifiers in my workshop, AND I put orange peels in my case, and I still managed to have a stuck alternate F/C key.
Looking at it closely, I could see the rod was actually bulged outward between the posts.
I had no alternative than to shorten the rod slightly. Luckily, I have the correct tools available to do this.
I'm disappointed - so much for orange peels. They didn't seem to do the job.
Walter Grabner
www.clarinetxpress.com
Mouthpieces
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2011-01-12 08:48
At least if you shorten the key so it's loose enough (but not made excessively loose) between the pillars and countersink the shortened end a bit more, you can still take up the end play by tightening up the point screws so it becomes a good fit (so there's no lateral or radial play) and back them off a bit if it starts to bind.
What probably happened is the plating (or not enough of the plating) hadn't been removed from the ends of the key making it a tight fit in between the pillars - it probably worked fine at the time of manufacture, but a change in humidity was enough to cause it to bind.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2011-01-12 18:45
>> Unfortunately, I'm unable to move two of the screws on this joint, including the bottom one for this key, so while it's likely just a screw binding issue, I probably still have to take it to someone with better equipment than I have...
>>
Try balancing a drip of WD-40 on a toothpick (away from the clarinet) and then dropping that drip onto the slot-end of a stuck screw. Spread the drop across the screw-head enough for the oil to penetrate down into the thread. Leave it for a day, then try the screw again. (I put the drip on the toothpick first because I find it hard to coax the WD-40 to let out a single drop instead of a drizzle. I don't mind cleaning the drizzle off the workbench but it's a hassle to clean oil out from between keys on a clarinet.)
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: bmcgar ★2017
Date: 2011-01-13 17:38
In conjuction with the WD40, you might try applying heat to the post and-or the key tube using a small soldering iron.
Don't heat so much that you risk burning anything, though, and definitely don't use an open-flame heat source!
"Moderation" is the watchword.
B.
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2011-01-14 12:16
>>In conjuction with the WD40, you might try applying heat to the post and-or the key tube using a small soldering iron.
Don't heat so much that you risk burning anything, though, and definitely don't use an open-flame heat source!
>>
Despite the sensible caveats, this advice makes me nervous. WD40 is flammable oil. I'm not sure what the ignition temperature of WD40 is, but my soldering irons all have variable settings and I think I could probably blaze up some WD40 with the greatest of ease. My advice about heating the oiled post: don't use any temperature you wouldn't want to touch with your bare hand.
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: susieray
Date: 2011-01-14 18:02
Lelia, I've heated oiled posts plenty of times with a solder gun and it never starts a fire, but I don't hold it there more than a few seconds and so I've never even seen smoke for that matter.
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2011-01-14 18:39
I'm with SusieRay on this, I've gotten lubricating oil to smoke with my soldering torch, but never gotten it burning. (Yes, I know, "never say 'never'"!)
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Author: LesterV
Date: 2011-01-15 00:39
Also check the thin layer of cork on the right hand key where the cam at the end of the left hand key pushes up on it. I had a similar problem and found that the cork had been permanently compressed by the corner of the cam which would tend to stick in the compressed groove rather than return. After replacing the cork many times only to have the problem eventually recur, I finally gave up on cork and used a polymer instead and it has worked perfectly ever since.
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