 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: southernclarinetist
Date: 2012-01-28 13:15
My repairman replaced my M30D cork yesterday. I put plenty of grease on but during rehearsal it got stuck to my A barrel when switching. I let it sit overnight in a cooler room, have tried rocking it etc but no luck. Scared to try the refrigerator. Ideas?
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2012-01-28 13:33
The refrigerator shouldn't be a problem as long as you put the barrel/mpc in a ziploc bag. (not the freezer, though).
However, cork grease gets gooey when cold, and either part contracts, so you might, as an alternative, roll it in a handkerchief and keep it for a while in your (roomy) trouser pocket - the wood might expand more than the hard rubber, releasing the mouthpiece eventually.
On the other hand, if you have time, ask your repairman to sand the cork a wee bit down.
--
Ben
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2012-01-28 13:35
Try to rock it free, but be careful you don't break the tenon off.
You may need to have the tenon skimmed if it's binding in the socket (which it sounds like it probably is), but you can only check that once you've got the mouthpiece freed from the barrel.
Or better still, have the A barrel socket opened up so it's the same diameter as your Bb barrel's mouthpiece socket.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2012-01-28 14:45
I'm having a little trouble understanding why this would happen just because of a new cork if it hasn't happened before. You didn't say why you needed a new cork - that might shed a little light.
If it were a new mouthpiece and you had no history of using it with this barrel, the binding tenon, as Chris suggests, would be my first guess. But in this case the mouthpiece tenon isn't likely to have changed (unless the repairman raised a chink somewhere along the end of the tenon when he cut the old cork off or while fitting the new one), so the socket would have had to suddenly get tighter.
But if *this* mouthpiece was going in and out of *this* barrel with no problems when the cork was loose (if that was the original problem with the cork), it seems as if the cork is the most likely problem. Maybe just too thick and the grease has stiffened enough to become mildly adhesive, or (harder to imagine) cement has somehow leeched out around an edge and stuck to the inside of the barrel.
If it *is* a bind between the tenon and the barrel socket, Chris's advice is on target after you've gotten the mouthpiece out. If the cork is too tight a fit, softening the cork grease by keeping the mp+barrel warm in your pocket might loosen things. Once you get it loose, take it back to the repair shop and let the tech assess the problem.
Karl
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Author: Jack Kissinger
Date: 2012-01-28 15:10
A trick I was taught was to run moderately hot tap water around the top part of the barrel before rocking. It causes the barrel to expand and, because the water is being applied to the outside, the barrel expands more than the mouthpiece, which it insulates somewhat (and, yes, the inner diameter of the barrel will increase). Try to keep the stream of water on the barrel and off the mouthpiece as much as possible. Hot water can discolor a hard rubber mouthpiece.
Best regards,
jnk
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2012-01-28 18:28
WHO WAS THIS GUY???
If he had both the mouthpiece and the barrel when he did the work, he's a goon. Once the mouthpiece IS off, he needs to make this right - this is basic stuff.
...............Paul Aviles
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Author: DrewSorensenMusic
Date: 2012-01-28 18:33
I had a barrel stuck in an upper joint for 5 years (I know, should have sorted that out earlier), but I just couldn't pull it out, I didn't want to mess up the keywork, and I didn't know who to ask about the situation. Anyhow, I called a really good tech, and was gonna bring it in, but he told me just stick it in the fridge. I put it in a plastic bag in the fridge for an hour, got on a good pair of gloves, removed the register and side keys, pulled, and whalaa, off. Good as new.
Use gloves so you don't rub off the skin of your hand, I learned that the hard way. Make sure they grip. You can get work gloves for $2.50 at Home Depot.
The fridge is safe for the instrument. If it's wood, I'd give it a night to reacclimate, but after that it's playable.
Good luck.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2012-01-28 20:53
DrewSorensenMusic wrote:
> I had a barrel stuck in an upper joint for 5 years (I know,
> should have sorted that out earlier), but I just couldn't pull
> it out, I didn't want to mess up the keywork,
>
> Use gloves so you don't rub off the skin of your hand, I
> learned that the hard way. Make sure they grip. You can get
> work gloves for $2.50 at Home Depot.
Fortunately, this is a mouthpiece stuck in the upper end of the barrel, so damaging keywork isn't an issue. I second the suggestion to use gloves that won't slip. Or wrap a couple of thick rubber bands around both the barrel and the mouthpiece and use them as non-slip grips. With a little rocking (not too hard - the mouthpiece tenon or, more likely, the barrel socket could be damaged) and some firm twisting, the mouthpiece should eventually come loose.
Karl
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Author: Wes
Date: 2012-01-28 21:47
In some instances, if one is very careful, a single edge razor blade can be inserted between the stuck parts and, by rocking the parts, they can be separated. One must be careful not to make any indentations or marks, however.
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Author: DrewSorensenMusic
Date: 2012-01-28 23:09
Please don't try the razor blade technique. This is not safe nor practical.
Outcomes of using this technique:
1. The razor blade cannot fit into the crack, so you try to force it, it slips and cuts your hand, pretty deeply since you were forcing it in
2. The razor blade fits halfway in, and snaps from forcing, and you probably cut your hand from forcing it in
3. You get it all the way in, you rock the razor blade, and it snaps, and now you're in the same predicament you were before, but with a sharp edge around
Please, please, please, don't do this.
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Author: southernclarinetist
Date: 2012-01-29 01:24
My tech was able to fit me in. This time, the head tech worked on it. Turns out the cork wasn't secure, causing it to move when putting it on the other clarinet. It was tight anyway and sealed up quick. Took quite awhile for it to come off. It was a composite cork too. All good now with no damage . Thanks for advice!
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Author: Tony F
Date: 2012-01-29 02:10
I've done the same thing myself. Impatient as usual, I fitted the mouthpiece before the adhesive had stabilised. The cork slip along the tenon, up over the ridge at the end and then removing it became a combination of voodoo and black magic. The fridge and judicious rocking eventually did the trick.
Tony F.
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2012-01-29 04:08
I'd bring it back to the repairman if you can't get it off in a day or 2. Geez, what a goof. I worry that your barrel may crack from the mouthpiece cork swelling. Have him figure it out, because if the barrel cracks, he has to get you another one. If you gamble and it cracks needless to say you get to pay for one.
If you get it off yourself take one of those fingernail wooden files and take off a tiny bit of cork at a time, until you get a decent fit.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2012-01-29 05:58
>> Turns out the cork wasn't secure, causing it to move when putting it on the other clarinet. <<
I guess that would happen if they didn't wait long enough, waited too long, used a bar type of glue, etc. I sometimes see that with old corks I get to replace, the original turns with the barrel/joint/bell and is sometimes very hard to remove because the barrel/joint/bell doesn't slide over it.
Do you know what synthetic cork was it exactly? Or was it "combined" cork? The latter is called rubber-cork, tech-cork or gumi-cork (which is the same thing) and there's also the type from Ferree's (which is just awful!).
I've tried those types plus a lot of synthetic cork and haven't found something I like as much as natural cork for tenons yet.
BTW with excellent contact glue there really isn't much time to wait before assembling the clarinet and playing it. After gluing the overlap, by the time you finish smoothing the cork overlap and possibly sand some more if necessary, it should definitely be read to use.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2012-01-29 10:29
There isn't much that can better natural cork for tenons. Various composite cork and synthetic materials have been tried, but they don't stand up to real cork.
Some synthetic corks don't adhere too well to glue either, so maybe that's what happened to your mouthpiece.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Sean.Perrin
Date: 2012-02-05 23:47
I used one of those flat can opener pads on the mouthpiece AND barrel at the same time when this happened to me. With a slight rocking and twisting motion it came free without issue.
When it comes off, sand down the cork a bit or get the tenon on the barrel adjusted a bit if it shrunk too much in your climate and is sticking. (Or try humidifying.)
Founder and host of the Clarineat Podcast: http://www.clarineat.com
Post Edited (2012-02-05 23:48)
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Author: Wes
Date: 2012-02-07 22:43
Yes, Drew, if you are mechanically challenged please, please don't try the razor blade technique. I've removed dozens of stuck barrels this way and never broke a blade or cut myself.
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