 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2012-08-29 18:18
Clean them with alcohol to degrease them, then apply superglue with the tip of a (sharp) scalpel blade and leave it to harden fully.
Then with a levelling tool made from a metal rod turned down to the required diameter with the face machined perfectly flat and emery paper superglued onto it (600 to 1000 grit), go over it by hand until the bedplace is perfectly level.
Then scrape off any excess hardened glue around the bevel or in the tonehole with a sharp scalpel to tidy it all up.
If the nicks are shallow, you can deepen them slightly to make the superlue wick in deeper by cutting them deeper with a scalpel blade.
If the nicks are large, then you'll have to fill them with both superglue and wood dust, then trim off the excess with a scalpel blade and level them with the levelling tool.
If the crown of the bedplace has become too wide from levelling, you can ream out the inside edge to thin it down using a spherical reamer (of the required size) or countersink with sharp cutting edges. The bedplace should be no wider than 0.5mm but not excessively sharp so it won't cut into the pads.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2012-08-29 18:20
Make a thick paste of fine grenadilla powder and epoxy adhesive, dab a bit into the nick (allowing a bit of excess all around), let it harden completely, then carefully file and/or sand to shape. For better adhesion it helps the prep the exposed surface of the nicked area with a tiny bit of alcohol or acetone.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2012-08-29 18:33
Epoxy is far too slow setting for this - superglue offers immediate workability.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2012-08-29 20:57
Take it to a good repair person and let them do it. Don't chance screwing it up if it's a good clarinet.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: Garth Libre
Date: 2012-08-29 21:43
It seems like most of the irregularity in the tone holes has to do with the natural grain of the wood which becomes a little more pronounced as the horn ages. On my older clarinets, you can plainly see the grain but I doubt that slight surface grain would prevent the fingers from sealing. I never had my old Buffet officially overhauled, only a pad or two were replaced, but I did clean out the lower tone holes under the rings. I took off the rings and gently cleaned the tone holes. There was quite a bit of dark dirt that came out of the bore of the tone holes. I then gently reoiled the area in and around the holes with almond oil. I imagine that it would have to be a pretty pronounced grain indentation in order to negatively affect playability. I did use the mixture of ca glue and wood dust to seal the crack in the barrel. When I was done you would almost need a magnifying glass to see the crack on the outside now. I used 1000 and 1500 and then 2000 grit sandpaper followed by a touch of oil. The result looks very professional but I would think you have to be very carefully around tone holes with ca glue. I would tape off and protect anything you don't want the glue to touch.
Garth, 305-981-4705. garthlibre@yahoo.com
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2012-08-29 22:03
Any glue that does accidentally get on the joint surface can easily be removed by scraping it off with the hell of an old reed.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Garth Libre
Date: 2012-08-29 23:48
I'd rather not drop any ca glue on the body of the horn. It can mar the finish of some of the more highly polished surfaces. I now cover everything with paper and tape. Ca glue can be very drippy.
Garth, 305-981-4705. garthlibre@yahoo.com
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2012-08-30 10:48
Oops - I meant "... the heel of an old reed"!
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: David Spiegelthal ★2017
Date: 2012-08-31 11:15
Side discussion with Chris P: If you use faster-drying epoxy (the "5-minute" or even "30-minute" varieties), when mixed with grenadilla dust the working and drying times are just right, in my opinion. And, less air gets trapped in the mix so you have less porosity in the final patch. You can also mold the blob a bit while it's drying to push it thoroughly into the nick/hole/chip. I use a mix with superglue sometimes too, but often it sets a bit too fast for my tastes and does tend to trap air, resulting in a rougher-looking patch.
Anyway, we all have our 'pet' methods and the results are what matter.
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Author: Clarineteer
Date: 2012-08-31 12:25
Thanks to everyone for their helpful tips. I have decided to take it to a local tech who is willing to teach me how to do this process. I really appreciate it.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2012-08-31 12:55
Older superglue is better than fresh as it's much slower setting, so it can be poked around with to get rid of any air pockets. But superglue on its own won't harden all that fast unless you introduce wood dust. I usually apply it and then leave the joint set by for around 30 minutes to an hour or so (while getting on with something else like polishing keys!) and then set to work tidying up the toneholes once it's fully hardened. Any voids can then be filled by applying a tiny amount of more superglue and a sprinkling of wood dust.
It's important to have tonehole bedplaces as perfect as possible - especially when installing cork pads as they close against the bedplace instead of conforming to it like some softer skin, leather and synthetic pads.
I saw one kind of synthetic pad that engulfed the entire bedplace and made full contact with the bevelled sides - it was on a cor anglais for sale on eBay. I bet the pads began to stick on that!
Minimising the surface/contact area by having as thin a bedplace crown as possible will reduce the likelyhood of pads sticking, but that also depends on the pads themselves - plastic coated leather pads become sticky with high humidity levels. I've got trouble with my Buffet basset horn's double F/C key as the upper tonehole is small but it has a large bevelled edge resembling a volcano, so the pad makes too much contact with the bevel and the vent pad tends to stick to it resulting in a slightly veiled G/D until it unsticks itself and springs open. The other two players with the same model basset horn also have this trouble (and condensation getting into the toneholes on the back of the top joint).
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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