 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: acermak
Date: 2013-12-04 16:08
I recently took my C13 which is the only all wooden clarinet I own, into the shop to get bore & key oiled, pads inspected and replaced etc. All my other instruments are various types of plastic (the B12 is ABS and the contra, alto & 1 of the basses is resonite with the other bass being hard rubber, the R13 is made out of a wood composite material so not plastic but not as sensitive as wood either).
It got me thinking, what's a good schedule for doing this kind of planned maintenance? Does the material out of which the instrument is made matter? After all, plastic instruments still need key oil & replacement of failing pads is always handy, especially before they actually do fail. Do harmony clarinets need more frequent or less frequent preventative care?
Is there some set schedule like car manufacturers suggest? Does play time matter more than calendar time or vice versa?
Curious to know what others maintenance plans look like.
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Author: cyclopathic
Date: 2013-12-04 16:28
bore oiling 4 times a year with season change, corks one a week, keys every bore oil. Wipe after every practice. Old restored wood horn oiled monthly for half year or so.
If you wanna skip to bare minimum, oil keys twice a year. When it's time to take keys off your tech will greatly appreciate it.
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2013-12-04 16:49
Depending on how much playing you do on any instrument, they should be serviced every year to two yearly intervals. In the meantime, you should add a single drop of high quality key oil to the mechanism (applied with a needle point at the ends of the key barrels and pillars) every month or so depending on how much playing you do - but don't over oil the keywork as oil will run down the pillars and contaminate the body, pads and key corks.
If you're confident in removing the keys, then do that when oiling the bore, although the bore will usually be oiled during servicing so you shouldn't have to oil the bore unless it is very pale and dry. Use a good quality vegetable based bore oil, not a petroleum or mineral oil based one for wood.
In essence, a service includes removal of all the keys and replacing any worn or defective parts (pads, key corks, springs, tenon corks) and the toneholes are all cleaned, the speaker vent is cleaned, the bore is oiled and the sockets and tenons cleaned and checked. The mechanism should also be polished if it's silver plate and cleaned if nickel plate, the joints also cleaned to remove all dust and other debris. The keys are checked for any wear or binding and fitted where needed. The mechanism is oiled and assembled and regulated and the pads are checked to be sure they're all seating properly and adjusted if not.
Plastic, ebonite and metal instruments don't require the bore being oiled as they don't need it, but the joints should all be cleaned during a service.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: cyclopathic
Date: 2013-12-04 18:12
>If you're confident in removing the keys, then do that when oiling the bore
the shortcut is to wrap pads with alum foil
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2013-12-04 19:25
Oiling the bore is controversial, some techs say to do it a few times a year, some onece a year, some never. I've been a professional all my life, I've rearly ever oiled the bore to my clarinets. Never had a crack, ever. It probably depends on where you live, how dry it is etc. It won't hurt but make sure you cover the closed pads, just put paper under the pad so the oil doesn't get on the closed pads and never "soak" it. just put some oil on an old swab and pull it through a few times. With any clarinet, you should oil the keys once or twice a year with key oil or 3-1 oil, I used that for years. One drop on each place the keys touch the rods. Just wipe off any that gets on the wood but clean off the dust before you oil. Either with a small clean paint brush or and air spray like one uses on the keyboards of a computer. Get an oil applicator so you only place one drop of oil on each place. The old method was to put some oil on a plate and using a key screw driver, place one drop of oil at a time. Of course make sure your pads are dry before putting your clarinet away using pad or cigarette paper. And swab out often and keep the corks greased to avoid extra wear and tear. One thing people forget is to clean the register tube once a year. Take off the register key and "gently" put the small key screw drive through it to clean out an dust that might have accumulated from swabbing and then do it again with a pipe cleaner, dry or damp. Oil the rod before putting it back.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2013-12-04 20:21
From learning it the hard way:
Before you start to take off the keys, lay down a towel and put each key on it in an "exploded" view. Work hunched over the towel to make sure nothing falls off.
When you take out a screw or rod, immediately put it back (without the key). Screws and rods that look alike have unique patterns of wear and angling, and point screws are often shortened at the tip to avoid binding on that particular key. They're not interchangeable.
Professional service techs often take a beach towel, tie one end around their necks and lay the rest out over a table. That catches a screw if (i.e., when) you drop it.
If something falls on the floor, lay a flashlight horizontal on the floor to highlight whatever is there and cast a long shadow.
If you have trouble picking up a tiny part, wrap a layer of panty-hose over the end of a vacuum cleaner tube and suck it up that way.
Ken Shaw
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2013-12-04 22:31
You're best removing all the keys when oiling the bore as oil can enter toneholes and contaminate the bedplaces causing the pads to stick. So once the bore has been oiled and the excess wiped, go over all the toneholes and bedplaces with a cotton bud lightly soaked in alcohol to remove any oil from where it shouldn't be. Simply covering the pads won't prevent oil contaminating the bedplaces and it won't be as easy to clean up while the keys are still in place.
When removing keys, place the rod screws in the key barrels on the relevant keys so you know where they go - they won't fall out of the key barrels and having the instrument clear of rod screws will allow you to clean around the pillars easily. With point screws you can stick them in a wine cork in their relative positions on the joints. Use one side of the wine cork for the top joint and the other side for the lower joint. If you're removing the needle springs and want to keep them in order, stick them in the wine cork in relation to where they are on the joints - both point screws and needle springs can be stuck in the same wine cork.
If you're removing the flat springs, stick them in a wine cork in a way you can see which key they belong to and make sure the flat spring screws that have flats filed on the sides of their heads go back into the key from which they came from so they don't get mixed up and you'll find the side keys catch if the screw heads are too wide.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2013-12-05 16:14
Everyone is giving you good advise about having to and how to remove the keys in order to oil the bore and the keys even though there are many techs that say it really isn't neccessary. I man named Murry Snyder, who used to be the head tech for the Buffet Co. years ago when they were distributed in NYC by the Carl Fischer Co. was one of those that told me it wasn't neccessary to oil the bore of a Buffet Clarinet. I don't think it will do any harm though if you want to oil the bore, many people do. Just make sure you cover the closed pads.
I've owned my Bb Buffet for about 48 years, my Buffet A for about 52, my Buffet Eb for about 55, my Selmer Bb for about 8 and my Selmer Bass for about 48. I've never taken any of them apart, ever. I oil the key joints once a year on average have never experienced some of the problems some of those have mentioned, have never had a crack in any of them. The very few times I've oiled the bore, it's been a long time, I can't even remembere when, I simply placed some paper under the closed pads to ovoid getting oil on the pad. I'm just giving you my opinion based on my professional experience for over 50 years.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
Post Edited (2013-12-05 16:21)
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Author: Chris P
Date: 2013-12-05 22:10
What has to be stressed here is the amount of oil used in any case - someone with many decades of experience will know how much (read as little) oil to use, but a novice may end up pouring the entire contents of a bottle onto a cloth to oil the bore or flood keywork with too much oil, so in this case it will end up getting everywhere where it shouldn't.
I've seen the results of instruments killed by kindness when the owner thought they were doing the right thing by oiling regularly and with far too much oil each time, but they ended up overdoing it and the cleanup operation was on a similar scale as that of the Exxon Valdez disaster.
Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.
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