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Re: tiny crack

Author: Brad Behn
Date: 2014-08-17 23:29

Please don't worry - a crack is rarely a disaster. Cracks are a common occurrence and most good repair techs are qualified for this eventuality.

Over my career I have had numerous instruments crack and I have witnessed many student's and colleague's instruments crack as well.

Please note that wood expands and contracts with temperature and humidity changes. This constant motion, combined with the moderately volatile nature of the material as compared to other synthetic materials can frequently cause such an issue as a crack to appear. Not to worry, most typically it can be easily and quickly repaired with superglue. Yes - Super Glue. There are many brands, but any will work, although I am sure some of our tech friends on this site can comment as to which brand they prefer (and why), but the key is that glue is by far the best thing you can do (in my opinion).

Other options such as pinning or banding are time honored solutions but I do not prefer them to glue for the following reasons:

1. Pinning and banding adds mass to the instrument and can cause the instrument's sound and response to dull somewhat.

2. Carbon fiber banding is better than metal as it is lighter, but it confines the wood to some degree from full motion - and this can cause the wood to expand in a different place - meaning it could crack elsewhere. Metal banding is an absolute no (in my opinion) as it defaces the instrument, devalues it, and worse - it adds mass (dulls the instrument's vibration), and restricts the wood's natural need to expand (move), which in turn means another crack elsewhere may well occur.

3. Pinning prevents the instrument from expanding at the place where the crack was - and often a new crack will appear on the opposite side of the clarinet's body. I have had this personally occur on my first Buffet R13 my parents bought for me in 1983, and I have seen it frequently through various walks within my career. My orchestra colleague's clarinet suffers such a plight. That instrument now has very long cracks on both sides of the body, they are long, unsightly and could well have been prevented - or at least reduced had her repair tech glued the first crack.

4. Numerous repair techs whom I have worked with over the years have helped council me to this conclusion. Their experiences and mine together have informed me in a way that I now have a strong mind where this subject is concerned.

Now, every year at the university where I teach, I show my students how to repair a cracked instrument. I run a bead of glue along the crack thereby filling the void. Then I sand and shape to a point where the crack is no longer visible. Out of sight - out of mind. My personal instrument cracked this summer and I repaired it this way, it has held up just fine, and I must say it looks so much better than the typical pin-job or band-job I see on other instruments. And in my experience, the cracks I have repaired, or have witnessed repaired by repair techs using the glue method seem to hold well. And if the crack opens up again - all that is usually needed is another bead of glue and some cleanup work.

Two notes:

1. A crack which runs through a tone hole can be repaired with glue (and I suggest should be repaired with glue). If however the crack is severe, a tone hole insert may be necessary for a perfect seal. In both cases a HIGHLY qualified repair tech is needed - someone who specializes in clarinet work. This is because the tone holes will probably need a bit of "dressing" work to smooth any glue residue while ensuring a proper airtight seal with the pad's closure. This dressing work requires proper tools and techniques which come from clarinet expertise, and some practice. I personally have seen many clarinets come from local music stores in terrible playing condition due to incompetent treatment of tone hole and pad relationships. (sorry no offense meant to the many fine repair techs out there). But it is a real issue!

2. Some cracks which are severe or which have the habit of continually opening up again, may require a repair which is more than just glue. And so I step aside and unhappily yield to the pin - but this is a last resort, highly unlikely scenario for me. My bass clarinet has a pin in it, but that followed two years of carefully glueing and watching a small crack at the top of the upper joint. Eventually I decided with the council of my repair tech that to pin (only two pins) would keep the upper joint secure, where the neck is inserted and it would help mitigate the stresses of the neck's need to be inserted and removed countless times during the day as I make my mouthpieces. But this was only a last choice option for me which made sense to me following much scrutiny.

My advise:

Don't pin a crack. Don't band a crack. Glue it.

And finally, I believe crack repair can be a simple thing that everyone could learn to do (at least the basics). It should be taught at every college as part of a studio class environment. Personal resourcefulness is something we should all embrace.

Brad Behn
http://www.clarinetmouthpiece.com

Post Edited (2014-08-18 01:49)

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tiny crack new

Roxann

2014-08-17 21:24