Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2016-10-21 01:59
Today I visited my repair guy. He did a couple jobs I needed. On my Bb he replaced the cork under the throat G# key. And on my A he replaced a broken spring. The spring was the one that raises the RH rings after the fingers are lifted.
We had a nice chat while he worked. He's recently retired from the school system as a music teacher, and he's a long-time friend and a distant cousin to boot. Years ago he studied the repair business with a pro as part of his college degree, and he's been repairing instruments his whole life. He knows a lot of stories and interesting things and has a nicely ironic humor. I enjoy these little visits, which happen when my need for a repair coincides with one of his visits to the town that's midway between our residences.
Anyway, after the tech replaced the spring, he asked, hmm, was there play in these rings before? He showed me how he could wiggle the whole ring bar back and forth between the posts. I exclaimed, no - though what I probably meant by that was, I never noticed any play before.
So, when I said my no, the tech said he'd close up the daylight he could see at the end of the bar by bending the top post just a little. He took the rings back off and briefly used some kind of pliers on the post, then put the keywork back together. Hmm, he said, there's still a little play.
Sitting beside me was my double case, which had my Bb in it, I took out the lower joint of the Bb and checked for similar wiggle between posts of the RH ring bar, and it did indeed wiggle. I told the tech, and he said probably there's just some natural wear on both instruments (they are '70's vintage Buffets.) The tech then said, knowing that, I'm going to bend the post back to where it was. Off came the rings, on went the pliers, then reassembly, and the job was ready to check.
I took the joint in my right hand, and checked the action of the rings. Seemed fine.
We visited a bit more, and I paid him the $15 he asked - I'd been there over an hour. We went our separate ways. When I got home I took out the A to practice, since it had been close to a week since I'd broken the spring. I found there is a problem, one that hadn't been there before.
The uppermost pad on the RH joint that operates with the rings is not quite closing right, unless I push down on the rings a little harder. However, if I do that, the rings slightly catch on the rims of the holes and bind or drag a little when they are released. So the rings delay in raising up.
I fiddled around with the screws holding the rings, and found that if I loosened the top screw a turn or so, the problem seemed to go away - the pad closed ok, the rings didn't bind. Peering closely at the assembly, it looks like the screw may be forcing the bar slightly out of alignment when I tighten it fully - possibly (and possibly likely) because the post is not quite in the right position. I fiddled with the rings and screws a few ways, and I think I am right about the problem. I further think that, if the post were bent again just slightly from where it is, in the proper direction, the screw would no longer skew the bar it holds, and the rings would cease to bind, and probably the pad would close right.
I could call the tech and make another appointment so he can fix this - I think he gets back around to town about once a week.
OR, having seen how easy it is (ha), I could grasp a pair pliers in my own little hand and . . . . .
Well?
p.s. - don't "air check" repairs - play check them.
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The Clarinet BBoard
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