The Clarinet BBoard

The Clarinet BBoard The C4 standard

New Topic | Go to Top | Go to Topic | Search | Help/Rules | Smileys/Notes | Log In

Previous Message | Next Message

Re: Intonation on a B&H Edgware : what's possible?

Author: Chris P
Date: 2020-08-11 18:16

Your Edgware is from around 1969 and I think B&H may have dealt with the tenon cork width issues by then. In the early '60s all the tenons had the same width tenon cork which is fine for the top tenon and lower joint tenon, but the middle tenon being much shorter meant the tenon cork was too wide and there was only the metal tenon ring and the wooden tenon ring by the shoulder was less than 0.5mm wide instead of being a much better 2-3mm wide to make a secure fit in the socket (and the middle tenon is the most important one where stability goes). The missing wooden tenon ring can be rebuilt with superglue and wood dust, then machined to a decent width and diameter to fit the socket.

Plastic Regents were supplied with the standard length barrel and if you know someone with one of them, see if you can try that barrel to see what it does to the tuning and intonation and being plastic (either moulded bakelite for the '60s/'70s Regents and ABS for the '80s ones), the bore size and shape will be much better to measure from as it won't have gone oval as can happen with some wooden barrels. If you are going to have a replacement barrel made from wood, insist it has either metal or carbon fibre socket rings as all sockets on wooden instruments need that reinforcement to safeguard against the socket cracking.

Some Edgwares in both Bb and A were also machined from PVC and had ebonite tonehole chimneys - probably one of the few instances of plastic A clarinets offered by any maker at that time. The tenons and sockets on them were a perfect fit and could be assembled and remain held together even without tenon corks fitted - there aren't many clarinets that can do that. The tenon fit on wooden ones isn't as good as the metal tenon rings are considerably narrower than the sockets.

Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.

Reply To Message | Avail. Forums | Flat View

Newer Topic | Older Topic

Topics