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ABS crack repair

Author: DMcCool
Date: 2021-01-11 13:03

Hi all,

I'm returning to the clarinet after a 20 year break. Money's tight, so we waited around until a used E11 (~2008) in good shape popped up used for €180. It plays quite well but is still using the original pads. Additionally, a tenon cork had rotted through. I've spent the weeks since Christmas reading all I could on how to go about these repairs at home and decided to get myself a beater clarinet to practice on before I attempted the cork repair on my E11.

I dropped €20 on a 1990 Vito 7212 and went about disassembling it carefully. The last bit was a stubborn stuck screw pivot rod for the thumb ring. I followed some advice online and "gently" heated the post after applying some key oil, which worked to offer enough space to unscrew the pivot rod, but when I had finished the process, I noticed I had created a hairline crack that extends about halfway around the body. And according to my highly-advanced suck-on-it test, it apparently goes through to the bore. Dumb me!

Which leads me to my question: does anyone have advice on repairing a crack in an ABS clarinet? I've found precious little online about a clarinet-specific process and have cobbled together steps from people discussing other plastic repair. I don't need it to be aesthetically pleasing -- I just need an instrument that is intact enough to judge whether my repadding and recorking efforts have been sufficient.

My plan now is to
1) Sand over the crack
2) Clean the crack through with isopropyl alcohol
3a) Dissolve a black lego block into some methylethylketon, keeping it very viscous so that it can enter the crack
3b) Maybe only use the MEK since it's a hairline crack? I'm still not sure.
4) Paint over the crack with the substance from step 3
5) Wait
6) Sand it and test it

I had difficulties sourcing ABS cement cheaply in my country, which is what led me to the MEK solution.

I've also seen people who advocated heat sealing, but I'm a little wary since my only tools are a butane torch and a soldering iron. Also, isn't that how I got into this mess in the first place?

Lastly, a related question:
In the final steps of repadding, I know I need to reheat the pad cups while they're on the instrument so that I can make fine adjustments. I can't find anyone discussing repadding plastic instruments specifically and I'm worried that I may need to proactively take some steps to prevent damage from heat transfer through the metal where the pad cups are small and close to the posts. Am I being silly? Was it just because I applied direct heat to the post that I caused the original problem?

Thanks!

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