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Re: Crack or wood grain?

Author: hautbois
Date: 2008-07-17 17:33

Scott --

Welcome to the Board. And best wishes for fulfulling your ambitions of a career as a oboist.

It the instrument is new or is used but has not been played regularly, a breaking in period (playing only 5-10 minutes at a time on it, and making certain that it dries between sessions) is recommended to reduce the likelihood of developing a crack. If you have not done that, then the chances that your instrument has a crack rather than just grain increase. You should also take care in warming up your instrument, placing the top joint under your arm for a time, especially if you are playing in a cool room. A sudden change in temperature can trigger a crack. Some repairpersons recommend using a bore oil to reduce the penetration of the moisture which occurs in the instrument from migrating into the grain of the wood at the toneholes and expanding the area, triggering a crack.

Mark the ends of the area where you think it might be cracked with a pencil. That way you can see if the possible crack is growing.

Not all cracks need remediation. A repairperson would be the best person to determine what to do about it. Sometimes a cracked is pinned.

If the crack extends into a tone hole, and thereby permits a minute amount of air leakage between the pad and the oboe, then it needs to be repaired. Usually the tone hole is drilled out and a bushing (plastic, rubber, or even wood, depending upon the repairperson) is glued in to create a tight seal with the pad. If your oboe is leaking, considering your enjoyment of it now, you will be even more delighted with it after the leak is repaired.

Cracks can appear anywhere, but are most likely to occur through the top joint triller tone holes and sometimes extending down through the half-hole tone hole and the smaller tonehole (lifts for C) below that. Also, the third octave tonehole, if your instrument has one, is a likely location, as well as the posts holding the rods for the octave keys. They will also often be found in the middle joint and bell where the wood covers the metal of the tenon joint.

In warm and humid weather cracks (and wood grain) to the eye may seem to smoothe out with the expansion of the wood. An instrument is more likely to appear grainy in dry and colder environments.

If you think it is a crack, I recommend you take it to a repairperson for evaluation of the situation.

Elizabeth

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