Common faults and repairs
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Problems with mouthpiece
The mouthpiece is a delicate part of your instrument, and minor scratches on the lay - where the reed is fixed- can seriously impact how your clarinet plays. This may come in the form of squeaking or problems in the balance of tones. There is only so much you can do yourself without causing foreseeable trouble. What you can do is put the mouthpiece into an anti-calcium solution once a year (You find calcium-solution in drug stores, people with false teeth use it). One night in such a solution, a lot of what remains on the inner walls of the mouthpiece will be washed away.
To prevent scratches on your mouthpiece, you should transport it wrapped in a cloth or with a reed attached - both of these methods will prevent the lay from being scratched
To prevent scratches on your mouthpiece, you should transport it wrapped in a cloth or with a reed attached - both of these methods will prevent the lay from being scratched
Air leakage
This is the most common problem faced by clarinettists (and other woodwind players); this results in squeaking and issues with all the lower tones. You must find the loose key(s) and tighten them to fix this. You do this by putting the upper and lower joints together, letting a second person close the bore with their hand, closing all keys with your fingers using regular power and blowing into the bore using varying strengths. You will hear air coming out somewhere.
When the leaking key(s) letting out airflow are identified, you take the following actions to fix it:
When the leaking key(s) letting out airflow are identified, you take the following actions to fix it:
- A loose screw in the mechanic – Tighten the screw.
- Problem with combined key mechanics - Adjust little screws to the height of keys/pads over the tone holes
- Spring has become too weak to close a key reliably - Sometimes, it is sufficient to loosen the screws that fix the hub/axis and oil them a little, but this will last for a brief time. The recommendation, therefore, is to send the instrument to the repairer to get it fixed.
- Bent Key(s) – Sometimes, the player has bent a key/several keys a little, so the pad does not sit fully on the tone hole. If you have leather pads, you can try to moisten them pad first. This will make the pad expand, become soft and may adjust to the hole if you press the key on the hole. This works if the bend is minor and will take just a few minutes; the risk is minimum. If the bend is significant, then the recommendation will be for you to send the instrument to a repairer, as you can cause damage by trying to repair it yourself.
Tighten shaky screws
The Clarinet has many small screws built into it, some are hard to see, and many have been custom produced for the instrument. Some screws go into the wood, and others go into a metal thread. You may also find threads at the end of the hubs of the keys. The screws are frequently metal, and many threads are of wood; therefore, you must not tighten the screws with force because that may destroy the threads.
For a good B flat clarinet, one screwdriver might be enough. For bass clarinets, you usually need at least two different sizes of screwdrivers to tighten loose screws. You could use a screw glue to do your tightening, but this is brittle, so it will break off when you have to untighten the screw. Over time the hard screws will eat up the thread, and you may need to use little stronger screws or send the instrument to the musical instrument builder to cut a new thread.
Suppose you should lose any of the screws. In that case, an instrument builder will have lots of them in their workshop, so maybe you get some just in case and put it in your instrument first aid kit, as you cannot buy such screws in a hardware store.
For a good B flat clarinet, one screwdriver might be enough. For bass clarinets, you usually need at least two different sizes of screwdrivers to tighten loose screws. You could use a screw glue to do your tightening, but this is brittle, so it will break off when you have to untighten the screw. Over time the hard screws will eat up the thread, and you may need to use little stronger screws or send the instrument to the musical instrument builder to cut a new thread.
Suppose you should lose any of the screws. In that case, an instrument builder will have lots of them in their workshop, so maybe you get some just in case and put it in your instrument first aid kit, as you cannot buy such screws in a hardware store.
Increase the power of a spring / replace a spring
A key automatically closed automatically by a spring must sometimes close appropriately or quickly enough.
This may be due to varied reasons: You should initially check whether the hub or axis needs cleaning or oiling or whether there is a mechanical obstruction. If none is the case, you should check whether the spring is bent or has lost power. To increase a spring's force, carefully turn it in the direction it shall push. Springs come as flat leaf springs (these work easier) or as needle springs. Bending the spring works only a few times, so be careful not to overdo and break it. It will be preferable to have the spring replaced by a professional.
Be careful: Needle springs are made of needles; they are pointy and not sterile; therefore, be careful when bending them.
This may be due to varied reasons: You should initially check whether the hub or axis needs cleaning or oiling or whether there is a mechanical obstruction. If none is the case, you should check whether the spring is bent or has lost power. To increase a spring's force, carefully turn it in the direction it shall push. Springs come as flat leaf springs (these work easier) or as needle springs. Bending the spring works only a few times, so be careful not to overdo and break it. It will be preferable to have the spring replaced by a professional.
Be careful: Needle springs are made of needles; they are pointy and not sterile; therefore, be careful when bending them.
Rebend bent keys
Before taking this on, know how to do it. The quality of the keys determines how easily you can bend them back to almost any position; note, however, that there always is a risk of breaking the key. To minimise the possibility of breaking, bend a little, check and turn a little again – be careful not to overdo it, as small steps significantly decrease the risk of breaking. You also need to carefully look at the part you want to bend and look for fine cracks and places soldered together before doing it.
Replace a pad
When the leather padding on the clarinet keys does not close perfectly, you can first try to moisten the pad. The pad expands and becomes soft, and may if you press the key on the hole, adjust to the hole and fit again. If the bend is minor, it works and will take just a few minutes, but this is a short-term fix. Padding on the Clarinet (significantly the higher-up keys) will typically require replacing every two years or so and five to ten years or longer for the lowest keys of the bass clarinet pads.
The way to do this is by removing the key from the Clarinet and glueing the pad into a cup with heated sealing or hot-melt wax; drip this into the cup of the key cup where the pad should sit positioned correctly (You can buy sealing or hot-melt wax in most hardware stores)
After the wax has cooled, you put the key back into the instrument and adjust the pad to fit precisely onto the tone hole. New pad types like silicon pads don’t require change, but this comes at a price. If a silicone pad falls out, only special glues (silicone) will fix it.
The way to do this is by removing the key from the Clarinet and glueing the pad into a cup with heated sealing or hot-melt wax; drip this into the cup of the key cup where the pad should sit positioned correctly (You can buy sealing or hot-melt wax in most hardware stores)
After the wax has cooled, you put the key back into the instrument and adjust the pad to fit precisely onto the tone hole. New pad types like silicon pads don’t require change, but this comes at a price. If a silicone pad falls out, only special glues (silicone) will fix it.
Replace or adjust corks on keys
Some of the keys have little pads for fine adjustments within the clarinet mechanics and to prevent noise. The thickness of these pads is crucial for tuning. Traditionally the material used for this is cork. Natural cork is easily cut (using a scalpel - you can get it from a pharmacy shop), easily sanded and easily glued to the (use contact glue).
Music shops will have a supply of the little sheets required for this work in different strengths. The measurements of the sheets are: -
Music shops will have a supply of the little sheets required for this work in different strengths. The measurements of the sheets are: -
- one of 0,5 mm,
- one of 1 mm
- one of 2 mm
Shaky joints
If the corks in the tenons of the Clarinet become slack, you can lay moist paper around the cork until it fits again. Be careful not to overdo it because this is a very sensitive point of the Clarinet. If you use force to push the tenon into the bore, this may crack your instrument.
Replace the cork on joints
To replace the cork on the joints, you will need
Having assembled all the tools, you replace the cork on joints by: -
- A sheet of cork around 1 to 1,5 mm, the size you need for the tenon should be about 1 cm by 8 cm. You can get cork sheets from music instrument shops or instrument repairers workshops; Internet music supplies shops may stock this too.
- Contact glue like the type used for an elastic material. You can find glue in DIY or Pharmacy shops.
- A Scalpel or a small carpet knife
- A ruler with a steel edge to cut along
- A fresh sheet of sandpaper that’s not too fine
- A small flat board with a straight edge
- Some cork grease and a pencil
Having assembled all the tools, you replace the cork on joints by: -
- Removing the old cork
- Using a piece of paper, measure the length and width of the cork you need by winding the paper around the mouthpiece. Lay the paper sizing on the sheet of cork and mark the exact size of the cork you need with a pencil, then cut the cork, ensuring the edge of the cork is vertical. Ensure the cut cork fits around the area where you glued the old cork before applying glue. Ensure the borders that are glued together, in the end, are vertically cut. The length and width of the piece should be near to perfect now, and since the cork is elastic, it won't be a problem if it is short because you can stretch the cork a little.
- The next step is to get the right strength and thickness so that the mouthpiece fits precisely, is firmly in place without wobbling, and the instrument is not damaged. You do this by using sandpaper to sand the excess cork as ideally as possible. You do this more efficiently when the cork is laid flat on a table than when glued onto the mouthpiece. Sanding when the cork is on the mouthpiece should only be to give it the final touches.
- You glue the cork on when you complete sanding, ensuring both ends of the edge meet.
- Sand off any excess cork, ensuring the mouthpiece still sits centred in the upper joint. Take care not to sand off the tenon and over the lay of the mouthpiece. Check that the tenon fits well and you find the right balance between over-sanding that makes it lose and not sanding it enough that leave it too strong.
- Apply cork grease; This expands the cork a little due to humidity; however, it will compress due to the pressure in the tenon.
A broken key
A broken Clarinet key needs to be soldered back on, but this is a job for a professional Clarinet repairer and will recommend that the instrument is taken to an instruments workshop for a repairer to have a look and fix
Cracks in the Clarinet wood
A professional Clarinet repairer will use a particular type of super glue to close the cracks in the wood. Therefore, the recommendation is for you to send the instrument to repair rather than trying to fix it yourself.
Identify problems with the mouth piece
The mouthpiece is a delicate part of the Clarinet. The tiniest scratch on the lay, where the reed sits, may have severe implications on the instrument, such as squeaking, problems with the balance of tones etc.
There is little you can do without causing foreseeable trouble to the mouthpiece. You can place the mouthpiece for one night in an anti-calcium solution (You can find this in a Pharmacy shop) once a year. This solution will wash away any remanence on the inner walls of the mouthpiece.
To prevent damaging the mouthpiece, always transport it wrapped in a cloth or with a reed attached. Both precautions will prevent the lay from being scratched.
There is little you can do without causing foreseeable trouble to the mouthpiece. You can place the mouthpiece for one night in an anti-calcium solution (You can find this in a Pharmacy shop) once a year. This solution will wash away any remanence on the inner walls of the mouthpiece.
To prevent damaging the mouthpiece, always transport it wrapped in a cloth or with a reed attached. Both precautions will prevent the lay from being scratched.
Wiper stuck in the instrument
When cleaning your Clarinet and you get a wiper stuck in it, do not use hard, pointy objects like pliers, scissors, or metal tubes to try and remove it as these will scratch the bore of the instrument, collect water drops and impact the sound and acoustics produced when blowing the instrument. Look for a rounded object, preferably wood, to use in unsticking the wiper. Pulling on the wiper rather than pushing on it with an object is also preferable. When cleaning your Clarinet, be careful of the little tube that goes into the bore. It sits in the upper joint (behind the B key). This is usually the main reason why the wipers get stuck.
Clarinet first aid kit
Considering the delicate nature of the Clarinet, it makes sense to have a first aid kit for your instrument. The essential items you should have in such a kit should include the following: -
- A replacement cord to be used in fixing the mouthpiece's reed. It makes sense to have a spare one in your first aid kit if you use a ligature.
- A box with pads of all the different sizes and small hot glue applier
- The necessary set of screwdrivers
- A small box with replacement screws
- A sanding tool
- Cork sheets 0,1mm, 1mm, 2 mm, a Scalpel, a small pack of contact glue
- Some rubber bands
Broken Solder Joints
Broken solder joints happen when a Clarinet is twisted or dropped and is fixed by straightening whatever is bent. You do this by heating the joint with a gas torch until it’s hot enough to melt the solder but cool enough to prevent damage to the finish. From here, the repair technician will solder across the whole joint, and when the solder cools, the repair technician will clean all around it. Since the repair technician cleans the area surrounding the joints, this part of your Clarinet should look as good as new once complete.
Stuffy sound
A clogged or stuffy sound coming from your Clarinet is a common problem usually related to the Clarinet’s valves. Check the valves to ensure none of the corks, felts, or spacers are worn down to find and eliminate the problem. If this isn’t the issue, the water key could be broken or leaking, or the valves may have been mixed up after cleaning the Clarinet. The valves are numbered 1 to 3, and the first should be closest to the mouthpiece. If the valves are in order and none of the mechanisms is worn down, check for air leakage and ensure a foreign object isn’t stuck in the Clarinet. Suppose none of the above seems to be the issue. In that case, your teacher or a qualified repair technician can provide more guidance.
Stuck Slides
Although stuck slides can be caused by an accident or bump, in most cases, it is caused by the chemical bonding of impurities left on them. For this reason, keeping your Clarinet clean and well-maintained is essential. Sometimes the stuck slides will come apart with pressure, but don’t apply the pressure with any tools of your own as it may be too harsh for the soft metal of a Clarinet. Repair technicians have a variety of tactics they can use, including heat application and complete disassembly and reassembly of the Clarinet. These may sound complicated, but a qualified repair technician will get your Clarinet to look and sound like it did before.
Dents
When your Clarinet gets dented, a qualified technician can fix this using special mandrels and other tools to rub and pound out the dent until the metal is smooth again. Suppose the Clarinet’s finish or lacquer wasn’t damaged in the accident; in that case, you’d have to look very closely to see where the dent originally was.