| Unusually Gross Flute Pads |
[Nov. 4th, 2009|12:23 pm] |
I think these pictures deserve to be posted for a few reasons.
1. When buying an instrument from someone who is not an expert, such as from a classified ad or Internet auction site, you never know what you are going to get.
2. No matter how broken or dirty your instrument is, your repair technician has seen worse.
3. Swab your instrument after you play. If your instrument gets wet (from marching band, etc.), allow it to air dry in a safe place and call your technician. Do not seal it up in the case while it's damp.
( Pictures! Do not click while eating. Or if you have a weak stomach. ) |
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| How to clean your staples and bocals |
[Jul. 22nd, 2009|11:51 pm] |
This cleaning solution is fast, effective, safe, and leaves brass bright and shiny.
You will need:
- White distilled vinegar
- Dawn or other dishwashing liquid
- A bowl or glass that will hold the items to be cleaned
- Water
- A staple brush (Forrests) or bocal brush (RDG)
Mix one part water to one part vinegar. For extra effectiveness, use warm water, or heat the mixture before using.
Add a squirt of Dawn and stir the mixture.
Toss in your staples or bocals and let them soak for five minutes. Scrub them with a brush to get the gunk out. Rinse well and air dry. |
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| June has been an odd month. |
[Jun. 30th, 2009|10:39 pm] |
I have TWO alto clarinet overhauls in the shop right now. One is finished and one is in progress. Alto clarinets are oddball instruments, and having just one is a novelty, but two! What luck. I'm using Roo pads from Music Medic and am very pleased with the results.
Then, today, I repaired a very unusually broken key. It was the side octave key on a Loree English horn.
When a key breaks, the break typically happens at a brazed joint (where the different parts of the key were soldered together at the factory), or at some thin or weak part of the key. This particular break happened at the hinge tube. I had never before seen such a break. I'm not even sure how it could have happened. The hinge screw was perfectly intact, with the two broken (and bent!) pieces of outer hinge swinging uselessly from it.
I had to carefully line up the two pieces of the outer hinge, braze them together, and then straighten and ream until the hinge worked again. It was one of those repairs that I had to do a little bit of improvising, but it somehow worked out, and I'm very happy about it.
Other than that, I've been up to the usual sorts of things in the shop. Flute overhauls, lots of oboe work, a bassoon overhaul, and of course some clarinet work. Wow. |
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| This week in the shop... |
[Apr. 2nd, 2009|10:05 pm] |
Early in the week I adjusted a Selmer bass clarinet (low C). This bass clarinet had a wonderful overhaul done by the fine people at RDG a few years ago and has been holding up very well. I like to see instruments that have had such quality work done because they're easy to put back into adjustment from normal wear and tear. The adjustments needed were minor, especially compared to most other bass clarinets that I see in the shop. It was especially surprising because the instrument had even been checked as luggage on a few flights, which is usually a nightmare for large clarinets.
I'm finishing up the Straubinger conversion on the Powell. All I have left to do is finish installing the pads on the left hand keys and then do the final adjustments once everything is assembled.
I also have an old Haynes flute in that has severe leaking problems. I had to do a bit of surgery on the F# key because it was wiggling around on the hinge, and the low C# key had a similar problem. It has Straubinger pads, but today I discovered that none of the stabilizers were glued in, so that is now on my list of tasks for this project. |
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| Certifiable |
[Apr. 2nd, 2009|09:54 pm] |
I am now Straubinger certified! The workshop went well and I learned a lot from it. Everyone at Straubinger Flutes are really outstanding people, and David and Joel are a fountain of flute knowledge. Even the other workshop attendees were great and we had good conversations over meals.
The process was difficult and tiring but well worth it. With David's guidance I now look at flute padding in a very different light. I've already put my new skills to use in the shop and am seeing fantastic results. I'm looking forward to installing Straubinger pads in many fine flutes! |
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| This Week |
[Mar. 18th, 2009|10:38 pm] |
Tuesday: I got to meet a long time reed customer, which was very nice, and adjust his oboe. Then I finished the key work on the body section of the Powell and secured everything with torn up paper towels, since there are no pads in it to cushion the keys against the flute.
Today: I am nearly finished with Loree oboe MN67 because the bottom joint went together very easily. There are still two problems left for me to solve, one with the G#-F# adjustment, and one with the low B key.
Also today: Oboe sectional for the OCWS, which was very fun and oboey.
Tomorrow: I need to get the footjoint of the Powell ready. Hopefully this will include cleaning and key fitting and not soldering. The tone holes, ribs, and rings all looked good, and it's straight, and it holds air, so nothing *should* be wrong with it. But, just in case, I can take the whole day on just the footjoint without my schedule becoming a disaster. Ideally the whole flute will be done tomorrow though.
Also tomorrow: teach an oboe lesson and go to rehearsal at Saddleback. And, if there's time, pick up dry cleaning and get information from the city's recreation department on setting up the reedmaking class this summer.
Friday: Finish everything: the Powell, and Loree oboe MN67, and a quick examination of an Artley clarinet that may have found a home. Oh, and hopefully do a couple of minor things on my own oboe too. The shoemaker's children go barefoot, etc.
Also Friday: rehearsal at Saddleback.
Saturday: teach oboe, sell some reeds, go to a birthday barbecue, and play a concert at Saddleback.
Sunday: teach oboe (2 hours), go to Torrance and play a show (three hours), and then go as quickly as possible to OCWS rehearsal (three hours).
Monday: collapse into a heap of tiredness. Hopefully have the day off. |
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| March Madness |
[Feb. 27th, 2009|06:25 pm] |
March is going to be extremely busy for me. Enjoy the list:
- Orchestra gig at Saddleback
- Sweeney Todd (the musical) in Torrance
- Straubinger flute pad workshop in Indianapolis
- Orange County Wind Symphony concert
- Instruments to repair
- Appointments: dentist, reedmaking with Jonathan Marzluf, repair customers, and much more
- Regular stuff like oboe students and trying to have friends and going to concerts
I am going to need a day off in April. Maybe a couple of days, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. |
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| Gordet English Horn, Part III |
[Feb. 26th, 2009|09:41 am] |
Yesterday I got the top joint of the Gordet to seal! It was a huge disaster. It leaked from two posts, the tenon ring, the top trill key tone hole, and a crack in the back.
At least three posts need thread repairs before I can clean and oil the instrument.
I haven't even looked at the bottom joint yet! |
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| Loree oboe repair, part IV |
[Feb. 26th, 2009|09:27 am] |
Early last week, I completed the partial overhaul on the Loree oboe. After finishing an instrument that needed a lot of work I like to let it sit for a few days and then reexamine it with a fresh perspective. So, yesterday I took that oboe back out and found two more little things to fix. The trill key pads had a small problem, and the low B spring was contacting something that it wasn't supposed to contact.
Now I can really be confident that nothing has slipped by me with this instrument! |
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| Loree oboe repair, part III |
[Feb. 12th, 2009|08:34 pm] |
I successfully found the leak in the top joint. The problem was a crack on the back side near where the thumb octave key is. The crack had previously been repaired, but opened up just enough to leak for me. I sealed that up and then moved on to the tone hole work.
This top joint is fighting me more than the bottom joint did. It's hard to describe the disparity without exaggerating. Sometimes an instrument goes together very easily, like the bottom joint of this oboe. It wants to be fixed. Everything cooperates. You could almost throw the pads in from a distance of five feet, and they would snap to the correct places.
Then there are instruments that don't want to be fixed. Everything that can go wrong, does.
After solving the problem with the leaky crack, there was weirdness with the tone hole inserts in the trill key tone holes. These particular inserts appeared to be made of Bakelite, which has a strange feel to it, and it was difficult to get the pads to form a good seal. Then, several things went wrong with the Ab key/lever combination, AND the Ab tone hole, AND the Ab pad.
I'm hoping to at least finish the upper stack tomorrow. |
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| Loree oboe repair, part II |
[Feb. 12th, 2009|09:08 am] |
Yesterday I finished the lower joint, and everything went more or less as expected.
I disassembled the top joint and checked that it was sealing. It was not. The leak is subtle; it's not like you can continuously suck air through it. It just doesn't hold air for more than four seconds.
I immediately checked the usual suspects. The oboe had three tone holes previously replaced, so I sealed them. The oboe still leaked. I removed the octave pips, and the oboe still leaked. I sealed a post that the previously repaired crack had run through, and it still leaked. I quadruple checked all of the stoppers I had put in the tone holes to check for leaks, and it still leaked.
There are some other tests I'm going to do today that will definitely tell me where the leak is. After I find it, I'll seal it up, and continue with getting the tone holes squared away and the new pads in. |
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| Loree oboe repair, part I |
[Feb. 10th, 2009|07:10 pm] |
Today I began to repair an old Loree oboe. The main thing that it needs is some new pads. Without doing a complete overhaul, I'm doing tone holes, a tiny bit of swedging, and all of the pads.
(For the record, my professional oboe overhaul usually includes a very thorough cleaning, body work as needed, then an oil bath for the wood, very picky work on key fitting and springs, and hand polishing of the keys.)
I usually start with the top joint, but today I decided to be whimsical and start with the bottom joint. I disassembled it and was pleased to find that the body was air tight. I saw some open grain and unevenness on the tone hole surfaces, so I sealed them up and sharpened them where needed. This kind of tone hole work is so minute that I wear a very fashionable optivisor for it.
I then aligned the hinges on the E key, swedged the lower stack just a little for extra tightness, and got the majority of the padding done. Tomorrow I just have to finish the low C, D#, and C# pads. Then I'll move on to the top joint. |
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| Triage |
[Feb. 9th, 2009|07:37 pm] |
From Wikipedia:
Triage (pronounced /ˈtriːɑːʒ/) is a process of prioritizing patients based on the severity of their condition. This facilitates the ability to treat as many patients as possible when resources are insufficient for all to be treated immediately.
Working with professional players and their instruments, there aren't a lot of cases where I think of repairs in terms of triage. Sometimes, though, I get an instrument from a school or a student with a limited repair budget. I look at the problems the instrument has and prioritize them, taking care of the most severe dysfunctions first, and then moving on to preventive maintenance, and then to aesthetic issues if there's time. |
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| Yamaha clarinet, Gordet English horn parts I and II |
[Feb. 9th, 2009|06:56 pm] |
Today I repaired a plastic Yamaha clarinet for one of my friends' students. Most of the pads were leaking and/or torn and the instrument was difficult to play. Working within the student's budget, I was able to replace all of the leaking pads, a few key corks, and the middle tenon cork. The instrument played a lot better after it was sealing perfectly and in correct adjustment.
On Thursday last week I started an overhaul of a Gordet English horn. I disassembled the top joint and began to work on an enormous crack that ran from the top octave key hole to the B tone hole. The crack was deep and wide so I filled it with grenadilla dust and super glue. It had previously been pinned, and the pin job needed a lot of cleaning up to make it blend in with the body of the instrument.
Today I continued cleaning up the existing pin job on the top joint. I'll probably finish that up tomorrow if I have time.
I've noticed a post with stripped out threads that I'll have to repair, and there is still a big leak where the crack ran through a different post. One of the octave pips is stuck to its receiver. I also have to do major repairs on two of the keys. I have my work cut out for me with this instrument! |
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| This week's repairs |
[Feb. 5th, 2009|09:27 am] |
One contraalto clarinet
One bass flute
Two oboes
One contrabass clarinet
One flute
One English horn
It's been a fun week so far, with an unusual number of large instruments. |
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| Martyr Contest |
[Jan. 21st, 2009|11:31 am] |
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Make up the most grueling scale regimen you possibly can. Go! |
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| Straubinger Flute Pads |
[Jan. 14th, 2009|10:08 am] |
I've just been accepted to the Straubinger workshop that will be held in Indianapolis this March. After that, I'll be able to offer Straubinger pads and installation to my flute repair customers! This is an important step that will allow me to serve flutists with the best possible repairs. I'm looking forward to attending the workshop and furthering my skills. |
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| Oh, the agony! |
[Jan. 14th, 2009|10:07 am] |
Some of my English horn reed stuff arrived today. I now have a mandrel, staples, and wire. I'm excited to get started, but I need... cane! Since that's coming from RDG, it'll probably be here soon, but I want it sooner! :P |
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| English Horn |
[Jan. 11th, 2009|05:56 pm] |
I've kind of started to play the English horn. For now I'm borrowing an older Linton instrument and a couple of Loree bocals. It's not perfect but it's very nice especially considering that it's an off brand. It's grenadilla, has a decent sound, and needs only a little bit of work.
My teacher tested the instrument and declared it to be within the realm of reason. He suggested a starting point for making reeds. Today I did some shopping online to get staples, a mandrel, shaped cane, and wire. I also picked up a swab and a neckstrap.
I'll eventually want to buy my own English horn, but borrowing one first is a good way for me to get started without spending money I don't have. At the end of 2009 I'll have saved up money to buy a new oboe. After that my next project will be to save up for an English horn. |
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| Reeds |
[Aug. 17th, 2008|11:38 pm] |
I am finally caught up on my orders. After having the flu last month (who gets the flu in July? Me, that's who), and taking a week off to attend the IDRS conference, I was ridiculously behind and getting a little more burried with each passing day.
Finally I made an escape plan. I stayed up late every day for a week and a half and scraped more than enough reeds to fill all of the outstanding orders. This weekend I finished, tested, and refinished all of them. After rejecting the ones that weren't good enough, and packing up everyone's orders, I had exactly one reed new reed left over to use for myself for the next few days while I get the next batches up and running.
This has been a reedmaking month of epic proportions. Epic. |
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