In the Beginning, There Were... Clarinets?!

     In the beginning of my new found profession, we tackled the elusive and temperamental clarinet.  Amidst flashbacks of my time spent in a practice room learning this tricky specimen for big band, we were introduced to several universal concepts to the repair world, such as key fitting, venting, regulation, lost motion, and the function of levers versus touchpieces.
     
     We received our project clarinets a few weeks into classes.  They were covered in miscellaneous grease, dirt, dust, and other unidentifiable materials.  If cork was there, it was a sad sight to behold.  Most of the pads on mine were surprisingly OK for aged shellac and only a select few were ripped.

Here you can see the beginnings of my key fitting journey

in the upper joint of the clarinet as well as the joy of

floating pads.

There was much rejoicing as progress slowly but surely 

was made! 

On to corking... and blood loss...

An idea to condition a thick piece of cork to the contour of 
the thumb rest.  Using a Popsicle stick for some support and a flute
 pad clamp to supply the pressure, I left it for an hour or so
 as I worked on other issues.

During the corking process, with venting in mind, I found the stop
post for the Ab touchpiece to be oddly and undesirably shaped.
Disagreeing with the manufacturer's vision, I was advised to shave 
the stop post with a bench motor until it would provide a more
 appropriate resting place.

It ended up being successful!

A successful upper Joint!

After battling the lower joint in its challenges with way 
more regulation and lost motion, on to regulating the bridge

Tenon corks... 
I found using a vice to be more efficient, yet less satisfying, 
than using a mallet and wood block.

And a clarinet emerges!

     The trials and challenges of this first project gave me a glimpse of things to come.  Snapping my Low F/C key in half as I was flexing it two days before it was due let me feel the burn of pressure at the bench.  I was also introduced to the glories of metal memory, particularly in the 3 Ring Key... 

     On to the flute...............