Good to know. I'm pretty sure that the original cork was installed with pad glue also.
Pain is a good indicator - that's how nature intended it to work
Greenback Valentino pads experiences
- Thread starter Gheorghe
- Start date
Good to know. I'm pretty sure that the original cork was installed with pad glue also.
Pain is a good indicator - that's how nature intended it to work
I would not recommend that product if it the same type of composite cork that bulletin boards are made of. It has a tendency to crumble along the edges. The only practical use I have found for that is to glue two thicknesses together to hold needle springs that are removed from saxophones.
In the "olden days" techs heated the key and attached the cork to the key foot using stick shellac. Most techs today use contact cement. The trick to overcome impatiently waiting for the contact cement to dry is to set the painted parts aside for 5 - 10 minutes while you do another task. I agree that the fumes from Barge are awful. I like to use the Weldwood brand found at most hardware stores. Sometimes I even use a timer so I don't forget to attach the pieces together. Everyone should find the way they are most comfortable with. I'm just throwing out some of the options.
A few things.
Re the split tip soldering gun and the Votaw key heater, I have both.
The Votaw can be bought for a bit less with a slightly uglier PSU here http://www.micromark.com/triton-resistance-soldering-iron,7890.html
The Votaw/Triton heater is nicer to hold, takes less space (handpiece only), has springy jaws, etc. but it is flimsy and the jaws don't open very much.
The split soldering gun actually is nicer in one way. You cna open the tips wider and put them around the key cup. The Votaw/Triton can't.
I still use the Votaw often and almost never use the soldering gun, but still. BTW I also use it occasionally for soldering cables, in some situations it is more comfortable than a soldering iron (which I also use most of the time).
IMO a non-split soldering gun is just too slow.
It is possible to use a flame with pretty much any pad while the key is on the instrument and not cause any damage to the instrument or the pad. However it is pretty easy to damage some pads, especially some sysnthetic ones, with a flame. You have to do it very carefully. I still prefer the electric heater for clarinet keys once they are on the instrument because having to be less careful makes up in speed for the lost of speed that the flame gives. I still use a flame for the initially gluing the pad to the key cup because I don't have to hold the heater.
The "formula" John wrote is the way to get that flex to be as little as possible. There's also noise to consider which is why you can't use even firmer materials.
Re the cork glue, I really don't like pad glue (i.e. hot glue or shellac). You need the heat source which is more hassle and it is not really faster considering everything you need to do to glue this way.
I am not sure why some people have to wait 5-10 mintues with contact glue. I rarely need to wait more than two minutes and for small key corks (as opposed to tenon or neck corks) rarely more than a minute. It's not rare that I need to wait not more than 30 seconds. I am guessing it might have something to do with others smearing it with a brush, which will never make it very thin, so it takes longer. I prefer to smear it very thin. Using hot glue will probably not really be any faster. Unless I'm only gluing one cork, by the time I smear glue on the last of the "series" the first one is ready to glue.
Re the split tip soldering gun and the Votaw key heater, I have both.
The Votaw can be bought for a bit less with a slightly uglier PSU here http://www.micromark.com/triton-resistance-soldering-iron,7890.html
The Votaw/Triton heater is nicer to hold, takes less space (handpiece only), has springy jaws, etc. but it is flimsy and the jaws don't open very much.
The split soldering gun actually is nicer in one way. You cna open the tips wider and put them around the key cup. The Votaw/Triton can't.
I still use the Votaw often and almost never use the soldering gun, but still. BTW I also use it occasionally for soldering cables, in some situations it is more comfortable than a soldering iron (which I also use most of the time).
IMO a non-split soldering gun is just too slow.
It is possible to use a flame with pretty much any pad while the key is on the instrument and not cause any damage to the instrument or the pad. However it is pretty easy to damage some pads, especially some sysnthetic ones, with a flame. You have to do it very carefully. I still prefer the electric heater for clarinet keys once they are on the instrument because having to be less careful makes up in speed for the lost of speed that the flame gives. I still use a flame for the initially gluing the pad to the key cup because I don't have to hold the heater.
That is because of the mutually exclusive ideals of equal closing pressure and simultanous closing fo linked keys. This will only not exist if there is zero flex in the mechanism, which doesn't exist on any woodwind. The more flex there is, the more mutually exclusive these two ideals are. This is one of the main reasons why saxophones are more difficult to adjust.
The "formula" John wrote is the way to get that flex to be as little as possible. There's also noise to consider which is why you can't use even firmer materials.
Re the cork glue, I really don't like pad glue (i.e. hot glue or shellac). You need the heat source which is more hassle and it is not really faster considering everything you need to do to glue this way.
I am not sure why some people have to wait 5-10 mintues with contact glue. I rarely need to wait more than two minutes and for small key corks (as opposed to tenon or neck corks) rarely more than a minute. It's not rare that I need to wait not more than 30 seconds. I am guessing it might have something to do with others smearing it with a brush, which will never make it very thin, so it takes longer. I prefer to smear it very thin. Using hot glue will probably not really be any faster. Unless I'm only gluing one cork, by the time I smear glue on the last of the "series" the first one is ready to glue.