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violin rosin as a quick-fix glue for pads

Since you're a viola player, you may want to buy an Alto Clarinet, to complement its acoustical anaemia. :tongue: (ask Terry...)

(Disclaimer: I do own an AC)
 
Since you're a viola player, you may want to buy an Alto Clarinet, to complement its acoustical anaemia. :tongue: (ask Terry...)

(Disclaimer: I do own an AC)

What does owning an Air Conditioner have to do with this ?


hey ... I like the Viola too, only 2nd to the Cello.
 
At the same workshop 2 years ago, a friend fixed a separated violin joint with some hide glue (that I brought with me), using an improvised clamp made from scraps of firewood and 2 nuts and bolts.

I guess I shouldn't mention violins and fire in the same post again...

Talking about "home" remedies" I'm fixing up a tenor sax in another section here, and I'm using "quick fix" techniques first just to show how to do quick improvements on a horn, before I strip the thing.

I haven't gotten to it yet but on keyguard post on the Low C is pushed in a bit. I'm going to show how to fix it with a small hammer with a ball and cylindrical end. But don't tell anyone that yet, keep it a secret :)
 
Talking about "home" remedies" I'm fixing up a tenor sax in another section here, and I'm using "quick fix" techniques first just to show how to do quick improvements on a horn, before I strip the thing.

I haven't gotten to it yet but on keyguard post on the Low C is pushed in a bit. I'm going to show how to fix it with a small hammer with a ball and cylindrical end. But don't tell anyone that yet, keep it a secret :)

I just got one of my c mels back together, using hot glue on the pads. The Pan Am was mostley intact, just needed pads and some hand adjusting of the keys. I did use the round end of a ball peen to fix an out of round and mis-shapen neck joint. Worked a dream. Fits tight, and leak free. The horn actually has varying ptch now, something it probably hasn't had in 20 years. lol Maybe we need a "Shade Tree Horn Repair" section for this type of fixin's. lol
 
Update

Just an update, I installed a new pad tonight. I went to the woodwind shop, they sold me a matching pad and a drop of glue. It took the tech about 10 seconds to clean the rosin off the cup so that he could size the new pad for me. I glued the pad on at home.

I'm glad I didn't lose any sleep over this:)

George
 
Source of this info?

It is removable, but you need to clean the cup thoroughly to remove all traces before floating in a new pad. You do not want to leave rosin in there.

It may work in a pinch, but so does chewing gum.

btw, I think the rosin would have been easily removeable. Even if you had to scrap it out.

Some of those silicone hot glues are horrible, I think far worse than shellacs. Some get all stringy and scraping it out doesn't work. One has to use a solvent to get the icky stuff out. I'm adverse to really stinky stuff (solvents, Brasso, etc) so I try not to use them.
 
btw, I think the rosin would have been easily removeable. Even if you had to scrap it out.

Some of those silicone hot glues are horrible, I think far worse than shellacs. Some get all stringy and scraping it out doesn't work. One has to use a solvent to get the icky stuff out. I'm adverse to really stinky stuff (solvents, Brasso, etc) so I try not to use them.

The rosin was extremely easy to remove. That is one of the reasons why I used it in the first place as a temporary fix. Heat alone took care of it in this case, but one can also use alcohol (which is commonly used to remove stubborn caked up rosin in the stringed variety of instruments).

This particular tech told me they haven't used shellac for pads in over 20 years, due to its brittle nature in colder weather. They favor the "high heat" hot glue, which he gave me a sample of.

George
 
This particular tech told me they haven't used shellac for pads in over 20 years, due to its brittle nature in colder weather. They favor the "high heat" hot glue, which he gave me a sample of.

George

Upper echelon clarinet players seem to favor shellac as it gives the pad no additional give and a solid base and feel. They say they can feel the difference. Which when tested once, they did. So it depends upon your clientele base.

But, more importantly, what did you do with the beer ?
 
Upper echelon clarinet players seem to favor shellac as it gives the pad no additional give and a solid base and feel. They say they can feel the difference. Which when tested once, they did. So it depends upon your clientele base.

But, more importantly, what did you do with the beer ?

I used the beer in a celebratory manner, upon successfully completing the emergency fix.

Now that I replaced about 5 pads, I'm considering just re-doing the whole thing. There are some ancient pads on this instrument, and I know for a fact it has some leaks - and in at least 1 case (the low Bb key - which I never use), the pad doesn't seal.

Is there a better option to get pads besides going to the tech? I feel bad going there with each key and having him individually find a fitting pad each time, only to walk away and do the actual work myself. I know the pads come in 1/2mm increments and of various thicknesses - and so far we've been able to match both dimensions on each pad.

George
 
Is there a better option to get pads besides going to the tech? I feel bad going there with each key and having him individually find a fitting pad each time, only to walk away and do the actual work myself. I know the pads come in 1/2mm increments and of various thicknesses - and so far we've been able to match both dimensions on each pad.

George

Quite a few suppliers on eBay. I got a great deal on custom made pads from a guy in canada. The quality is very good. Here He is very easy to do business with, and does ship internationally.
 
Thanks for the pad sources. I plan on repadding the rest of the instrument. More and more I'm starting to notice pads not sealing, and I figure if it's easily fixable, why not.

I pulled out a Yamaha plastic recorder last night that I took from my niece who's no longer interested, and I became a little jealous of how perfect the keywork is, compared to the taragot.

George
 
I think that all of my clarinet pads have been "melted in place" with shellac. The last time I spent watching Marvin do work like this, it was with the stick and the torch.

Don't know about my bassoon or my saxes, though...
 
I used hot glue on my Pan Am c mel repad. I am still learning the clarinet, so not playing the sax yet(just to avoid confusion). Some hot glues are very soft when set, I would think that would be one reason why shellac is preferred. I used some very stiff hot glue, also to repair my clarinet that had one bad pad. Makes life easy, and with my lack of experience I wouldn't know the difference. The original pad was a self adhesive type any way, so maybe an improvement. I haven't decided whether to use shellac on my next pad job or not. With the amount of hot glue it took to do one sax(three+ sticks), the cost of shellac might make it's possible benefits not worth the effort for a late bloomer student like me. I doubt I could tell the difference. I would love to learn what benefits there are though.
 
Also, having a hot glue gun handy when playing, couldn't be simpler a repair kit, as long as you have a wall to plug into. lol
 
I think that all of my clarinet pads have been "melted in place" with shellac. The last time I spent watching Marvin do work like this, it was with the stick and the torch.

Don't know about my bassoon or my saxes, though...

using stick shellac on a clarinet is painful. All my shellac is pulverized into a powder .. much easier at selecting or adding more if needed. You just kinda scoop it out of the container and pour it into the pad cup. heat, melt & serve :)
 
using stick shellac on a clarinet is painful. All my shellac is pulverized into a powder .. much easier at selecting or adding more if needed. You just kinda scoop it out of the container and pour it into the pad cup. heat, melt & serve :)

Seems as though using flake shellac(non-dewaxed), might be a good alternative to stick shellac. Much cheaper and easier to find. I've seen flake shellac for @$20 a pound.
 
I used hot glue on my Pan Am c mel repad. I am still learning the clarinet, so not playing the sax yet(just to avoid confusion). Some hot glues are very soft when set, I would think that would be one reason why shellac is preferred. I used some very stiff hot glue, also to repair my clarinet that had one bad pad. Makes life easy, and with my lack of experience I wouldn't know the difference. The original pad was a self adhesive type any way, so maybe an improvement. I haven't decided whether to use shellac on my next pad job or not. With the amount of hot glue it took to do one sax(three+ sticks), the cost of shellac might make it's possible benefits not worth the effort for a late bloomer student like me. I doubt I could tell the difference. I would love to learn what benefits there are though.

The glue sample the tech gave me is pretty hard once cooled down. He told me it's "high heat" glue, not the craft store type. Heat gun did the trick for me beautifully.

George
 
The glue sample the tech gave me is pretty hard once cooled down. He told me it's "high heat" glue, not the craft store type. Heat gun did the trick for me beautifully.

George

High temp hot glue is what I am using. Both varieties are available at most craft stores here. And, is like you say hard when cooled. Just very convenient for me to only need to apply the glue to the pad with the glue gun, then put the pad into the cup. Leaves my other hand free at the time. I use a weller solder gun to heat the cups up to level the pad if necessary. Very gentle on the finish of the metal.
 
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