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)
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
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.
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 ?
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
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
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