You can make your own commercial quality pads at home/in your shop, with a few simple tools.
http://www.martinmods.com/padprocess.html
http://www.martinmods.com/padprocess.html
have you ever tried hollow punch set tools to cut the felt circles ?
Also, where do you get raw materials (other than the deer skin which is kinda obvious).
...we could have a lively trade in second-hand fingers for all pad situations. Of course, the smell of rotting flesh might put non-jazz purists off of their feed.
The procedures shown duplicate the mechanized steps in making a pad, only in a manual form. In effect, the economy of scale of production in the mechanized process (requiring all sorts of clever machines to make it work) has here been replaced by one specialized tool (the punch setup) combined with careful and loving hand labor (which a craftsman approach uses in much greater quantities) to obtain an equal or superior result. Nothing wrong with that at all.
There is also that satisfaction of doing it right yourself, an intangible that only the craftsman will realize. Unfortunately, that feeling isn't transferable, although there are those who will truly appreciate what you (the craftsman) has done.
Does that mean that commercially-available pads will work with esoteric woodwind instruments/double-reeds, like, say, a Rothophone or a 19th century (or earlier) clarinet? I never checked into it.I have never failed to find the right size pad for a key cup since the major manufacturers furnish pads in half millimeter sizes in two or three different thicknesses. For me bench time is too valuable to spend it on making what is available commercially at very reasonable prices. Still, it is interesting to see the process of making one's own pads.
Does that mean that commercially-available pads will work with esoteric woodwind instruments/double-reeds, like, say, a Rothophone or a 19th century (or earlier) clarinet? I never checked into it.