Metal Ring for Crystal Mouthpiece

[stevethemusicman]

Hi All,

I have an old O'Brien Fossenkemper crystal mouthpiece I bought used. I love the mouthpiece but it is missing the metal ring on the bottom where it goes into the clarinet.

It does not affect the playability of the clarinet but I belive that without it I might be taking a chance that it will chip or crack easier than with it.

Does anyone here know where I can get one of these rings? I spoke to the repair people at Dillion and they didn't know. They said they'd be happy to put it one if I had it.

I appreciate all suggestions.

Thanks,

Steve

 

[clarnibass]

I don't know about the model of your mouthpiece, but some crystal mouthpieces don't have the metal ring there. It only protects it against some knocks there but doesn't really do anything significant IMO. If yours had the metal ring and for some reason it doesn't anymore, it would probably feel wobbly (even if the cork is fine) and would have a slight gap inside the bore. If that was the case, I would probably fit and ring and make it from silver sheet, burnished and glued in place. If it originally doesn't have a metal ring, adding one might mean it won't fit in the socket (diameter-wise) and would create an outside gap for making the tenon longer (assuming you don't remove any of the glass to fit it).