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Removing rings

How do you go about removing the rings from a clarinet? Specifically, my fiancee somehow had a ring fall off one of the barrels to my clarinet, didn't tell me about it, put it back on UPSIDE DOWN and only got it part way on, and now it's stuck.

I really don't feel like taking it to a tech, and a search of the internet has been fruitless.

Thanks!
 
Patience is key. You may first want try to put the barrel into the refrigerator (within a ziploc bag) to make the wood shrink a bit. Then warm up the ring in the round of thumb and index finger so that it expands a wee bit, this helps getting it loose.

If the ring in pushed all the way in, you need knife with a sharp blade. Push the blade sideways (don't use the tip) between tenon/barrel and ring, just so that the ring is lifted a bit. DO NOT WIGGLE. Now do the same at the opposite side. Gradually take knives with thicker blades till the ring comes free. Make sure you're not using excessive force, and don't push too hard, else you cut the ring tenon.

If the ring is only part way in, use the back side of a dinner knife (blunt), or two of them, or the handle of a spoon...whatever is blunt and will apply an even force onto the wood, to avoid nicks in the wood.

If you find that while you push the ring on one side up, it's getting pushed back at the other side, use toothpicks or sharpened matches as wedges on the "idle" side.
 
Very good suggestions. You can also try a lot of force carefully. For example, use two "shims" (kichen knifes can probably work) as levers to pull or push the ring off. Maybe have someone else hold the barrel. There is really no problem using a lot of force as long as you have the feel for it not to cause any damage.

The ring will probably be loose after you put it back. My favorite method for attaching them back (in preferance to shrinking the ring, using any type of solid shim like paper or plastic, or using any type of other glue) is gluing the ring back with shellac. I consider that this method has a lot of advantages.
 
Yes, follow tictactux'! Tis is one of the best explanations of the necessary procedure I ever read ;-) Well done!

kindly
Roman


PS: To warm the ring slowly, a soldering iron of 40-80W will do a good job.
 
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