Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Lesson Learned - 5/15/12
I crapped up a head joint tenon on a flute today while removing dents on a head joint mandrel and learned a simple lesson - always place a tenon shrinker on a head joint before doing dent removal. Even with the shrinker on, extra care needs to be exercised when removing dents from the top of the head joint, where a lot of leverage is needed.
Lesson Learned - 5/14/12
While resoldering a post on a saxophone today, I encountered a problem I've had several times before, but one that I still fail to acknowledge at times. The flange on the bottom of the post was slightly larger than the footprint left by the old solder joint. In other words, when the post was originally soldered in place, the manufacturer didn't quite fill the joint with solder. Doing so leaves a nicer looking joint because there's no visible solder around the edges. Unfortunately, that also means that when the instrument is lacquered, that space on the body around the edge of the flange gets covered in lacquer. Since solder won't flow on or adhere to lacquer, that created a problem when I tried to resolder the post. Solder wouldn't flow into the joint even when I got it hot enough and applied an ample amount of flux, because the lacquer around the edges of the joint was creating a barrier. Eventually I burned off enough of the lacquer with heat, and the solder was able to flow, but it created a god-awful mess of burnt lacquer and solder in places where I didn't want it. I should have stopped when I realized the lacquer was causing a problem and dealt with that before attempting to solder, but I acted foolishly and hastily - two adverbs that seem to always travel together. I need to be more conscious of that problem in the future, and create a path for the solder by buffing away a small amount of lacquer at the feed point. As it was, my hasty method ended up costing me extra time because I had to go back to wipe away excess solder and buff all the burnt lacquer away.
Lesson Learned - 5/11/12
Further investigation is required, but I think today I learned that when shimming a flute pad, using a full shim that fits very snugly in the pad cup can cause the pad to distort once it's secured in place with the screw and washer. I've always been careful not to use full shims that are significantly smaller than the pad cup for fear that they would move around under the pad and change the way the pad protrudes from the pad cup. It never occurred to me that a snug shim could cause problems, too. I suspect that it's because the shim warps once the pad is against it and bubbles up in certain places, warping the pad.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Lesson Learned - 5/10/12
Today I finished working on a Theo Markardt english horn, a peculiar instrument that required a lot of attention and study. From what I've been able to learn, Mr. Markardt made pro-level oboes and english horns in Erlbach Germany. I believe he's deceased now. The mechanism on the instrument was unlike any I've ever seen. The standard system on an oboe or english horn is known as the Conservatory System, and Mr. Markardt clearly used that system as his template but made numerous modifications. For instance, there were open tone holes and finger rings where the A and D pads would be on a conservatory instrument, some of the trill mechanisms were different, and the instrument had an automatic octave mechanism, which is fairly uncommon for double reed instruments. The fingerings were no different from a normal english horn except for a few trill fingerings, but the ways in which the keys interacted with each other were unique. Because of that I spent a lot of time just looking over the instrument, turning regulation screws, to get an understanding of how everything was supposed to work. Below I've included pictures of two of the mechanisms, along with my understanding of their functions and how to adjust them.
Automatic Octave Mechanism
Most double reed instruments have independent 1st and 2nd octave keys that the player operates manually. On this instrument, there was no way to manually open the 2nd octave key. It was connected to the 1st octave key and when the octave key was pressed, one or the other would open depending on which keys in the left hand were closed. This is exactly how the octave mechanism on a saxophone works. The design was unlike that commonly found on a saxophone, though. I've included the function of each adjustment screw and the order in which I found it best to set them.
F Resonance Key Mechanism
It seems like every brand of oboe or english horn has its own variation on this mechanism, so it usually requires a few minutes of study. This one had its own nuances, so its worth recording.
Because the adjustment of #1 can be affected slightly by #5, it could be necessary to go through this order more than once, making finer adjustments each time. Despite that, this is the best solution I could come up with.
This instrument taught me a lot, and since it's likely I won't see another one for a long time, these illustrations will help me be a lot more prepared with information that I wouldn't otherwise remember.
Automatic Octave Mechanism
Most double reed instruments have independent 1st and 2nd octave keys that the player operates manually. On this instrument, there was no way to manually open the 2nd octave key. It was connected to the 1st octave key and when the octave key was pressed, one or the other would open depending on which keys in the left hand were closed. This is exactly how the octave mechanism on a saxophone works. The design was unlike that commonly found on a saxophone, though. I've included the function of each adjustment screw and the order in which I found it best to set them.
F Resonance Key Mechanism
It seems like every brand of oboe or english horn has its own variation on this mechanism, so it usually requires a few minutes of study. This one had its own nuances, so its worth recording.
This instrument taught me a lot, and since it's likely I won't see another one for a long time, these illustrations will help me be a lot more prepared with information that I wouldn't otherwise remember.
Lesson Learned - 5/9/12
I spent most of today working on Gemeinhardt open hole flute. A fine intermediate instrument, but not the best, so it's to be expected that the tone holes would not be perfectly level. I find that having flat tone holes really makes padding an open hole flute much easier, so I usually level all the tone holes when I'm doing a repad, as was the case yesterday.
I was using a piece of plexiglass over the top of the tone hole and tapping with it on a hammer to lower the high spots, a tip I picked up from another tech on the Delphi band instrument repair forum. In doing so, I found that I need to be extra cautious if I'm tapping on the back of the tone hole, especially if there is a rib right next to it. If I tap too hard, creating a low spot in the back of the tone hole rim, it's extremely difficult to raise that back up to level because of the thickness and strength of the rib that prevents the metal from moving.
I was using a piece of plexiglass over the top of the tone hole and tapping with it on a hammer to lower the high spots, a tip I picked up from another tech on the Delphi band instrument repair forum. In doing so, I found that I need to be extra cautious if I'm tapping on the back of the tone hole, especially if there is a rib right next to it. If I tap too hard, creating a low spot in the back of the tone hole rim, it's extremely difficult to raise that back up to level because of the thickness and strength of the rib that prevents the metal from moving.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Lesson Learned - 5/8/12
Today I learned, courtesy of my coworker M, that reducing the venting of all the stack keys on a saxophone can help mitigate inconsistencies in the instrument's intonation. He was working on an old Martin alto and found that by closing the stack keys down lower than normal, he corrected a lot of the pitch issues in the middle register. The keys were so low that I would have never thought to experiment with an opening that small because it's so far outside the norm. But that saxophone reminded me yet again that I need to always be open to long-shot techniques when the tried-and-true aren't working.
I also learned that if you're going to plug a piece of tubing with silly putty to check for leaks, you shouldn't draw a strong vacuum on that piece of tubing because you'll suck a huge gob of silly putty up into the tube like a bubble in reverse. As a result of that little lesson, though, I learned that PB Blaster is really effective at un-sticking silly putty from brass tubing.
Seems like the first lesson was a bit more...nuanced.
I also learned that if you're going to plug a piece of tubing with silly putty to check for leaks, you shouldn't draw a strong vacuum on that piece of tubing because you'll suck a huge gob of silly putty up into the tube like a bubble in reverse. As a result of that little lesson, though, I learned that PB Blaster is really effective at un-sticking silly putty from brass tubing.
Seems like the first lesson was a bit more...nuanced.
Fighting "Blog Neglect"
This blog has lain dormant for awhile, partly because of a lack of motivation on my part. Based on just about every other blog on the internet, that seems like a common problem which I've named "Blog Neglect" (trademark pending). Part of my hiatus, though, has also been because I've put the project on temporary hold. At least I hope it's temporary
When I started working on the instrument, I had found it in the shop, talked to my coworker about it, and mistakenly believed that the owner had no more interest in keeping or paying to restore the instrument. I assumed it would an easy matter to contact her about purchasing it, so easy in fact that I wouldn't even need to talk to her before starting work. That's how certain I was that she'd want to get rid of the instrument. As it turns out I contacted her a few weeks ago and she wasn't as certain as I'd been about her willingness to sell. That's her prerogative of course, so while she's been mulling over whether to sell to me, I've agreed to stop my work. She knows about the work I've already done and is fine with it, and may even pay me to finish if she decides to keep the instrument for herself. We'll see - I've learned that it's best not to expect any specific outcome.
In any case I'd hate for this blog to go to waste, and for a while now I've wanted a way to keep track of the things I learn each day at work that I can apply to future repairs and to life in general. My plan from now on is to post every weekday with some lesson that I've picked up that day and ultimately end up with a wealth of information that I and others can refer back to. When my work on the english horn hopefully resumes, I'll continue to write about that along with the daily lessons, but in the meantime at least the people who stumble across this blog won't assume that it's abandoned and start smashing up the windows and doing meth in the bedrooms and squatting on the property. That's what happens to abandoned blogs, right?
When I started working on the instrument, I had found it in the shop, talked to my coworker about it, and mistakenly believed that the owner had no more interest in keeping or paying to restore the instrument. I assumed it would an easy matter to contact her about purchasing it, so easy in fact that I wouldn't even need to talk to her before starting work. That's how certain I was that she'd want to get rid of the instrument. As it turns out I contacted her a few weeks ago and she wasn't as certain as I'd been about her willingness to sell. That's her prerogative of course, so while she's been mulling over whether to sell to me, I've agreed to stop my work. She knows about the work I've already done and is fine with it, and may even pay me to finish if she decides to keep the instrument for herself. We'll see - I've learned that it's best not to expect any specific outcome.
In any case I'd hate for this blog to go to waste, and for a while now I've wanted a way to keep track of the things I learn each day at work that I can apply to future repairs and to life in general. My plan from now on is to post every weekday with some lesson that I've picked up that day and ultimately end up with a wealth of information that I and others can refer back to. When my work on the english horn hopefully resumes, I'll continue to write about that along with the daily lessons, but in the meantime at least the people who stumble across this blog won't assume that it's abandoned and start smashing up the windows and doing meth in the bedrooms and squatting on the property. That's what happens to abandoned blogs, right?
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