This week has been all about finishing the padding and corking on our clarinets. Lots of small work. We use various types of cork for different applications on the instrument. The cork that looks like pac-man, and the cork on the small lever are both Tech Cork, while the cork on the key is natural. Most corks are then sanded to fit and checked to make sure they allow for the proper venting of the key.
Tenon Corking is a different beast altogether. With tenon corking, we cut a piece of cork the correct width of the tenon and soften it with a mallet, re-trimming if necessary. After cementing the cork in place, we trim off the excess and sand the cork to fit. Finally, we seal the cork with two layers of paraffin wax and grease it up. Below, you will see how exciting it can get once tenon corking is finished.
After tenon corking, the instrument was play tested. Satisfied, I re-cleaned the body and keys while wearing gloves to leave it in perfect condition for the customer. I did a quick cleaning of the inside of the case and put the instrument away. Once down, countless more to go.
Finally this week, as a quick side project, I did some work on an old Selmer HS Star Mouthpiece. This mouthpiece had been in the case of an old Boosey & Hawkes Clarinet that belonged to my step-father's father. It is a hard rubber mouthpiece that had the ligature and reed still attached. After a quick flush through the simple green to clean it up, some light sanding, a lot of work with dental picks to clean out the lettering, and finally some buffing, it came back to a nice shiny black instead of a rubber/sulfur green. With the help of a grease pencil, I was able to restore most of the logo and text on the mouthpiece. With a new tenon cork, this thing will be in top shape in no time.
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