How To Repad A Clarinet

Supplies you will need:

Clarinet Repair Kit, Pad Set, Shellac, Cork Cement, Polishing Cloth, Key Oil, Bore Oil (wooden clarinet), Tenon Cork Strips, Key Cork, Swedging Pliers, Penetrating Oil, Sandpaper, Q-Tips, Cork Wedges, Key Clamps, Candle or Small Torch, Reeds, Case Deodorizer.

Inspection: Look the clarinet over completely and check for cracks, chips, broken tenons, broken keys, missing screws, and most importantly, loose rings. On a wooden clarinet, loose rings can cause a crack in the female receiver, going right through the lower bridge tone hole.

Teardown: As you remove each key, check for end play and loss of motion in key mechanisms. Swedging pliers and counterbores will eliminate sloppy keys, resulting in a tight horn. Remove all key corks, tenon corks and pads. Take note of the pad thickness. Clean all of the rods removing dirt, rust and debris. Check all of the tone holes for chips or dents. Tools are available to resurface tone holes if needed.

Cleaning: Make sure you clean your horn thoroughly! Use some Super C Powerful Citrus Soap, and Cleaning Brushes. If your clarinet is wooden, be sure to use plenty of coats of Bore Oil, allowing plenty of time between coats for the horn to absorb the oil. This will help prevent the horn from cracking.

Setup: Tighten loose rings. Check for loose thumb and vent tubes, reglue if needed. Repair loose posts with either: Shims, epoxies, super glues, or setscrews.

Corking: Clean all of your keys with Silver Dip and buff each key lightly with a nickel buffing wheel or chamois silver wheel, depending on the key type. Lay out all of your keys and cork them all at the same time. You can cork the keys really fast by using our pre-shaped, peel & stick synthetic key cork strips. These come in different thicknesses. They are much faster and cleaner than the old method of rubber glue and natural cork. All clarinet models are different. If possible, take note of the thickness of the original corking. Next, install your tenon corks, using either Natural Tenon Cork Strips or Synthetic Tenon Cork Strips. These are real time savers as well!

Padding: We sell premade Clarinet Pad Sets for those of you that aren't interested in buying a dozen of each pad from a supplier. Just email us the make and model of your horn, and we will ship you a set based on factory specifications of your horn. It is better if you measure all of your pad cups (mm or 32nds) and email us the list for your pad set. The reason this is wise, is because manufacturers sometimes have pad variances, even in the same model horn. Pads should not be very loose in the pad cup, and they should not hang over the edges either. Check all of your pads in the cups before you begin installing them. NOTE: If you have a pro set up, you can also use a cork pad on the Auxilliary Eb-Bb, C#-G#, Eb-Bb and F# trill to eliminate water build up on those pads. This will reduce that gurgling, watery sound and will assist in producing a brighter sound. Cork pads can also be used on stuffy keys where venting doesn't help, (register key). I suggest you use STICK SHELLAC. This is easily crushed and sprinkled into the pad cup. A small amount of heat from a candle, or torch will melt shellac very quickly. Then, insert the pad into the glue puddle, and press the key firmly on a flat surface. It cools very quickly. You may also choose to use TUBE CEMENT as well. I certainly do not suggest using hot melt glue, super glue, elmers glue, contact cement as they are far too weak and you might have pads popping off on a hot or cold day. Dont use super strength glues like epoxies or rock hard glue either. That will create a big mess if you ever have to replace a few pads in the future.

Assembly: Install one key on the upper section, heat to adjust pad for proper seating and clamp the key down for proper "seating". Then install one key on the lower section. Go from one section to the other, to eliminate downtime from cooling. As you go back and forth, remove the clamp and check for proper "seating" and adjust the key heights. There is really no "standard" key height for clarinets. There are far too many models and you really have to look at each model individually. Suggested key heights are for guidelines only.

Upper Section:

Aux Eb-Bb Key - Apply 1/16" cork under foot, opening key to 1/16". Curved C#-G# Keys - Apply 1/16" cork under key spatula, opening key to 3/32" (This key usually plays stuffy, extra venting will help). F# ring key - Apply 1/64" cork under foot, key height will be determined later by the height of the thumb ring key. A-D ring key - Apply 1/64" cork under the bridge lever and 1/32" cork under the foot of the bridge lever (The cork under foot will help raise the key, preventing the two keys from hooking and bending). The height of the key will be adjusted by the lower bridge key. Adjust both the F# and A-D rings slightly above flush with the tops of the raised tone holes. A key - Apply 1/32" to 1/4" cork. If the key casting is built up on the key, or a stop post to the body; you need only 1/32" cork, opening the key to 1/16". Start with that, but on most models more venting will be needed. By starting with a more closed setting, it will be easier just to sand off a bit of cork until you get the clearest sound. G# key - Apply 1/32" to 1/4" cork. After pad is seated adjust screw so there is only a slight amount of play between the A and G# key. The G# key spatula should be parallel with the body and when the A key is pressed the G key should travel the same distance. If the G# key stops the A key from opening to the correct height, sand cork from the G# key. If the G# key has travel in it after the A key is pressed, a thicker cork will be needed on the G# key. C and Bb trills - Apply 1/16" cork under foot, opening keys to 1/16". Make sure keys are running parallel to each other, the key spatulas are level to the body and in the same plane. F# trill - Apply 1/16" cork under foot raising the key to 1/16". The spatula should be stepped down from the C and Bb trills so it is comfortable to roll from one trill to the other. Eb-Bb trill - Apply 3/16" cork under foot. Adjust spatula in the same plane level with the F# trill. Key height will be adjusted in final assembly. Thumb Ring Key - Apply 1/32" cork under foot. In the open position the cork on the thumb key should be adjusted to open the F# ring key slightly above the plane of the body. When the ring key is closed sealing the F# key, the thumb ring key should be flush with the raised tone hole. Register Key - Apply 1/16" cork under foot opening the key to 1/16". Adjust spatula so it is comfortable to roll off the ring key to the register key. Then adjust cork for proper height. The key height of 1/16" might be a little low on some models, so test later and sand off cork accordingly. A cork pad may also help in this area

THIS GUIDE IS STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION!

Please read what we have, but come again and read more as I continue to finish it. I apologize for the inconvenience, but there are many things to cover and lots of information to collect.

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