SKIP THIS STEP IF YOU ARE USING Hy Tek CORK  - Lay the neck cork on a solid flat surface and gently tap the entire surface with a hammer or mallet. This will soften it and reduce the chance of cracking while wrapping - it will also make the cork easier to handle.

Remove the existing cork and clean the surface. Carefully apply heat to the area and you will burn away old cork and soften any adhesive left on the area. Rubbing alcohol is also helpful with the clean up.

When the neck is completely clean do a dry run by wrapping the new cork around the neck without applying glue. Make sure the neck cork is pliable by tapping it again.

Mark the spot where the cork ends on the neck (2 inches from the tip) and make a line around the circumference of the neck. This line will be your guide when you apply glue.

Paint a light even coat of contact cement on the portion of the sax neck that will be covered with the cork - area between end of neck and pencil line. Paint a coat of contact cement on the beveled portion of the cork. Turn the cork over and paint the un-beveled side. Paint all areas marked with x's with contact cement. Be careful to allow the cement to touch only marked areas. Also, your hands should not touch the cement. Wait about 10 minutes for the cement to dry.

WRAPPING NEW CORK

Be careful! As soon as the two painted surfaces make contact a permanent bond will instantly form - there is no going back.

The part of the cork with the big X will meet with the cement on the neck.

Start to wrap the cork on the underside of the neck so the joint will not be seen. This will leave the painted bevel (smaller x"s) exposed where you begin. Carefully wrap the neck going back around to the bevel and covering it. This part of the job demands a bit of patience. Due to the taper of the neck, the cork will not want to go on straight. You must be persuasive with it - this is partly why you need to tap the cork to make it pliable.

Gently trim off excess cork and save for another job. (The glue on it will not hurt it, just glue the same side next time you use it.

Now you can sand the bevel so it is smooth. Do not over sand and be careful not to scratch the instrument as you sand.

Sand evenly around the neck cork and check often to see if your mouthpiece fits. Since the neck is tapered it makes sense to sand more off the back of the cork.

Put the mouthpiece on your corked and greased neck and adjust it until you can play an F (Saxophone F) in tune. Leave the mouthpiece on the horn overnight - it will leave an impression in the cork, leaving you a line that will get close to in tune the next time you play

Apply cork grease often for a week.