From: dennis@socs.uts.edu.au (Dennis Cook)
Subject: Re: recorder care tips
Reply-To: dennis@socs.uts.EDU.AU
Organization: University of Technology, Sydney
Date: 18 Nov 92 03:00:12 GMT

de19@umail.umd.edu (Dana S Emery) writes:

>In article <dennis.721874916@yak>, dennis@socs.uts.edu.au (Dennis Cook)
>wrote:
>> A more effective method is to rinse
>> out the headjoint with a 50/50 mixture of detergent and water,
>> about once every six weeks. The few traces of detergent residue
>> will reduce the surface tension of the water droplets, letting
>> the stuff run through more easily.

>?!? I would do that gleefully to a plastic instrument (adding some lysol
>for the mold), but I wouldnt want to see anyone doing it to my wooden ones,
>a blast of 50 psi air would come to my mind before a soaking in water.

The emphasis is on RINSE, rather than SOAK. I'll describe the procedure
in detail.

In a small dish place about a teaspoon of detergent and a teaspoon
of water; mix thoroughly. Rest the beak of the instrument in this,
cover the labia, being careful not to touch the edge, and suck the
water/detergent up as far as the labia. Let the stuff run out,
and then rinse the headjoint with cold water, until the bubbles
(from the detergent) have all but disappeared -- about a minute.
Dry out the headjoint, with your lint-free apparatus, and let
it sit in a well-ventilated area for about four hours.

I do it fairly regularly to my plastic recorders, about once
every six weeks or so, and less often to the wooden ones.


> [description of block removal.]
>Some judicious prayer helps my sole, if not the instrument.
Your SOLE? I hope this method doesn't involve your feet! :-)


>Moisture control is very important, as is minimizing moisture gradient (ie,
>if one end of a piece of dry wood is standing in a furnace, with the other
>end in a pail of water, there is a gradient of moisture, and concommitant
>stress, from one end to the other of the stick, and probably from its
>center to the outside surfaces as well.)

>It should be noted that wood takes up moisture much more rapidly than it
>yields it, and softwood (the block) takes it up faster than hardwood (the
>body).

Hear! Hear!


>I hadnt considered the finger oil aspect, but it makes sense.  Usually I
>take advantage of this dissasembly to gently (400 grit) sand down any
>raised grain on the block, but one must be VERY carefull not to reshape the
>block, usually a couple light strokes does it. I dont recomend this to
>anyone who would be unwilling to make their own blocks.

Indeed. And the narrower the windway of your recorder, the more risk
you run. Some of the better recorders not only have the mandatory
sideways curve in the top of the block, but also the surface is
very slightly concave from top to bottom, and rises slightly towards
the labia, and the chamfer thereon. (An equivalent concavity is to
be found on the top of the windway.) Consequently, you have to make
sure that you don't interfere with either.

Generally speaking, the safest way of doing this is with a
recorder maker glaring over your shoulder.

regards,
--
Dennis Cook ------------------------------------------- dennis@socs.uts.edu.AU

Hello. My name is Inego Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.
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