How To Replace a Clarinet Pad

[@stevecramer9233]

Good basic information. For most people, hot melt glue (which is also what most manufacturers are using today) has been the best choice for me for over 30+ years. Yes, I also poke one or two very small holes that end up getting covered. Sewing needle will work for most amateurs unless they bought one of those Emergency Repair kits already and can use a needle spring. I would advise people to stick with high quality, double-skin pads. Ferrees sells to the general public now. (My go-to Clarinet pad for student instruments is the B21.) Only other thing that I would recommend for most people is skip the torch when keys are on the body for seating. (I only use a butane torch when keys are off and I'm removing pads before buffing the keys, etc.) A very inexpensive alternative is a Weller soldering gun kit, with flat tip ($50). (Many years ago, before they came with that optional flat craft tip, I would cut the regular tip and separate it slightly, and then push both ends on the metal key and the electrical circuit would be complete and the key would heat up nicely.) But for a clarinet, and anything where I don't have much room to use my Air Torch (Music Medic, around $200), I usually start with the soldering gun with flat tip. (Also works great on Saxophone bis keys, where you can't get a torch in there too easily!) I also keep a regular alcohol burner around, although I don't use it very often. Sometimes I'll use it for a last minor touchup seating (especially for piccolos). I just find that more damage happens from open flame seating, and whenever something comes in my shop that has been damaged, I do my best to scrape and emery and polish it out, even if it wasn't my fault. I avoid any use of the tubes of liquid shellac/etc., except for water key corks on Brass instruments, etc. They include those tubes in the 'Emergency Kit'. For me, has always been a huge mess, takes forever to dry, and quite honestly, I have a lot more control over seating a pad without that. I use French cement for Oboes and Bassoons, and stick shellac for Pro and Vintage Saxophones, but a good quality glue gun and stick for everything else, right out of the gun, in most cases, if you get a quality glue gun with small narrow extended tip. (Michaels sells the ArtMinds high temp fine tip for around $16. They ooze out glue if you keep them on all day in a shop, and eventually you need to replace them, but they work quite nicely for the amateur.) And a nod to Jared, who mentions just heat and snap the key and it will self seat. I'll do that at first, then feeler paper (Cleaning paper thin slice will work just fine, or a piece of that Mylar silver curtain decoration.) And then reheat/pad slick, rinse and repeat. I'll just add that every tech has their own way that works for them. I'm mainly adding a few thoughts for the amateur that might be looking here because they have decided to take the plunge and try to repad their own instrument. Looks easy, but not quite as simple as it looks if you want everything to play nicely and consistently, without added resistance from leaks.

[@Jared_De_Leon]

Great video. A quicker way to do it is to repeatedly open the key and let it snap back down to level the pad while it is still hot. Same concept but you let the tone hole do the work for you. It's also a good idea to check how level the tone hole is as a surprising number of instruments have poorly leveled tone holes from the factory. Also I'm glad that you also don't use pad clamps, too many techs use them to force unlevel pads to seat and the result is never good!

[@MasterPredator93]

I'll try this one! Thanks

[@PhilWalton]

I was looking for some basics on replacing a pad on an older tenor recorder, and this is perfect! Thank you so much. :)

[@Wowwwwwwzer]

I just press the cup and pad against the tone hole and it self-levels. So far this has worked for me. The feeler gauge thing however is good for double checking pad seating.

[@willemkossen]

great. i used to do this with a resin that melts when heated. i don't remember what type that is, still have a stick that will last me the rest of my life since i only work on my own instruments. i used that on both clarinets and recorders with keys. i tend to use the tone hole itself to adjust the pad by pressing the key onto it when the resin is still soft. never had problems that way. oh, and i heat the keys with a soldering iron, so not to damage the wood with a torch...

[@markdoyle9642]

Thank You, Excellent work and Organization! RESPECT!

[@derekmccoy-d7e]

Very helpful. Thank you.

[@duckrock55]

Thank you from me, too. I do repairs gratis for a non-profit and this is super helpful.

[@mocatz1963]

Thanks. Now I feel better about buying a more expensive Clarinet.

[@tomliber6512]

Have you tried an induction heater? Its possible to make a small one. Just to avoid burn marks

[@piumal100]

Thank you I learned a very important lesson. I would also like to know a video about clarinet leather pad gluing.

[@DaVintageMan129]

so I have a couple questions. First, what pads would you recommend for someone who's wanting to get into repairing clarinets? Second, did you use the feeler gauge to see what spots might leak?

[@mariaphilomena1422]

This is the pad that I just replaced on my granddaughters Yamaha as she has a concert in a week and the local Repair place had a several week turnaround time and charges $35 for every key they have to remove. I’m gonna have to watch this video several more times and really hope I don’t end up having to take it to the repair shop after all. 😬

[@TomGeller]

Great video. It seems like hot glue is less convenient in every way. Why would you use it instead of lacquer?

[@TheBrassandWoodwindShop]

I like it because it holds up better over time and it is usually a little less messy. I wanted to show both ways of doing it in the video because one of the glues may not be available in some countries.

[@watchamovie20]

Where do you get you large box of assorted clarinet pads ?

[@Matiastchicourel]

Excellent Tutorial! Thank you so much! I have two questions: 1. I m trying to make cheaper pads from a hard EVA foam and tried to make boudruche from a egg membrane too , seems a good path to you? any other sugestion, please? 2. I m looking for a good oil o restorer wood formula for clarinet, I tried Nut oil, almond oil, lemon oil. Could you help me with any formula to make in my local country? Thanks again!

[@TheBrassandWoodwindShop]

Sorry it took me so long to respond. I do not know the answer to your first question, but you can experiment and see if it works. For the second question, linseed oil can work, but it can cause the pads to be sticky if you get it on the tone holes, so be careful to avoid the tone holes. I do not knw how hard it is to get outside the United States though. I hope this helps.

[@mariaphilomena1422]

Where would I get a cork pad? It seems like that would be so much easier.

[@Defessus1]

Do you need to take the keys off or can you just slide the pad under?

[@TheBrassandWoodwindShop]

It is best to take the key off, but you can slide the pad under the key.

[@oberts1256]

ur a godsend

[@leochavolla2263]

I was literally looking for help on this today

[@javierquesada798]

thank you teacher cheers

[@GabrielHenrique-gq5rq]

What book is that ?

[@mrmz3802]

All clarinet player will give you a kiss

[@KJ7JHN]

any suggestions on where to purchase off sized pads? 8.60mm, 9.80, ... ? do you recommend the pads be .1mm smaller than the cup or right on? Thanks!

[@TheBrassandWoodwindShop]

I do not know anyone who makes those sizes of pads. I do not think that the sizes need to be that close to work well. Just as long as it is not too big and it fits in the pad cup with a little room to move for pad seating purposes. I hope this helps, Art

[@KJ7JHN]

@@TheBrassandWoodwindShop Much appreciated. Thank you.

[@stevecramer9233]

Most Clarinets will need Ferrees B21 (double skin) 9.5mm (Buffet) or 10mm (Bundy), 11.5mm or 12mm, and 16.5mm or rarely 17mm. I usually use a cork pad for octave, but some prefer a synthetic, and 9mm for B ring key because it's buried and it opens up the sound if you go a bit smaller. I sometimes find the need to go with a thinner pad (B25) for the C# or else the C key is too closed down. Sometimes the exact same brand and model will need something slightly different here and there.

[@Quadstriker]

Have you gotten the eBay strad yet? We’re waiting to see what it looks like!

[@TheBrassandWoodwindShop]

Sorry it took me so long to respond. It has been insanely busy here, but I am finally getting things back under control. Yes, I did get the Strad, but I have not opened the package yet. I am going to do an unboxing video when I start to work on it in a couple weeks. I was hoping to get started sooner, but I got dumped on with work and I need to get caught up on a few things first.

[@nikolayiliev-trumpettrombo1666]

do you think it is safer for beginners to use a hot air gun?

[@TheBrassandWoodwindShop]

The hot air gun probably would be harder to control and it may melt other near-by glue so I would not suggest that. I suggest using the torch, but just be very careful. Also, if you have a junk clarinet, practice on that one first.

[@nikolayiliev-trumpettrombo1666]

I did some practice with the hot air gun, and when set on 300C with an appropriate sized tip works actually pretty well. At least with silicone glue.

[@TheBrassandWoodwindShop]

I stand corrected. That is the great thing about band instrument repair. You can experiment and then do whatever works.

[@willianlagares4843]

Top !!!

[@ConfusedPunk]

So what if you use super glue?

[@basemsalha3425]

🖒🖒💚

[@danhoenigman2757]

A very irresponsible video. Players play, repairmen fix. Do you have any idea how many instruments are ruined by by videos like this?

[@overcastdawn7876]

Some of us can't afford it and don't get free repairs, testing it on extra or already broken clarinets or other instruments will help learn and figure out what you need to do in order for it to work

[@JSaltyfabricator]

You make the assumption that musicians cannot learn and fix things. This is very ignorant. I suggest you try scrapbooking.

[@larryatneosen4597]

Yes, take it to the music store where they charge you $300+ dollars and take two months to fix it!

[@danhoenigman2757]

@@larryatneosen4597 depending on which pad needs to be replaced, there’s more to replacing a pad than just gluing a pad into a cup. Do you have the pads, proper glue, tools, cork if needed, do you know how to regulate two pads, remove lost motion, set action height? Take it to a professional, please!

[@PracticaProphetica]

@@danhoenigman2757 Dan, there's never one right answer for all situations. Some people have handyman skills; they may already know how to do repairs similar to this, and are not afraid to add one more skill to their ticket. They may already have many of the tools, and can order what else they need. They can watch and learn from videos, like this one. It doesn't make sense to take a $200-$400 Clarinet to a repair shop and pay more than the instrument is worth. In my case, I'd probably have to drive 6 hours to get to a repair shop, and then what? Spend a few nights in a hotel? Total cost: $1000 and two or three days lost to fix my $400 Clarinet? You seem to assume that we all play $12,000 Buffet Tosca's.