Making a Saxophone Mouthpiece from a Block of Wood

Check out my newest album here!
tuffsturgeon.bandcamp.com/alb...
My second mouthpiece made by hand completely from scratch, this time from a piece of white oak. It was an interesting challenge similar to the first, however….wood is not a great material to use for a mouthpiece.
Wood is very sensitive to temperature and humidity, and because of this is not a suitable material to keep the table flat and the facing dimensionally accurate, especially over the long-term. This is why I tried to seal all surfaces of the piece, although I still had to sand through this for the most part on the final table and facing passes. I knew this already, but thought it would be a fun project anyway, and it actually plays quite well. The wood also looks cool so that’s a plus! I should note that the harder the wood, the less extreme these problems will be, but it still won’t have the stability of hard rubber or brass.
Another note about mouthpiece material:
The design of this piece was made completely freehand without any real plan, but turned out sort of like a medium chamber Meyer but with a higher baffle. It was even higher when doing the first few play tests, but was incredibly bright and shrill, so I lowered it a decent amount. This goes to show that the internal geometry of a piece is the predominant factor in the overall tone, of course factored in with the facing length and tip opening for the overall playing response.
Many years ago I used to think that metal mouthpieces were loud and bright, and hard rubber pieces were softer and less aggressive. I think this is a super common misconception, but it’s understandable why people arrive at that conclusion by default. But as many players could tell you, there are metal pieces that play dark and tubby, and hard rubber pieces with a super high baffle that will play very bright and aggressive.
The playing experience between metal and hard rubber is very noticeably affected by the beak height (and angle), mouthpiece width, and other less obvious variables like the angle between the table and the bore. Many metal pieces will have a more parallel table-to-bore relationship where many hard rubber pieces will have more of a dramatic angle between the two. One reason for this is that brass can be made much thinner than hard rubber while maintaining it’s strength, where hard rubber pieces (in general) need to be a bit thicker for overall stability.
So how does the material factor in then? I actually do think it can make a small tonal difference, but you can only really test this difference with two identical mouthpieces, side by side for an A - B test. They have to have the same tip opening, facing curve, baffle, chamber, everything, except the difference in material. Only then can you have a fair comparison.
As for the future of my handmade mouthpieces, I think this will be one of the last times I make one in this completely freehand way. I’m currently designing a few custom pieces of equipment that will help me make pieces much faster and more accurately, but will still be a hand-crafted process.

[@spencerbrodhead]

Thanks for watching this video! If you liked it you should check out my newest album, the first music video is here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bGitZHRsqsaEmMU

[@shaggy.patches]

Not gonna lie, wearing a glove while using a drill press was terrifying to watch. Awesome result though and dug the video.

[@erikbrodin2198]

right? You need fingers to play most musical instruments

[@coin777]

WOOD listen to that sax whole day.

[@geovaniferreira7697]

I never played sax with a wooden mouthpiece. I thought it sounded really good. Congratulations, you've done an excellent job.

[@user-xc6wd3hb4s]

Incredible skill! Not only carving a mouthpiece that looked very nice, the proof is in the playing. Congratulations! I wish I had your skill!

[@spencerbrodhead]

Thank you!

[@OlavoLuisatto]

Excuse me. Congrats Spencer! I've been playing the saxophone for over 40 years and I've never seen a handmade mouthpiece made. Beautiful sound. Beautiful timbre. You're the Pioneer. The first Mouthpiece Luthier to post this video. Incredible skill. Bravo! BRZ.

[@spencerbrodhead]

@@OlavoLuisatto wow thank you!

[@efrensaxrodriguez1463]

Excelente!

[@MistaSaxy]

I just watched the video of the mouthpiece you made out of the hard rubber, and this is absolutely amazing. I play saxophone personally and I think it would be cool to make a sax mouthpiece

[@GioiaDellaLuna]

I happen to live on land with a lot of oak and pine and i want to do this to hear a difference between the hard and soft woods

[@FrightfulLink24Playz]

That sound has a beautiful warmth to it!

[@rloomis3]

Incredible to watch - especially after reading that this wasn't intended to be something that would last. Real dedication to your craft, for its own sake, and for the sake of improving your skills. Hats off to you.

[@spencerbrodhead]

Thank you!

[@lboy9889]

the long awaited sequel!

[@leighmurrell5494]

Well done! I have also made one by hand and only using a drill for the centre hole, the rest was done with chisels a Dremel and sandpaper. It plays quite well but as you would expect, the tone is on the soft and mellow side by the very fact that it's made of wood. I hope the glue you used on the outside is food safe..as in you'll be putting it your mouth.

[@dudemaster8575]

Super glue used i medicine, also all broken mouthpiece glued using Cyanoacrylate.

[@skimanization]

Wow, that's amazingly beautiful to make your own mouthpiece out of a block of wood. This is inspiring and I'll make my own one day. Thanks.

[@patrickh9226]

Very nice sound. Excellent craftsmanship.

[@machoapplz]

It's not just the looks but it's how it sounds. I really love your playing man!

[@spencerbrodhead]

Wow thanks! Glad you like it

[@5420]

It's very precise to make a saxophone tree mouthpiece. You did a great job.I'm also a wood handmade piece maker.

[@jackcrawford304]

The tone is wonderful!

[@lightesque1407]

Wow! Super cool video and very nice sound. It would be awesome to see a comparison of your sound on this mouthpiece compared side by side to a hard rubber or metal mouthpiece. Thanks for making this!

[@therealzilch]

Very cleverly done. Cheers from a medieval saxophone maker in Austria, Scott

[@spencerbrodhead]

Thank you!

[@jacobn5457]

Awesome stuff!

[@oe3phen]

so cool, fantastic sound!

[@cdavisjr1214]

Well done, nice sound.

[@ball-tu7ux]

Nice job, sounds great to. 😎👍

[@guillermomorillo8650]

Sounds really good!!! Good job!!!

[@gilbertoloureiro]

Engenhoso. Parabéns. Saudações do Brasil.

[@YANAGITAtokinori]

Without using Lathe !! Thank you for sharing your work.

[@beneditowagnergarciafaria1421]

Very good! Você é um verdadeiro artista com muito conhecimento técnico. Parabéns pelo bom trabalho e arte! Saudações do Brasil!

[@franciscovilmar9882]

Isso é o que se pode chamar de artesanal!!!

[@XavierJordanMusic]

Awesome man

[@user-ts9zw1dt1g]

なぜこんなにも再生回数が少ないのか不思議で不思議でたまらない… 十二分一ミリたりとも動かずに見てしまった。凄すぎる…。

[@MandoVibes]

Nice work!

[@spencerbrodhead]

Thanks!

[@judebrown4103]

Beautiful work but I'm concerned that CA might not be suitable for use where it's in contact with the mouth...that is I didn't think it was classed as "food safe"?

[@vincedenancy7224]

bravo !!

[@enriquepena6835]

Si te dedicaras a fabricarlas y luego venderlas tendrías mucho éxitos, suena hermoso.

[@erikbrodin2198]

I made a wooden pipe out of an old broom stick way back in high school. Why was I not making mouthpieces, also? Instead? Naaahhaaaha, also. It was a pretty killer piece, from what I can still remember. Nice to have a reminder in this video. TY and keep on truckin

[@spencerbrodhead]

Cool, thanks!

[@guytremblay6928]

Very cool!! Nice job. I played a Lebayle wooden mouthpiece and it was very nice to play but on long terme problème occur. So i camed back to Rubber but i like the vidéo very much. Thanks!

[@spencerbrodhead]

Oh cool, thanks, I'm glad you like the video!

[@davideiotti9725]

Amazing

[@mpcguy]

If by chance you do another wood mpc you might consider trying a bullet of grenadilla, or cocobola wood. Probably the most stable for making a mouthpiece. Very nice job btw!😊

[@mpcguy]

Billet

[@spencerbrodhead]

Thanks! yeah grenadilla would definitely be more stable, I actually have a grenadilla clarinet mouthpiece, never really play it tho. I think I'm done making wood mouthpieces after this one haha, it will never have the strength or dimentional stability of hard rubber. But yeah grenadilla or lignum vitae would be much harder, but even those still have a decent potential for cracking, especially around the shank. Glad you like the video!

[@mpcguy]

I made a hard rubber mpc in a similar fashion years ago just to see if I could do it. It was a fun project.

[@marike1100]

Nice! My saxophone teacher in college, Joe Lovano, played on a wooden mouthpiece (grenadine, if I’m not mistaken) with a huge 10 tip opening. ;)

[@spencerbrodhead]

That's cool that you studied with Joe Lovano!

[@saxman7131]

I’d love to have one.

[@jorgecortes-fc4cf]

Excelente 👍👍👍

[@leanmchungry4735]

You're good with wood:)

[@growler777]

My engineer friend and I made one for my soprano sax. It sounds almost like a clarinet. I must say, the wodd was much harder than this one; it's a tropical wood which needs to be worked with tools for metalworking. Standard wood tools can't event dent it.

[@spencerbrodhead]

That's cool, yeah if I used grenadilla or lignum vitae it would have been better, but I didn't really care about using this piece for the long term, just a fun experiment

[@danielderias4773]

Mom I want a lathe No son we already have a lathe The lathe:

[@spencerbrodhead]

Hah! yes we have a perfectly good lathe at home

[@SaXoYooN]

멋지네요, 시연해보고 싶네요 잘보고 갑니다

[@juliosales2844]

Já construí boquilhas com outros materiais , os ajustes finais são a pior parte. Parabéns.

[@gioia5767]

So amazing

[@spencerbrodhead]

Thanks!

[@ariosaxo]

Great Job! My friend gave me something like this, but it's made from teak wood. I loved that tone and it's give me different feeling whenever I play. It's kinda dark, big tone (since its low baffle & large chamber), and the upper register doesn't as bright as the other mouthpiece. Unfortunately the condition now is not good anymore, especially the tip & the side rails. When I saw this video, it's just remind me that every natural process is unique but it has own limited best days to perform. I hope I can replace mine with the same model, but my friend was stop producing it :(

[@spencerbrodhead]

Ah very cool! Yeah wood over time can warp and swell, which is what you noticed in the tip and rails, which of course have critical geometries for the mouthpiece to play properly, also the warping over time can cause the table to not be flat which causes all sorts of issues. Being made of teak wood it probably looks great still, should make a nice looking display piece!

[@millsinaz4220]

Fantastic attention to detail with a great result. Did you consider using Cactus Juice and a vacuum chamber to stabilize the wood? I wonder if that would give better stability and longevity to the wood as opposed to just a CA glue finish. Some wood turners use Cactus Juice and a CA finish with very nice results.

[@spencerbrodhead]

Thank you! That's an interesting technique, never heard of that before. With this piece I really didn't care about long term stability as it was just an experimental project that I never planned to play as a main mouthpiece, just made it for the challenge. For long term stability the first thing to do would be to not use wood at all because it's not a stable material (see video description) but this was all just for fun. Glad you found it interesting

[@erikbrodin2198]

@@spencerbrodhead Use aged hard wood and laminate it, as in cut the block in half horizontally, glue it on the 90 degree rotated edges so the grain is mirror image at the seam that is now the vertical cut where it is glued/laminated back together. The opposing mirror grain of each half will stabilize the piece overall, much like on a guitar neck. I can't explain what I mean, but even laymans terms fail still.

[@spencerbrodhead]

@@erikbrodin2198 Yeah that sounds like a great technique for most woodworking, but for mouthpieces the best way is to just not use wood at all, it really offers no benefits over hard rubber, this video was just for the fun challenege of it

[@epiccat1156]

This is amazing! now carve some reeds that would be cool lol

[@sergioherediacarmona8000]

Me encanta el sonido precio un saludo

[@didconcombre]

Hello, I tried this week to do the same. Although the result is a poor sounding piece of wood. I took one of my mouthpiece as an example and I realised that I can fit a 12mm drill bit from the top of the chamber to the 16mm throat (?) they make an angle of 70 degrees. Next time I am in front of a milling machine I will try to drill that way. Thanks for this really nice video.

[@spencerbrodhead]

Oh that's interesting, good luck on your next one

[@thomaskipfer1008]

You've given me the inspiration I've needed. I have several broken mpcs. I also use Gorilla glue to repair HR mouthpieces; works like a dream! Great inspiration, thanks. How do you find the time for time consuming projects like this?

[@spencerbrodhead]

That's cool, I'm glad you like the video! This piece took many hours to make but it was over just 2 days like the first hard rubber piece I made in the same way

[@seamorington2760]

Damn!

[@christopheszabo2772]

Hi! Great work ! Have you heard about blackwood tek ? I think this should suit woodwind instruments not only for the body but the mouthpiece too...

[@spencerbrodhead]

Yeah that could probably be used for the body of a clarinet if the density is similar to grenadilla, but for the mouthpiece hard rubber (or other stable materials) are far superior to wood, check out the video description notes

[@atlas7309]

Get this man a Lathe!

[@spencerbrodhead]

I'm actually building a custom lathe right now that's specifically for mouthpieces like this

[@atlas7309]

@@spencerbrodhead Very cool!! Looking forward to that :D

[@SamChaneyProductions]

Someone get this poor man a lathe. Great work! Now make one out of some exotic hardwood like purpleheart or padauk

[@orestfilipov4000]

Spencer, thank you for this video! I acquired two noname mouthpieces form 20s made from a grenadilla wood.. and wood is so unstable, so when try to play it after a reface i notice a table warping.. it screws the whole job out.. now i know what to do with a super glue))))

[@spencerbrodhead]

Thanks! I'm glad you like the video, I actually would not reccomdend putting superglue on a grenadilla piece, especailly one that you plan on using. I just did this to seal in this piece for the few times I would play it, because white oak is a lot softer than grenadilla and I was noticing swelling of the wood right away.

[@spencerbrodhead]

Also just checked out some of your videos, great playing!!

[@orestfilipov4000]

@@spencerbrodhead i've already done.. 😅 this swelling happens all the time i try to play it.. a bump appears right under the window.. if i sand it down, small concavity appears after approx..24 h I tried to soak this mouthpiece in an oil for couple of days.. didn't help.. well.. i'll just see what happens.. mouthpiece has not so much value anyways... thank you for checking my stuff btw) Take care!

[@francoisvillon1300]

Страннейший набор инструментов!

[@sergeyneverov]

👍

[@daniel_moretti]

The ending is the 🍒 on top of the cake!

[@JuniorAmaral]

Sensacional

[@Serumm.]

This is some shit I would watch at like 2:44 AM

[@himerperezgonzalez4708]

Wow, looks fantastic. Now, do you make saxophone or clarinet reeds?

[@spencerbrodhead]

Never made any reeds, working on them with the reed geek is all I need to do

[@burakotkumsaxophoneclarinet]

😍😍

[@agnesgaillard5410]

What a job! Are all sax or clarinet spouts handmade? or are there machines that can mass-produce them on the chain?

[@spencerbrodhead]

Both, my main job has been working on cnc machined mouthpieces, at this point I've worked on thousands of them

[@mikemcd8765]

is sealing the wood with super glue safe and non hazardous? I know it hardens and quickly at that but I can't imagine sucking on one for hours a day is okay for the body. I know people seal cutting boards with beeswax but i dont think that would yield as much of a seal as glue. Im just curious! My gf plays sax and Im always working on my drums with tools and leveling equipment so this would be a fun but taxing project to undertake.

[@spencerbrodhead]

It's not toxic despite how the name of it sounds, especially when dry. But even then I've only played this mouthpiece a total of probably 30 mins, and I never really planned to play it more than that, it was just for this experiment, never to be one of my main pieces to play

[@ConnSax]

sounds really great... did you ever made for tenor wooden mouthpiece?

[@spencerbrodhead]

Thanks! I haven't made a tenor piece in this handmade way yet, but planning to do more in the near future

[@marcoscesar3050]

Sem palavras

[@josejuarez5371]

Necesito una boquilla de madera, cual es el precio

[@fredriksteen10]

Great job! Sounds amazing! What kind of wood is it? Oak?

[@spencerbrodhead]

Thanks! It's white oak, just a cheap piece from home depot

[@jinaikawa6123]

手袋使ってボール盤回すのはこわい… でもすごく素敵な作品！ほしい！

[@jazzyginger5279]

How are you able to get into this kind of fabrication? I am going to school for instrument repair soon as this area of work has become my dream and I would love to experiment with making my own mouthpieces as well.

[@spencerbrodhead]

Hi there, in the beginning of my other mouthpiece video it explains my intro to this stuff, I started working for the company Macsax in 2016, a machine shop and at the time hand finishing for quite a few different high-end companies. But after that pretty much all the techniques you're seeing here is all self taught. I won't tell you not to try this, but just know that this video makes it seem less difficult than it actually is, you bascially have to master mouthpiece refacing first. I've professionally finished literally thousands of pieces before trying something like this. Buy the theo wanne tools / refacing book and start from there, only work on cheap garbage pieces first and just experiment. Always make sure the facing numbers come out as the charts say and make sure they're always perfecty straight and even. In general you're going to find more financial sucess doing instrument repair work, there will always be plenty of it if you're genuinely good / fast/ reliable. Good luck!

[@jazzyginger5279]

@@spencerbrodhead Thanks! I do have some shitty pieces I could mess around with so theres a good start. I am def prepared to be fustrated with how difficult this will be, but I feel I am passionate enough to push through and learn the craft. It helps that I have a family who knows multiple trades which involve handy work so I have access to the more generic tools already, as well as experience with my hands. I checked out the other video and some of your music right after I watched this video as well, you have some great stuff! Keep on at it :)

[@spencerbrodhead]

@@jazzyginger5279 oh cool, and learning just enough to work on/ measure your own stuff isn't too bad, you'll get the hang of it after not too long I'm sure

[@jonathanberner5501]

Somebody buy this poor guy a lathe!

[@spencerbrodhead]

Hah! I'm actually currently designing a lathe custom made for pieces like this

[@chaselee86]

It's easier to make it on a lathe, and with a drill chuck that can hollow out the centre. Cut the flat surface by bandsaw, and then shape it with some chisels. Belt sander and Dremel works, but it's too dusty that I don't really like.

[@spencerbrodhead]

You make it sound like you've done this yourself?

[@chaselee86]

@@spencerbrodhead I've made a clarinet mouthpiece, but it was some years ago and I haven't taken video of it. If you search for "making clarinet mouthpiece", you'll see some other people using lathe to make it too.

[@spencerbrodhead]

@@chaselee86 That's cool, and yes I understand that mouthpieces are usually turned on a lathe, I've literally worked on thousands of mouthpieces made that way. But I'm so used to that so I wanted the additional challenge of using the tools I had already.

[@josejuarez9003]

Como hago para obtener una boquilla de madera?

[@MarthaAtes-uk6bg]

Cuanto vale la boquilla♡♡ yo toco saxo alto

[@4211Rob]

Rubio Monocoat for finish?

[@francougar]

This is very cool, good job! I am sub 777.

[@spencerbrodhead]

Ah nice!

[@danielbatista7809]

Eu quero uma

[@fernandoschwerdt5228]

Y la boquilla ? De que es ?

[@fernandoparra7384]

Yo quiero una

[@luizantonio7125]

Como eu faço pra comprar uma boquilha dessas

[@33akachi10]

How often do you actually use the wooden mouthpiece?

[@spencerbrodhead]

I think I've played it for a total of less than 30 mins, I've been a professional mouthpiece maker since 2016 so I have just way too many pieces around me to play haha

[@sergiocosta7926]

Bom dia! Quero começar como hobby fazer boquilhas pra mim. pode me informar onde compro as laminas de medição e a regua para a abertura da boquilha? Agradeço.

[@spencerbrodhead]

You should buy the Theo Wanne tools, they have the digital tip gauge and the feeler and glass gauge

[@bingosunnoon9341]

Thanks. I have a Melody sax, key of C, but no mouthpiece. Where do you get your specs?

[@spencerbrodhead]

Well I've been a professional mouthpiece maker for quite a few years so that's where I know my information from, if you need a c melody piece just buy a used/ vintage one online somewhere and measure it

[@andrewsax]

Now made of tin

[@elgorditodelflow1385]

I want a pero for my tenor sax

[@bielcarvalho4785]

Qual o valor amei essa boquilha

[@spencerbrodhead]

Sorry this one is not for sale, but that's something I'm working on...

[@user-jw4ul5zb2x]

What wood is the mpc made of please?

[@spencerbrodhead]

White oak, it's in the video description

[@adriangourgue8206]

How much

[@user-rg2yy7zz1s]

What if you make a trumpet mouth piece made out of wood?

[@spencerbrodhead]

Yeah it would be a lot easier, brass mouthpieces are radially symmetric and can be made on a lathe

[@BennyGoodman1977]

Wood warps too easily over time. Not for me, who knew Pomarico for the clarinet......

[@saxprophet3602]

Do you teach how to build mouthpieces?

[@spencerbrodhead]

No sorry, other than what's shown in these videos

[@jimmyjazz78]

Isn't the glove a terrible idea while using a drill press? If that material were to get caught in your hand is toast.

[@jimmyjazz78]

Fascinating video!

[@spencerbrodhead]

In most cases yes, if I was using an actual lathe, but this drill press is very underpowered and there was really no risk in my glove getting caught in the drill bit, there's really nothing for it to grab on to. The glove was to protect my hand in case my grip on the wood slipped and the piece would start spinning against my hand. But I'm very careful and confident in my power tool usage, this was totally fine for me to do

[@raefblack7906]

What? No tip rail? 😮

[@spencerbrodhead]

It has a tip rail but the wood is not really dense enough to give a good visual definition to it, plus the inside is sealed from moisture by super glue so visually the definition goes away, at least on video.

[@MusicMediccom]

Very cool video!

[@spencerbrodhead]

Thanks Music Medic! I like what you guys are doing!

[@My_hobby0312]

俺も作りたいなぁ〜 動画開始5秒でその道具無くて作れないことに気づいた

[@RobinYee-xc9vf]

Not that easy ! Solid wood.

[@nickozapata8083]

Precio?

[@spencerbrodhead]

Sorry this one's not for sale

[@hudsonantunes566]

😳😳😳👏👏👏😯😯😯👏👏👏

[@Hillbillis]

At the end, that ligature was upside down

[@spencerbrodhead]

No, the Rovners have the single screw at the top