pan-american clarinet?

[Cass]

greetings all,  I have just joined the forum.  a friend has passed along some "flea-market finds" clarinets.  some are functional, some need pads, all have needed serious cleaning.  I am mostly ignorant of everything about clarinets and am working on them for fun and as a challenge.
the most recent is something of a puzzle.  the upper and lower joints are wood, the barrel and bell are plastic scratched to appear wood-like.  the joints are a pair, both numbered 33320.  I cannot find a model number anywhere.  the bell is stamped as Pan-american elkhart, Indiana.  I have done a brief search of the forum posts without much luck.  The instrument sounds good in its current state but I am hesitant to do much to it until I know a bit more.  I understand that the Pan-Ams were mostly student instruments and that some manufactures mixed parts of different materials.  of course, over the years parts get swapped for various reasons.  In any event, I am not interested in what it is worth.  I have bumped against the maximum attachments.  if more photos would be useful, I can attach to another message.  Any information or hints about what I have would be appreciated.  thank you.

[350 Rocket]

There is stunningly little information out there about Pan-American clarinets. I've been studying Pan-American for some time and I wish I could say I had better news.

I can tell you that yours was certainly made in the 1930s, but beyond that, I don't have much. The Conn Loyalist has a list of Pan-Am clarinet models but there isn't enough detail to determine what's what. Going from that, yours could be a 70N, 78N, or something else entirely. I believe there are models missing from that list.

Do you have a dial caliper, bore gauge, or other instrument that could measure the bore diameter? My guess is that the 1930s wood Pan-Americans were 1920s Conn designs, but they're so uncommon that I've never had a wood one on my bench.

[Cass]

hello 350 rocket.  thanks for the reply.  as best as I can measure the bores, the upper joint upper end is 15.3 mm +/-, the upper joint lower end is 15.15-15.2 mm, the lower joint lower end is 23.3 mm and I estimate the upper end of the lower joint is about 15 mm.  as far as I can tell the upper and lower joints are wood.  the surface has a wood-like appearance, not at all like the bell or barrel and certainly not like my seller or buddy.  it also feels warmer to the touch than the bell, or that may be my imagination. 
are there any other parts of the clarinet it would be useful to photograph?
thank you.

[Windsong]

That's a very big bore, Cass. 
15.2-15.3mm is .598-.6025".

That is 424-444 territory.

[Cass]

I have absolutely no frame of reference for bore sizes.  I am assuming (always bad, I know) that the bore size is the diameter of the hole that goes through the upper and lower joints.  that is what I was measuring.  if not correct, what is the bore?  I did a quick check to compare to a plastic selmer I have (105720 for reference) by inserting my right hand pinky into the upper joint and then repeating for the pan-am.  it seems my pinky goes farther (a bit) into the pan-am.  I will do some more measuring in the morning.  I don't know the 424-444 reference. 

[350 Rocket]

I have absolutely no frame of reference for bore sizes.  I am assuming (always bad, I know) that the bore size is the diameter of the hole that goes through the upper and lower joints.  that is what I was measuring.  if not correct, what is the bore?
...
I don't know the 424-444 reference.

No, you're right about what bore size is - you just provided surprising measurements.

The 444N was Conn's top-of-the-line wood clarinet in the 1930s and 1940s and was (in some circles, still is) prized for jazz playing on account of its extra-large bore. The 424N was a less-expensive variation introduced in the late 1930s with an even larger bore but some of the high-end features removed.

My 444N measures .600"/.590". Yours is similar at the top but wider at the center, so it has much less of a reverse taper. That could very well be a good-playing clarinet - Pan-Americans are, generally, "intermediate" in modern terms, but that distinction didn't quite exist then as we think of it now. Between the bore size and the materials, I wonder if the target market wasn't jazz saxophonists wanting a moderately-priced instrument for occasional doubling.

(Slight tangent: a "large" bore is generally considered to be .590" (15.00 mm) - instruments like the Selmer Balanced Tone, Leblanc Dynamic H/Pete Fountain, and Bundy Resonite. So over .600" (15.24 mm) is quite large indeed.)

Some larger pictures showing the keywork overall might shed some light on something - it might be possible to tell if the keywork design is shared with other models.

I believe you're right about the materials - they'll definitely feel different. If you look through the main joints in front of a light, you'll probably see the wood grain down the inside. Pan-American did make an all-plastic clarinet (with that same wire-brushed finish) in the late 1920s, but I don't think they made it for very long. In the 1930s, I've only ever seen all-wood, all-Ebonite, or wood with a brushed-finish plastic barrel and bell like yours.

[Cass]

it would appear then that this instrument is complete, that is the parts are likely original to a single instrument.  I am enclosing some additional photos.  if a closer picture of a specific part would be useful, I can certainly do that.  thank you for taking the time to help me investigate this. 

[350 Rocket]

The keywork doesn't appear to be shared with anything else.

Beyond that, I think I'm out of information - wood with a plastic barrel and bell, extra-large bore, made in the 1930s.

[Cass]

hi 350. I guess I will declare victory and go home.  reading through some other information somewhere, it was mentioned that wooden joints dry over the years and bore oil may change the dimensions.  I will get some oil, treat the joints and see what happens.  it would seem that the bore wouldn't get smaller but I am guessing.  the plan now would be to remove the keys, clean the joints carefully, clean the keys without ruining the pads, reassemble and lube, play and enjoy.  thanks for the help