Thank you Ken. Keep us "posted" (sorry) ... with pictures too, if you don't mind.

Hello all,

Phil has effectively removed image size restrictions for image uploads. This way you won't have to resize your images first, making things easier for everyone.

Penzel Mueller gloritone?  Student level. Intonation is off on mine in the lower range. I basically salvaged it, looked like it was in a smokers home for 20 years. Aweful smell and a nasty yellow wax like build up on the outside. Was missing barrel and case. After a lot of washing and some time with a drill press and belt grinder to create a barrel this is what I have now.

This is also posted in the Penzel Mueller Timeline Topic.
I purchased a Penzel Mueller Bb Clarinet on Ebay and am in the process of restoring it.  The clarinet is marked "LP" and "B".  SN is 11832, so apparently it was made ca. 1935.
This was one of my earliest restoration attempts and I made mistakes that ruined two of the key posts.  Essentially, the posts must be replaced or remade. Then fitted to the body and drilled, faced and tapped for a new rod.
Background of the opportunity to learn: When I received the instrument, the Hinge Rod was stuck in the posts and was too short, driven in by someone who broke one of the slot tangs.
Mistakes made:  Tried getting it out by grinding a flat on a spare rod to mate it to the remaining slot - used it like a screwdriver but couldn't get it to budge.  Then, clamped the joint in my drill press vice and drilled out the rod, which messed up the hole in the post when the bit drifted.  Don't recall the exact sequence of subsequent events, but I believe I may have gotten the posts out of the body and then in trying to extract the thread end of the rod - broke it off.  Drilled it out messing up the hole again.  Silver soldered some brass rod into the holes, remounted the posts and tried to drill through one into the other.  Of course, I don't have the proper equipment, so those holes didn't work either.  Filled them both with silver solder and set the project aside. 

That was a few months ago.  In the meantime I've learned a better way of extracting impossible rods - cut between the hinge and post at the slot end with a jewelers saw, remove that post from the body and then twist out the other post using the remaining rod.  Then soak the rod & post in penetrating oil and gradually work the rod out.  Reface the cut post and add a little silver solder to the cut hinge then reface that to fit between the posts - ream to fit the new rod.  I learned about this from a nice professional SaxProShop technician when the second problem arose.

I now have a joint mounting jig and cross slide vice for my drill press, so with the judicious use of a very small machinist jack that I will make from a screw, connecting nut and stop nut, I could attempt another drilling.  However, I'm concerned about the strength of the threads being tapped into silver solder/nickel-silver.  And of course, I might mess it up yet again.

Is it worth fixing? If so, any ideas of someone who could tackle the job, or of another approach.

Thanks

Very interesting post Windy! I had no idea you had a weak jaw, a wide bore would certainly help there. It would help me too. If I play clarinet, then switch over to recorder, as I like to do, I find I automatically over blow and it sounds awful till I readjust my air stream.
Interesting that you can use a Bb mp on a C horn. I would quite like a C clarinet. Would make it a lot easier when playing from sheet!