The ClarinetPages Forum

Hello!

    I've had a cool clarinet I want to fix up, but it has some serious rust keeping me from unscrewing the screws and rods.

    I have been using penetrating oil for about two months now and I was able to get about two thirds of the parts off. However, these parts came off within the first week and the rest has been doing nothing.
   
    Recently I've been recommended to do a chemical bath (it's a professional model all-metal clarinet) but I don't know what chemicals eat specifically iron oxide and don't damage anything else.

    Help would be appreciated. :) 

Welcome!
Since the horn is all metal and you don't have to worry about burning wood, plastic or rubber, I recommend a small butane torch and a Sterno emergency candle.  Get the pivot or rod screws hot and then hold the sterno candle against the post.  Let the wax saturate into and around the screw, wicking down into the threads.  As long as you can get a solid purchase on the screw head, the screw WILL come out.  It's the best thing since sliced bread.

Sterno wax will peel right off (though you may need a little solvent), and this trick works with all metal fasteners from lug nuts to exhaust studs to...you name it.

I think the Sterno candle will do it for you, but as for neutralizing rust, I recommend strategically placed hypodermic (or Q-tip) treatments of phosphoric acid.  It can be found in big box hardware stores under the trade names Jasco and Ospho. Use only as much as you must, because it is very caustic to non-steel and iron metals, and will actually stain most things, including concrete.  It is an etching acid-primer.
Wear eye and hand protection, and wipe off any runs immediately.

On the stuck rods, are the threads seized in the post, or is the rod seized in the hinge tube?

Wow, Windsong,
Wonderful information! I sure wish I had found out about that when I was working on clarinets!
Thanks,
Phil

This clarinet, although in decent shape, was an outdoor decoration for about 10 years at one of my freinds house. After realizing it was a pro model worth about $1200 I wanted to fix it up. As of right now there are about 8 stuck rods and 2 screws. They are stuck from the posts and the keys... (the keys didn't move) The ones I got out were the ones that were stuck in only one place. Do they need to be drilled out or something?

If heat and penetrating oil or wax won't break them, you will have to sacrifice keys.  (Oil first and then wax, because you can't go back to oil after wax for a while.)

Rods *can* be drilled out without damaging the posts or keys--but hand-held, it is very difficult.  A jig of some variety is almost always your best bet.

10 years outside is a brutal existence.  This may be the exception to my claim that wax frees all.  If a galvanic reaction took place and chemically or electrolically fused the metals, your task is made considerably more involved.

Quote from: philpedler on October 29, 2025, 05:11:28 PMWow, Windsong,
Wonderful information! I sure wish I had found out about that when I was working on clarinets!
Thanks,
Phil

I have been breaking things since I was able to crawl.  Because I was not born into a family of means, that also meant that if I ever intended to enjoy something again, I would have to repair it.   A light hand and regular maintenance are the best measures, but when those fail, we find alternative means. 

The Torch/Wax trick was my grandfather's. He was a very clever man, and I have seen that trick work when WD40, isopropal, Liquid Wrench, Mink Oil and Kroil failed, and has been called into professional capacities when factory protocols have failed.  A sliver of wax and a good set of locking tweezers serves well to direct accuracy to small areas.

If they're that bad, there is another way - alum.

Alum dissolved in water, when heated, can dissolve steel without reacting with the brass or cupronickel they're seized in. Might take a few days, but it's easier and less risky than drilling.

Alum powder is available in grocery stores (it's used in pickling), but MusicMedic sells a two-pound package that's more convenient for the purpose. I don't recall what the ratio of alum to water is (the MusicMedic package might include it).

I like that idea, Rocket.  I am not familiar with it, but it sounds safer and less messy, and also less likely to damage the softer, non-ferrous metals.

Quote from: Windsong on October 29, 2025, 11:27:37 PMIf a galvanic reaction took place and chemically or electrolically fused the metals, your task is made considerably more involved.

This probably happened. I tried the wax trick and nothing happened :( . What leads me to believe that is because one of the screws literally has no rust on it. There are still parts that are super rusty to the point that the screwdriver slot is gone. I paid basically nothing to buy it from my friend so it isn't like there's that much to lose, but it is actually in good shape somehow and I don't want to ruin the finish. I polished the bell and it looks really good.

 I did force some of the keys to try and break away some rust. Everything moves now! (Still can't get rods out)

Should I just try an overhaul with the remaining parts (permanently?) still attached?

Re-pads with the keys in place is possible, and most of us who do restoration work have been faced with a dilemma of going down a rabbit hole on a key or post we cannot easily replace, but cannot remove without carnage, and simply prying out an old pad and floating a new one in.  It happens.

Your job on this metal horn is tricky.  If I recall, your posts are soldered to the body.  For this reason you have to sacrifice the key, rather than the post, which in most cases is more desireable and more easily replaced on wood, rubber or resin clarinets. 

(EDIT) Usually with a very thin cut-off wheel in a Dremel, you can slice right next to a post, through a sliver of the key, and then either solder back what you were forced to remove, or shim the key to the post.

I would say try Rocket's Alum trick first.  You will probably want to heat back up the assembly where you used wax to evacuate it, and allow for optimal penetration.  Also, you can get tiny EZ Out screw extractors, so for the screws where the heads are gone, you will need to establish a "purchase", even if you get the rods loose. Tapping a small recess in the top of a rod is always a better choice than hand-drilling past the first post, at least.  Reverse drill bits can also be very useful for removal, if the rod is no longer fused to a post.  Reverse bits are often just as effective (or moreso) than screw extractors.

(EDIT) Another classic trick is to use a very thin hack saw blade to cut into the top of the rod to make a new flathead drive.  This necessitates also cutting into the post, but the post can be repaired with silver solder, after everything is free.

I am sorry to say that all of these techniques are very advanced, and there are many clarinets that have been left for dead due to the relative complexity of each of the above tasks.  They all require a very steady hand, tremendous determination and a little bit of insanity.

What make and model of clarinet are you talking about? I scanned the thread and didn't see that information. Which 'professional model all-metal' clarinet are we talking about?

If it is a professional model double walled construction clarinet, it could be worth way more than $1,200. But if it is a professional model Silvabet or something where tons of them were made, then the evaluation of $1,200 could be way too high. (Bear in mind I don't know much about metal clarinets!) However, if there is sentimental value to you, and you aren't wanting to do this to sell it, then that is a different story!

It's a 4-piece silver king. These horns have solid sterling bells and are very nice. They are common but also expensive. I am looking at using it if I can get it to work. I have only repaired instruments for a few years just as a hobby so I'm not verry advanced, so these methods seem very intimidating. I might just sell the horn if I can't fix it.

Quote from: 350 Rocket on October 30, 2025, 01:50:58 PMIf they're that bad, there is another way - alum.

Alum dissolved in water, when heated, can dissolve steel without reacting with the brass or cupronickel they're seized in. Might take a few days, but it's easier and less risky than drilling.

Alum powder is available in grocery stores (it's used in pickling), but MusicMedic sells a two-pound package that's more convenient for the purpose. I don't recall what the ratio of alum to water is (the MusicMedic package might include it).

This saved me! I've been restoring a Noblet and the upper joint screws and rods were no problem, but almost every single rod and screw on the lower joint wouldn't budge until I was able to soak the posts in an alum solution for about 1 minute each. I didn't need to heat it after this, and just used McCormick brand alum from the grocery store. They're finally coming out, when key oil plus heating the area wasn't making any progress.

I created this account just to say thank you!