How to stop pads falling off!

[Andy Holder]

Hope you all had a good and musical Christmas Day.

I am cracking on with refurbishing a Wheatstone english, which is in remarkably good condition for 130 years old! The pads are in quite reasonable condition, all airtight and slightly compressible still.

I don't want to replace them just for the sake of it but I'm very worried about the glue holding them onto the sampers and rod ends. It's still the original animal hide glue by the look of it and very brittle. Any suggestions how to reinforce the joints sympathetically and therefore stop the inevitable happening? I don't want to just gob a load of glue on, but I need to do something with them.

Andy.

[Greg Jowaisas]

Andy,

You can glue little "seatbelts" of leather across the pad and bead. A touch of glue where pad and lever arm meet is not a bad idea either.

 

 

I will add the caution that vintage instruments with older pads often experience over springing as previous owners attempt to compensate for less resillient pads.

 

Often a set of new pads affords a chance to decrease the spring tension and restore a lighter touch the instrument (and its player) has not enjoyed for years.

 

Best of luck,

 

Greg

 

(The devil is not only in the details but also the spelling!)

Edited December 27, 2011 by Greg Jowaisas

[david_boveri]

greg really knows his stuff. seatbelts are a lifesaver when the first line of defense fails! andy, why so resistant to new pads? you should be much more attached to your reeds and bellows than your pads and valves... that's like wanting to play a stradivarius with its original strings! lucky for us the most important part of an instrument are the reeds, whereas on a violin the varnish and the wood itself (of course) do all the magic.

[Andy Holder]

Andy,

You can glue little "seatbelts" of leather across the pad and bead. A touch of glue where pad and lever arm meet is not a bad idea either.

 

 

I will add the caution that vintage instruments with older pads often experience over springing as previous owners attempt to compensate for less resillient pads.

 

Often a set of new pads affords a chance to decrease the spring tension and restore a lighter touch the instrument (and its player) has not enjoyed for years.

 

Best of luck,

 

Greg

 

(The devil is not only in the details but also the spelling!)

 

Greg, thanks for the "seatbelt" suggestion, although I feel anyone looking at it later might think it was a fault cover up. It looks like the springs are original and it does have a very light action, with the pads sealing every time. I think this instrument has been played most of it's life, unlike some of the attic ones.

Thanks.

andy.

[Andy Holder]

greg really knows his stuff. seatbelts are a lifesaver when the first line of defense fails! andy, why so resistant to new pads? you should be much more attached to your reeds and bellows than your pads and valves... that's like wanting to play a stradivarius with its original strings! lucky for us the most important part of an instrument are the reeds, whereas on a violin the varnish and the wood itself (of course) do all the magic.

 

Hi David. Thanks for the input. I suppose I'm slightly of the "if it ain't bust......" camp. Also, I do feel that, whereas with a couple of Lachenal's I'm doing the best way would be to replace all the pads and all the valves, with this Wheatstone, If the various parts are working as they should, it's more respectful to leave alone. It's the old conservation vs. restoration argument, which will never have a clear cut answer.

Andy.

[SteveS]

greg really knows his stuff. seatbelts are a lifesaver when the first line of defense fails! andy, why so resistant to new pads? you should be much more attached to your reeds and bellows than your pads and valves... that's like wanting to play a stradivarius with its original strings! lucky for us the most important part of an instrument are the reeds, whereas on a violin the varnish and the wood itself (of course) do all the magic.

 

Hi David. Thanks for the input. I suppose I'm slightly of the "if it ain't bust......" camp. Also, I do feel that, whereas with a couple of Lachenal's I'm doing the best way would be to replace all the pads and all the valves, with this Wheatstone, If the various parts are working as they should, it's more respectful to leave alone. It's the old conservation vs. restoration argument, which will never have a clear cut answer.

Andy.

Springs, pads, felt, valves, gaskets, even bellows, are all consumables.

Servicing for me usually means replacing worn/old/non-servicable consumables.

I would not want to be let down at a critical moment (like in the middle of a performance) because I'd skimped on a pad or spring.

Edited December 27, 2011 by SteveS