Cork Replacement: Clarinet Instrument Repair 

I have watched many instructional videos over the years and never commented on any. This one, however was superb. I learned to do instrument repair in college and my early career, however I haven't done it in years. I stopped in to remind myself how a clarinet cork is glued and wow! What a nice surprise as to how the whole process is done nowadays (i.e. no shellac or string wrapping). Very well done presentation. Thank you.

If the rest of the army is a knowledgeable and expert as this sergeant, we are as secure as a nation can be. Thanks Sarge!

Watched this clip three times through, then went out and got all the parts and tools, and tonight sat down and successfully replaced the cork on my alto clarinet. It looks great now and saved me a bunch of money taking it to a repair shop. I didn't think I'd be able to do the cork wrap without it looking like crap, but cannot see where the overlap is now. I'm now super proud from the confidence of having done the job myself on my own horn!!! I plan to do the same work on my oboe next. Thank you Master Sgt Barton for your instruction videos, this was an awesome skill instruction!

That is probably the best practical and instructional video I have ever seen on RU-vid! I've picked up all sorts of tips which are transferable to other projects, thanks for this. And, I will re-cork my own clarinet with confidence now.

I just saw this video. Woodwinds instruments need TLC when they are repaired. After all, most cost thousands of dollars. This Sgt. really has provided a wealth of information and possibly the most thorough explanation ever presented. Thank you.

The United States Army Field Band Thank you for this video. Not only did you give me the steps, but the confidence to recork my daughters clarinet. For a former Marine, it is hard to admit that I learned something from a soldier.

This is a must watch video if you want to recork something. This guy’s ethos is summed up at 24:20 “Some say that a cork is a cork, it just holds the instrument together, but I say that there is just something special about a well done cork.”

As a retired technical instructor and amateur musician, I have found your instructional video one of the best I have seen in many years. The instructional key points are reinforced with simple effective video close ups AND useful tips. MS Barton has a gift for dispensing his years of experience without losing the "amateur" audience (myself). Congratulations to you and the crew for a professional job. Well Done!

This is one of those videos where I feel the legitimate need to comment. This video is so pragmatic in it's layout and instruction and its contextual information was so helpful and informative. I was in desperate need to repair my daughter's clarinet cork with a very short timeline and no repair person that had a realistic timeline. I was able to make the repair with my own two hands on an instrument I have no familiarity with and send my student back to school with a functioning instrument. Truly. Thank you for this.

Thanks Master Sergeant, You've made this Marines job or repairing a clarinet a lot easier.

This is a great instruction. You know its good quality when the Army is making it

Fantastic! Msgt, it is so refreshing to hear someone speak clearly, intelligently and in complete sentences. You went over the instructions so clearly, I enjoyed the entire video. Normally I would skip around to the info I needed and then move on to the next RU-vid video. Thank you.

Thank you so very much for your video!. This is my son's first time with a clarinet, and mine, and it was missing the cork at the mouth piece. Instead of sending it out to a shop I decided to follow your video and try replacing the cork myself. I am quite proud that after doing each step that I have completely and confidently attached a new cork. I did mess up while putting on the contact cement, put too much on, but I cleaned it off, redid the glue and finished attaching and sanding the cork perfectly. This is an awesome video! So detailed and I couldn''t have done this myself without watching this. Now I know when any future corks need to be replaced I can do it confidently! Thank you!

Perfect! I made it! Thank you for this service! Greetings from Switzerland

Thanks for the very helpful video, Sarge!

Thank you MSG Dale Barton, Superb demonstration, very clear instructions and I confirm I've just finished a 1st class job due to your video. C. Campbell RMA Concert Band

OMG thank you SO much for this video! I have a clarinet in need of at least 2 corks..the repair will cost me $40.00 FOR EACH JOINT through the instrument repair shop. Now I truly feel I can do this myself! I found this video to be FULL of all sorts of "hints"..things that took him YEARS to learn!

What a fantastic detailed and informative description, thank you

It is a pleasure to watch and listen to a real expert working and explaining!

The sandpaper/tape tip was GOLD!

Watched many times. Thank you again.

Thank you so much for putting this up. You might have saved me 25 dollars to fix my daughters instrument.

Thank you so much for providing this video. We're a big music family and this according to my dad was a very insightful and thorough explanation on repairing a clarinet.

at 2:48 when you drop your Oreo into your milk

I have been gifted an old clarinet in which I have found this video to be very helpful. I am excited to give it a go!

Hey Msgt..thanks for reminding me how great Army training films are. And, I could easily see that you are someone who cares.

Thank you for your service and for taking time to record and publish this informative video! I was able to repair my son's clarinet on Sunday so he wouldn't miss any instruction the following day. You do a great job of expaining every step and all of the items needed for this project so that even those with minimal knowledge of the instrument can successfully execute this repair. My son and I are so appreciative! Happy Thanksgiving!

A really helpful and thorough lesson on how to recork a clarinet joint. Very practical advice and some useful tips along the way. Many thanks.

Thank you so much for this. I was able to recork my sons clarinet using your video. Excellent and much appreciated.

Awesome tutorial!!. thanks for taking your time to explain each step..Very helpful!!

Acetone dissolved the ABS/plastic on my Yamaha clarinet. Big mistake for me. I hope others figure this out before trying. Probably no issue with wood instruments however, the ABS resin in these Yamaha Clarinets instantly starts to melt. If would be helpful to find some way of offering a hint to others that might be are following this popular instructional video. Some people use a course narrow sting tied to a door knob to "floss out" and remove the remaining old contact cement from the grooves. I do like the idea of using new contact cement to remove the old contact cement. Lots of useful information here. Unfortunately some of this advice wrecked my clarinet. (note: I did not uses anything other than a "q-tip" with nail polish remover/not industrial strength acetone).

Man, masterful technique, that workshop makes me jealous!

Great tip on using the tape on the sandpaper. My daughter just started playing, I bought her a decent used clarinet but it does need new cork. Thank you for this great video, I feel much more confident about doing it myself now.

Nice job! Very well done and informative too. I'm going to try my first Clarinet cork repair and this information video makes it look doable for the novice.

Fantastic! Really clear instructions, extremely useful Anne

Great video, and thank you for your service!!

Thank you Sergeant; very thorough and of course helpful.

Mr.Barton My hat is off to you,This has to be the best explained video on replacing tenon cork I have seen on RU-vid, The time spent to go over everything needed to do the job was great not one of these video's that are 2 minutes long, Also your lighting and camera work was great to I could see everything you were doing. You gave me the guts to replace my mouthpiece cork and it came out great. Where do you get the tool to remove the old cork. Thanks Fred

Thanks a lot for your videos! They are very helpful, include a lot of really excellent insider tips and the presentation is precise and comprehensible. I highly appreciate your work.

I am so in love with my Backun Clarinets. Protege and MoBa! So beautiful and pleasant to play.

What a valuable video! Now I have the confidence to do the corks on my oboe. Thanks

Thank you so much for your video. Great job. Now, it's my turn. I got some old clarinets to repair..... Best regards from Belgium.

This is what I was looking for since many years! Very useful and educative. Thank you so much! *****

Best explanations and great innovations.

Great explanation ! Thank you !

Wonderful! Thank you!

Great Video! Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

Awesome demo. Well done

Thanks for all of the tips and tricks!

Thank you for this - very informative

Great video!!! So helpful. Thank you, thank you, and thank you.

I followed your instructions, and it's so perfectly done. I am happy. Thank you.

thorough guidance! thank you for your service:)

Thanks heaps for a great instructional video. I've just purchased a 2nd hand clarinet and while the corks don't need replacing yet, I'd say they will need doing in about 6 months or so. I now know how to do it myself and don't have to fork out extra money to get it done by someone else.

Brilliant. Thank you!

THIS is how you do an instruction videos. Very practical and no-nonsense methods. I do wonder though, wouldn't you rather use a lathe for trimming the cork to its' required thickness (assuming you have one in your workshop) Or isn't it necessary anyways? Just asking because this repair is the only one I haven't tried to do on my own yet, but I'd much rather try on my own now. Thanks alot!

Wonderful! thank you so very much! I will try.

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it.

Very informative! Thank you very much.

Master Sgt. Dale Barton thank you for this fine instructional video! Thank you for your service to our country as well.

Most excellent.

Wanted to say thank you for this video. I successfully replaced the cork on my old Recorder. It worked out very well. Now if you can do a video on fixing a recorder thumb hole bushing, that would be really great.

Iam a brasilian and I loved your videos. I loved your videos Make a video on wooden hydration for clarinet, please!! A hug

Great tip on the Gulf Wax/candle wax on the cork. I care about my students so I will be sure to replace the cork on their clarinets with the wax as an added care of workmanship. Looking forward for more videos. Do you have any on flute repair? And also how to overhaul a moldy clarinet?

Огромное спасибо за подробный видео урок.. я заменил пробку сам! :)

Nice lesson.

Very good. Thank u

Really useful. Thank you

Wait..? There's a MOS for instrument repair? That's awesome!

thx alot, big help big time!!!

Great tutorial. Thanks!

Awsome brother

There are small cans with a brush attached to the lid that can be used to store contact cement. The cans can be purchased from band repair supply vendors like Ferree's Tools, Allied Music Corp., etc. I use DAP original contact cement which can be thinned down with Ferree's H70S solvent when it gets too thick. No need to get the glue on your fingers! Use the brush. Also, a 1' length of leather shoelace can be used to remove dried excess contact cement from the tenon. Just put the clarinet in the bench peg as demonstrated in the video and rub the leather over the dried glue and it will come off due to the friction.

very good

Thank you sir, fantastic video and very informative. I've watched 2 or 3 of your videos now and the instrument I have which is in need of cork repair has the cork applied to the mortise rather than the tenon. Do you have any tips you might offer or references you might suggest. Your video is loaded with helpful stuff but maybe there are tricks that can be employed on mortise repairs. Thanks so much for sharing.

Cool ! Thanks.

Im starting to teach myself some instrument repairs for when I eventually go to CIOMIT. I am aiming to open my own business doing it for the less fortunate bands around the greater Houston area. This is a long term goal any tips/suggestions would be great. Thanks for the videos they are really useful.

Super Duper! Glad to see my tax dollars at work in such an artistic way. I learned a great deal, looking forward to my first clarinet joint. Thanks Sarg!

Good advice!!

Thanks, I'll give it a try.

If I had known this was an MOS, I'd have stayed in!

Thanks!!!! great!!

thank you

I once gouged out a strip of a corkboard with an x-acto knife, trimmed it, and glued it onto where it was needed. It was an emergency- I had a concert in about an hour and wouldn't have time to get to a repair shop. I planned to take it off and get it properly fixed afterwards, but forgot. 4 years later, the cork is still perfectly intact and works fine. Not that I encourage doing something like that, but I just thought it was pretty funny.

Where can you find a sheet of cork? Thank you.

love your lessons, very clear an detailed explanation. where can I get a replacement for the metal ring tied to the lower part on the side that unites the upper joint? I have an old clarinet that is missing that "Ring".

Thanks So much for your brilliant video, your work looks exceptional and everything was so well explained I have just done 2 perfect cork repairs on a clarinet and I can't see a join anywhere!!! Kindest regards and blessings to you, Clare :)

What a wonderfully done video, we lent our clarinet and it came back with busted corks. I was figuring a used one would be cheaper than having it fixed. We can do this! thank you so very much.

thankU

THANK YOU! EX 26 ARMY BAND 1980

Thanks

Also your rolling the cork on the bench is going to come in handy. Under my cork the turned area isn't flat but several radius's tuned into the wood. I'm thinking I will need to roll it on the bench and roll it on a piece of rod to press it into the grooves.

I was wondering if you could use the self stick cork for this.

Hello, thanks you for this amazing video. Could you please send me a link where I can find that tool that you used to remove the cork? Thank you again!

Can I use waxed thread for the joints etc as with bagpipes, instead of using cork. Thank you, Frank, from Australia

If you do a general search of the Internet, you should be able to find a vendor who carries them. Be sure your search terms aren't too specific.

Thanx, Sarge. Too bad I tuned in after I cut my cork to size. I failed to bevel but it worked anyway. Another thing: when I put the cork in place, instead of pressing and rotating by hand I affix a mini hose clamp and let it do the work. I've done two corks on my Clarinets this way and it looks and sounds kosher. Do you see any problem setting the cork with a clamp? (I do get a little scalloping from the perforations in the hose clamp body but the sanding eliminates that)

P.S. I'm thinking your right about the soft cork grease soaking in and dissolving the glue. (21:30) I've been using a nice soft cork grease and thinking it was great. I may have been sadly mistaken. I have started seeing problems like you described of the grease looking like it was soaking in and dissolving the adhesive.

if i need to recork a bass clarinet mouthpiece, is there a specific thickness of cork? if i get cork meant for a regular clarinet, will it fit properly too?

For all who are asking where to get tools and stuff: It often helps to type the term in Google images and have a look which of the pictures match your need. The thumbnail often leads you to a shop. Thus you can find e.g. a cork scraper at some "jlsmithco"-onlineshop. And I'm sure there are some more.