Since I don’t like to have too many instruments on the bench at the same time, I  have decided to work on an clarinet that I bought for myself about 10 months ago while the key on the D. Noblet is being soldered.  It’s a beauty; a Selmer 10G!  My plans are to use this for my jazz and pit work and continue to use my Buffet for the symphonic work.   I will post some pics after the restoration.  This one is going very smooth so far and I hope to have it done within the next week.  Just in time for the two week engagement of A Christmas Carol.

At this point I am on hold with the D. Noblet.  It appears that the fork on the (F#\C#) to the spatula key was broken off.  Since my bench does not have the necessary soldering material I have contacted a colleague to silver solder the key for me.   Once this is completed, I can complete the reassembly and begin the fine tuning and playing.

I decided to post some pictures of the clarinet I am now working on – pre-restoration.  I will post pics of the final product soon.

Well, after just starting 17Keys last year and doing a few restorations and some repair work, I am back on the bench.  The business side of things had taken over and my time and doing the work that I really enjoyed had slipped.  I currently have about 6 vintage clarinets and have chosen to start, this time, with a beautiful D. Noblet.  When I purchased it, the keys were green and the instrument had the typical “old clarinet” smell.   Over the past few weeks I have cleaned and polished the instrument and it looks great.  I elected to use leather pads all around on this one.   I am now in the assembling stage.  I hope to have this completed soon so I can spend some time fine tuning.