Tech/maintenance cork for mouthpieces - no alternatives yet?

[PigSquealer]

My experience with urethane deterioration says UV light is more likely the offender.
I worked with urethane and urethane mixtures with an durometer as low as 26° on A type scale.
Pads measure 43°- 60°

A random test of 36 neck corks shows a range of 68° to 72°. Measurements taken in middle and 3 layers thick.
These are less than three months old and stored in a ziplock bag away from sunlight.

 

[Woodpad]

Light is an environmental factor in polymer aging as well.

True, but don't forget oxygen and air pollution. In this case the pad is only visible partly due to a large amount of metal around it. The hardening was uniform over the pad surface. Damage by light would show a not uniform pattern.

 

[Woodpad]

My experience with urethane deterioration says UV light is more likely the offender.
I worked with urethane and urethane mixtures with an durometer as low as 26° on A type scale.
Pads measure 43°- 60°

A random test of 36 neck corks shows a range of 68° to 72°. Measurements taken in middle and 3 layers thick.
These are less than three months old and stored in a ziplock bag away from sunlight.
View attachment 31870

My guess is that the durometer measurement of cork decrease when they go wet.

 

[PigSquealer]

My guess is that the durometer measurement of cork decrease when they go wet.

I can test for this characteristic. I’m guessing two hours soaking in water would exceed our real world application.
@Dr G for fun, care to theorize the outcome ?

 

[thomsax]

I use tube neck corks instead of sheet cork. IMO more durable.

Cork is fine if you play the same mouthpiece all the time. I have a very good mouthpiece that I hardly can use on my Martin saxes (they are rather large of the end of the neck) without damage the cork. And to drill the bore is not to think about. In this case cork is not so fantastic.

 

[Woodpad]

I use tube neck corks instead of sheet cork. IMO more durable.

Cork is fine if you play the same mouthpiece all the time. I have a very good mouthpiece that I hardly can use on my Martin saxes (they are rather large of the end of the neck) without damage the cork. And to drill the bore is not to think about. In this case cork is not so fantastic.

Maybe you can use that mouthpiece with a short cork.

 

[Woodpad]

IMO for people with cork allergy the best artificial replacement for neck cork is neoprene.
Not to be confused with people having Cork allergy. As mentioned before neoprene and silicone are both long lasting but have different properties. The better mechanical resistance of neoprene trumps silicone. A second advantage is that there are better glues for neoprene than for silicone. You can buy it as sheet or as tube.

 

[Colin the Bear]

And then there's always self amalgamating tape.

 

[cappers]

 

[turf3]

I use tube neck corks instead of sheet cork. IMO more durable.

Cork is fine if you play the same mouthpiece all the time. I have a very good mouthpiece that I hardly can use on my Martin saxes (they are rather large of the end of the neck) without damage the cork. And to drill the bore is not to think about. In this case cork is not so fantastic.

The tubes are fine unless you have one of the very many saxophones with a ring on the end of the neck (like for example, pretty much all of mine).

Sheet on the other hand is a universal material. Cut and sand to fit.

 

[Dr G]

IMO for people with cork allergy the best artificial replacement for neck cork is neoprene.
Not to be confused with people having Cork allergy. As mentioned before neoprene and silicone are both long lasting but have different properties. The better mechanical resistance of neoprene trumps silicone. A second advantage is that there are better glues for neoprene than for silicone. You can buy it as sheet or as tube.

Is cork allergy even a thing? If one has environmental allergies, I would more concerned about all the Environmental Stuff (scientific jargon for foreign biological matter, aka FBM) that collects, festers, and grows in the open cells of neoprene.

 

[thomsax]

The tubes are fine unless you have one of the very many saxophones with a ring on the end of the neck (like for example, pretty much all of mine).

Sheet on the other hand is a universal material. Cut and sand to fit.

No rings on my saxes. The tapered needs less work with the round file. I use shellack on tubes.

Yes, sheet cork is fine. I don't use the thin mouthpiece on Martin anymore. It is better on a Keilwerth from the 50's or a Döfler & Jörka from the early 60's. The O.D. on these sax necks is around 14,5 mm and the I.D on the mouthpiece is c 15,4 mm. The length of the cork is around 20 mm. I sand down a strip of 1/16" (1,6 mm) sheet cork before I cut it up in 20 mm pieces. Then I don't have to sand down so much after glueing it on the neck. No cork is visible when it's sitting on the neck. I put one or two O-rings after the cork just to fill up the gap.

 

[PigSquealer]

The tubes are fine unless you have one of the very many saxophones with a ring on the end of the neck (like for example, pretty much all of mine).

Sheet on the other hand is a universal material. Cut and sand to fit.

I’ve never bought cork tubes just for this reason. I wonder how elastic they are ? Sheet cork has very little elasticity. It’s like concrete. Compresses well, but doesn’t stretch.

 

[turf3]

I’ve never bought cork tubes just for this reason. I wonder how elastic they are ? Sheet cork has very little elasticity. It’s like concrete. Compresses well, but doesn’t stretch.
View attachment 31887

And it doesn't give you much warning at all before it tears.

 

[Dr G]

Cork tubes vs sheet: Consider also the direction of the grain. The cork tubes will be considerably weaker on two sides.

Sheet cork can be made more compliant with a lil’ hammer work. Of course, if you already use it, you will either know this or curse it.

 

[PigSquealer]

@turf3 @Dr G is there any known incompatibility issues with HR and other materials? IE melting with contact?
I’m reflecting on a bad unanticipated event.
I had a 1950 Plymouth with a big protruding hood ornament. I covered the ornament with a couple old neoprene mousepads to prevent ripping the car cover. The pads & paint (lacquer?) had a bad reaction and melted together. The neoprene was practically molten. The paint was destroyed down to bare metal. The chrome hood ornament and polyester(?) car cover unaffected.

 

[Dr G]

@turf3 @Dr G is there any known incompatibility issues with HR and other materials? IE melting with contact?
I’m reflecting on a bad unanticipated event.
I had a 1950 Plymouth with a big protruding hood ornament. I covered the ornament with a couple old neoprene mousepads to prevent ripping the car cover. The pads & paint (lacquer?) had a bad reaction and melted together. The neoprene was practically molten. The paint was destroyed down to bare metal. The chrome hood ornament and polyester(?) car cover unaffected.

You’re outside my scope with that one, Pig’. Lacquer has a lot of issues - I’ve seen that in real life with guitar straps and vintage instruments. It’s not pretty.

If you are more specific, it would help those with greater chemistry expertise answer your question. What materials are going to be in contact with HR? Solvents? Acids? Petroleum distillates?

 

[PigSquealer]

You’re outside my scope with that one, Pig’. Lacquer has a lot of issues - I’ve seen that in real life with guitar straps and vintage instruments. It’s not pretty.

If you are more specific, it would help those with greater chemistry expertise answer your question. What materials are going to be in contact with HR? Solvents? Acids? Petroleum distillates?

I’m completely clueless. Hard rubber with ??? as cork alternative of unknown material. SO ?????
Well curiosity killed the cat….but not the Pig. I’m still here and stick my snout into adventure of the universe of materials…

 

[Dr G]

I’m completely clueless. Hard rubber with ??? as cork alternative of unknown material. SO ?????
Well curiosity killed the cat….but not the Pig. I’m still here and stick my snout into adventure of the universe of materials…

OK. Hmm, I have seen some mouthpiece patches form quite a bond to the HR - not attacking the HR, but kinda melted into the surface. That was likely due to the choice of adhesive. Problem there is that manufacturers seldom identify all the components in their products.

Viton?

 

[PigSquealer]

OK. Hmm, I have seen some mouthpiece patches form quite a bond to the HR - not attacking the HR, but kinda melted into the surface. That was likely due to the choice of adhesive. Problem there is that manufacturers seldom identify all the components in their products.

Viton?

Never thought of pressure sensitive materials. IE peel and stick labels like convention name tags / labels.
I remember these issues in the early 1990’s from my graphic arts company. Name badges having adverse reactions to garments. Leather or fake leather, polyesters blends. The fix. Lanyards.