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Tech/maintenance DIY Saxophone Synthetic Neck Cork

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jbtsax said:
One more thought. . . a trick I learned from my mentor is to start wrapping the cork beginning in the center making sure it is parallel to the top of the neck opening. and perpendicular to its length. This is especially helpful when the neck has a ring as shown in the illustration.

View attachment 11562
Read more…
Sign and date that, add a title such as 'Untitled no,17, the unwrapped neck' and you've got a work of art.
 
jbtsax said:
One more thought. . . a trick I learned from my mentor is to start wrapping the cork beginning in the center making sure it is parallel to the top of the neck opening. and perpendicular to its length. This is especially helpful when the neck has a ring as shown in the illustration.

View attachment 11562
Read more…

I don't know about the mentor, but the illustration left me hanging for the next part of a joke! 😳
 
So I finally did it. Replaced the neck corkof my YTS-23 with the Valentino Synthetic I purchased earlier this month. I kind of loosely followed the instructions in the video. I applied tape around the neck where I wanted the cork to start. I rolled the cork and let it take its shape into a slightly larger baritone mouthpiece bore. I applied some contact cement to the neck where the sides will meet. Let it dry for a few minutes and applied the cork. Cut the cork as required under the neck and did my best to keep the two sides in contact. That's where it went so so!

I tried to keep it in place with a mouthpiece but even after 24hours it tends to split slightly.

Valention-Synthetic-#1.webp


It works just fine though. But as I was preparing to do this, I dropped the neck and didn't think much of it until tonight when I tried it. The octave mechanism obviously took a hit and didn't close well. Pushed it back into place and problem solved. Except that I noticed once more that the pad was rather worn and needed replacing. I have a full set of pads for this horn but it still plays well enough, so I've been pushing the repad to a later date. BUT, I thought "what the heck with this neck pad!". I can sort it out in no time. Pulled a replacement pad from my stock and just before firing the guns, I thought I should try something...

Being a wine drinker, I have a substantial stock of old corks, preferably from good bottles, the quality of the cork is usually better. Also some from champagne bottles. We haven't had too many occasions to celebrate lately, but that's another story. Anyways, I selected a champagne cork that had a very good looking piece of the right thickness and cut it, then looked up the right diameter's punch and cut the appropriate cork pad. It required a bit of filing to thickness and that proved to be more of a burden with that tiny bit of cork trying to run away from my fingers a few times and me having to search for it in the bin where it had finally landed after going twice on the floor.

I finally had the right thickness and applied too much shellac into the cup... The gun is fine for larger cups, but in this instance it filled the cup in one single shot. Removed the excess and finally set my pad into the cup. So here is the result.

Octave-Cork-Pad-#1.webp


It appears to work fine. I don't know if that's a good idea, but I figured I should try that for a while and see if it's a stable solution.

I made a similar cork replacement for my baritone's pit valve a couple of years ago. But that's most likely what's required given the use of it. It's fine after a couple of years, but I'm not a regular baritone player... YET!
 
saxyjt said:
So I finally did it. Replaced the neck corkof my YTS-23 with the Valentino Synthetic I purchased earlier this month. I kind of loosely followed the instructions in the video. I applied tape around the neck where I wanted the cork to start. I rolled the cork and let it take its shape into a slightly larger baritone mouthpiece bore. I applied some contact cement to the neck where the sides will meet. Let it dry for a few minutes and applied the cork. Cut the cork as required under the neck and did my best to keep the two sides in contact. That's where it went so so!

I tried to keep it in place with a mouthpiece but even after 24hours it tends to split slightly.

View attachment 11671

It works just fine though. But as I was preparing to do this, I dropped the neck and didn't think much of it until tonight when I tried it. The octave mechanism obviously took a hit and didn't close well. Pushed it back into place and problem solved. Except that I noticed once more that the pad was rather worn and needed replacing. I have a full set of pads for this horn but it still plays well enough, so I've been pushing the repad to a later date. BUT, I thought "what the heck with this neck pad!". I can sort it out in no time. Pulled a replacement pad from my stock and just before firing the guns, I thought I should try something...

Being a wine drinker, I have a substantial stock of old corks, preferably from good bottles, the quality of the cork is usually better. Also some from champagne bottles. We haven't had too many occasions to celebrate lately, but that's another story. Anyways, I selected a champagne cork that had a very good looking piece of the right thickness and cut it, then looked up the right diameter's punch and cut the appropriate cork pad. It required a bit of filing to thickness and that proved to be more of a burden with that tiny bit of cork trying to run away from my fingers a few times and me having to search for it in the bin where it had finally landed after going twice on the floor.

I finally had the right thickness and applied too much shellac into the cup... The gun is fine for larger cups, but in this instance it filled the cup in one single shot. Removed the excess and finally set my pad into the cup. So here is the result.

View attachment 11672

It appears to work fine. I don't know if that's a good idea, but I figured I should try that for a while and see if it's a stable solution.

I made a similar cork replacement for my baritone's pit valve a couple of years ago. But that's most likely what's required given the use of it. It's fine after a couple of years, but I'm not a regular baritone player... YET!
Read more…

I am not a tech per say but I have refurbished and recorked my saxes for years and although that looks good generally the seam goes at the bottom of the neck out of sight. 😉
 
Just wondering what the cheapest/best UK source of Valentino cork is currently? Anyone?

Also, has anyone tried a synthetic foam sheet instead? Without experimenting I'm guessing open foam is going to get grubby and filled with grease/spit and a skinned foam sheet would perhaps wrinkle as the MP is put on. Just a thought, no more.

Anyhow... back to the Valentino... anyone?
 
Last edited:
DavidUK said:
Just wondering what the cheapest/best UK source of Valentino cork is currently? Anyone?

Also, has anyone tried a synthetic foam sheet instead? Without experimenting I'm guessing open foam is going to get grubby and filled with grease/spit and a skinned foam sheet would perhaps wrinkle as the MP is put on. Just a thought, no more.

Anyhow... back to the Valentino... anyone?
Read more…
I'd be very careful experimenting with synthetic foam. You need to be absolutely sure it is of a type that will not react with hard rubber mouthpieces and in some cases lacquer (if it's an old horn with nitrocellulose)
 
Anyone tried the synthetic cork sheet from Dawkes for necks?:

Synthetic Cork Sheet 30 cm x 10 cm - 1.5mm thick

Order the Synthetic Cork Sheet 30 cm x 10 cm - 1.5mm thick online today from Dawkes Music, the Woodwind & Brass specialists. 4.9/5 on Feefo - FREE delivery
www.dawkes.co.uk www.dawkes.co.uk


Or their alto neck synthetic cork tubes? I can't see how this is going to fit all altos?...

Sax Crook Tube - Synthetic - Alto

Order the Sax Crook Tube - Synthetic - Alto online today from Dawkes Music, the Woodwind & Brass specialists. 4.9/5 on Feefo - FREE delivery
www.dawkes.co.uk www.dawkes.co.uk
 
Last edited:
Is it possible sand or file a synthetic cork. I don't know. never been near a synthetic cork! A real cork tube ( papereed or un-tapped you fike the hole with a round file if nessacary. Shim the area where the place some shellack there. Work warm in warm so you can adjust the cork easier. Sand the cork if nessecary so the cork have the same O😀 over the whole cork You buy a mouthpiece for 3000 and a sax for 50 000 and you can not adjust the the pitch easy. The way I did neck cork used to be called oldfashioned. But it work and without not synthetic ****.
 
I've used Valentino cork before and as jbt says it caters for differing MP bore sizes.
I noticed the Yani tenor I just put back together wouldn't take a Yamaha MP but my Soloist fitted fine, narrower bore.
So what could be better than a cork which fits allcomers?
Real cork compresses over time and doesn't spring back. Why put up with that old ****
 
Ther is nothing right or wrong. it's just that am used to cork. And I'm also a nerd. A neck cork should fit the mouthpice in a good way. Nice and tight. But that can be done with synthetic cork as well I guess. I learned who to install a cork tube from Erick Brand's book. Cork tubes (straight or tapered), roundfile, shellack, alchohol lamp, sandpaper. I also bought a bench motor (low rpm) so I could sand the cork even. A slow way ..... but why should I hurry up?
 

Similar threads... or are they? Maybe not but they could be worth reading anyway 😀

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