well, perhaps you could try to soak in water with plenty of liquid soap?

 

Re: swab stuck in neck

If you are getting the cork replaced, have the guy who does it remove the swab while you are there.

 

Is this a tenor neck?

 

It's an alto neck - he cross posted.

 

Re: swab stuck in neck

Take it to your local tech for removal and a cork replacement.
Then, while you're there, purchase the smaller silk version.
When you get home put the bill somewhere where you can see it as a reminder of what NOT to do in the future.

 

Regardless of what type of neck it is, I would put a higher priority on not damaging your neck, than I would in trying to get the swab out today.

If it's an alto neck, you could try using a wooden dowel rod whose diameter is slightly less than the inner diameter of the "cork" (small) end of neck, and pushing. But see the above comment first.

 

Here is THE BEST tool for removing stuck swabs from clarinet upper joints, oboe upper joints, and everything else a swab can get stuck inside. Several different sizes available and they are cheap. We have the entire set.

http://www.widgetsupply.com/page/WS/PROD/hemostat-forcep-alligator/BBB42

http://www.widgetsupply.com/page/WS/CTGY/hemostat-forcep-alligator

 

I think auto parts store have these things you use to pick up small objects from inaccessible places. It's a flexible metal thingie, about 1/4 inch in diameter and a couple of feet long, with metal graspers on one end and a handle on the other. You squeeze the handle to make the graspers come together and retract. I'd try using that to grab chunks of the swab and pull it out, in pieces if need be. In general, pulling (out the wider end) is better than trying to push it through, when you push you just bunch it up more and make the plug denser.

Something like this:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BQSKLE?smid=A9HNR4I8RXLVW&tag=shopzilla_rev_121-20&linkCode=asn

 

Or item # 310106522370 on eBay, that ad has better pictures of what it looks like.

 

That "tool" is a toy which any swab which is really stuck will laugh at it. Plus the prongs will scratch the bore. Not recommended.

 

Look, I don't want to be indelicate, but if someone has gone to enough extremes to get that thing "permanently" lodged in the neck, it would seem to me that the best advice is to have (harrumph) someone else remove it.

 

Exactly. Bring it to me and I'll quickly remove it with my alligator forceps.

 

Or try to pack it with gunpowder, just make sure you poke the fuse in first.

That ought to just about do it.

 

..i even attempted to light the swab on fire. unfortunately, it didn't catch,

:shock:

Frankly, I'm surprised you haven't reached for the blowtorch yet..

Take it to a tech if you can't get hold of the end with needlenose pliers. I think.

 

I'd like to think somebody would try my powder idea! Best to have a friend hold it while removing the swab with this method.

 

smoking horn.........

 

more than just smokin'... literally ON FIRE

 

Once you get the swab out, I use the snake type swab on my altos. It does a decent job and goes through the neck easily.

 

So, were you trying to put all the posts on at the same time? and did it work?

 

Imagine this: I was trying a new lacquer, along with a new dye and a new spraygun (forgot to add, a new rotating screw compressor) on a horn I planned on selling. It's a really nice lacquer wich has to be applied on one thick coat and that's it, no buffing, no retouching, nothing else is required (nothing else other than a perfect lacquering technique that has to match the characteristics on that lacquer)

I applied the coat and after 5 minutes noticed that a slight sign of run on developed... small enough and on a location that the keywork would suffice to hide it for good. I left to lunch and when I got back, not only the runon had "worsened up" on me, but a really BIG bug that must have got in when I entered/left the lacquering boot was permanently stucked on the bell.

I started to delacquer the freshly applied coat using even more curse words than we techs use with broken or rusty needle springs, and this lacquer is tough as a rock... the first coat of stripper didn't even bothered the surface. I applied a second coat and lit the horn using my butane torch. Good, softened up a little. Washed it, applied a third thin coat and lit it again, more lacquer off... then, thinkin "I'm the master of delacquering" I applied a really thick coat of stripper and lit the horn on fire. A huge fireball made me think "I overdid it... well, I'll have to hand polish the residues away..." when I started to hear like a creeping sound followed shortly by "clinks" "Clunks" and "Clonks" (posts and hardware hitting the floor!)

This was after noon, long story short, I had such a bruised ego that I cleaned, resoldered everything and aligned the mechanisms, polished, cleaned and lacquered the horn that very day, and set it up the next day...

We refer to this horn as the "Horn On Fire" :lol: (sold it 3 days after the fire, letting the customer know the story of the horn)

 

Man, I was trying out a horn in a store (well in a private practice room in the store) a few weeks back and after I was done playing I thought I'd "do the right thing" and swab it out with the swabs I'd brought with me.

Got the swab stuck in the neck. It was one of those with the sort of circular nylon brush behind a piece of felt. I managed enough self control not to try to keep pulling in the original direction, but I can tell you I was panicking pretty badly until I finally managed to get enough of a "1-finger grip" on the felt piece and back it out. Whew!

 

No, not the best advertisement :lol: but it's true. I often, in search of killing hype and marketing strategies, tell all the truth instead of concealing the part that doesn't paint me handsome and wise

This horn that I set on fire was because I had an overdue overhaul and in the last minute the customer decided he wanted the horn lacquered (relacquered) instead of bare brass. I got this new lacquer and was lacking experience (not experience about lacquering, but experience with this new product) and so I started the tryout on one of my cheap horns on wich I try new materials and techniques and procedures.

 

Have you tried a metal wire with a small, sharp hook fashioned on the end? You might get it to snag the material on the side of the swab that is not bunched up and pull it back out that way.

Toby

 

One thing that normally works is to twist the end of the swab while pushing it back into the neck.. Depending on the swab material, this can reduce the diameter and allow for it to be shoved back in far enough to pull it out the larger end. If it won't twist in one direction, it is probably caught on the octave pip, so try the other direction. I have done this more than once successfully with no damage to swab or horn.

 

Im not sure if this is a good idea or not , but a quick blast of compressed air maybe , think Id try the twist method first , gun powder last resort, good luck HA , Just realized how old this thread is guess hes got it out by now hope it wasnt the powder .

 

@Sharkey, you may not have noticed but you are advising someone on something happening over 14 years ago.

Compressed air may not do anything at all but gunpowder is a really bad idea

 

old thread, but for anyone in this situation, take it to a tech!
this is one of the most common source of damage to saxes by people trying to untuck a swab on their own.