are you trimming with the reed well wet?

you put the reed low enough to just insert it in the slot, you then adjust the height to trim the portion that you want to trim make sure that the reed is centered, the fitting is tight but loose enough that you can adjust.

you need to have the reed very well wetted, a dry clip could go well but im most cases would result in a less than perfect cut.

 

Or... More easily... Don't waste your time and buy other reeds instead...

It's what I do and... surprinsingly, it works!

 

well, it is nice to work on your reeds instead of using them regardless. I have been successful in making reeds brighter and more vital (sometimes there is absolutely nothing I can do) but I didn't like to trim reeds to get then a little less soft. If I would have never worked on reeds I would have spent much more money than I did or do.

 

Yes... I was joking, so I don't had time 'till yet to think about that and to spend time to learn...

 

so little time so many things to learn.......

 

You Bet!!!

 

I don't know it is with my trimmer. I might have assembled it wrong but things seem right. The regulator (clamp) is very high on the trimmer so the reed hits the trimmer. Could someone please upload a simple picture of a reed properly placed in a reed trimmer? This is killing me..

 

What brand trimmer do you have?
I have a Cordier for clarinet that works the same as a sax trimmer.
I can upload a pic of that if it's the same as yours.

 

Yeah I have a vintage cordier but they are very similar. Thanks in advance. I don't want to ask for too much but could you put some pics of it at several angles and such? I especially need a picture of it at a

 

Sorry I pressed enter:


Yeah I have a vintage cordier but they are very similar. Thanks in advance. I don't want to ask for too much but could you put some pics of it at several angles and such? I especially need a picture of it at a horizontal plane to check if the regulator is too high

 

Perhaps you can post a picture of what YOUR trimmer looks like with the reed in place? That would help us help you identify your specific problem.

I have a suspicion about what might be happening though. Assuming that you've inserted the reed far enough back on the guide plate so that the tip doesn't reach the upper part of the trimmer until you move the regulator forward...it could be that your guide plate is stuck in the closed position...meaning that it didn't automatically drop back to the open position after you clipped a previous reed. This happens frequently on my Cordier trimmer. I usually have to pop it back into the open position manually with my thumb. I don't see that as a problem though because I would much rather have a really tight fit between the upper and lower edges of the trimmer than one that allows any amount of daylight. A tighter fit makes for a cleaner cut. If your guide plate is stuck in the closed position however...naturally, the tip of the reed is going to hit the cutter when you move the regulator forward instead of sliding between the two cutter surfaces like it should.

If that's not your problem, I have no idea what else it might be.

 

I was getting ready to take the photos but I can't find my SD card. Bandmommy when do you think you can have the photos up?

 

Can I take that as verification that you've checked the trimmer and made sure that it's not stuck in the closed position?

 

No, nothing is stuck the regulator (rigged piece that the back of the reed lays on) moves back and forth when I turn the screw as it should. I'm pretty darn sure my problem is from something really stupid I did because there is no way a company would be dumb enough to make a reed trimmer where the tip ends up 3/4 of an inch away from the blade.

 

Just to be sure we're on the same page...I'm not talking about the regulator being stuck. Whether it moves back and forth when you turn the regulator screw isn't the issue. I'm talking about what happens when you press the lever to make the cut. Sometimes when you release the lever, the guide plate doesn't automatically drop back to the fully open position.

As far as the tip of the reed ending up 3/4 of an inch away from the blade...you really have me confused there. I've never seen a cutter that limits how far back or how far forward you can insert the reed. Are you opening the clamp and placing the butt end of the reed on top of the regulator surface...or are you trying to place the reed in FRONT of the regulator? If you're placing the reed on top of the regulator surface...you should be able to place it as far back as you want to before you close the clamp on it. Place it too far back of course, and the tip won't even reach the cutter blades when the regulator is moved as far forward as it will go.

 

Is it just me, or are the reeds set to high on a reed trimmer when the reed is in place? On mine the tip can crack because it hits the upper part of the trimmer, or did I assemble mine wrong?

Man, these questions are sooo stupid! :twisted:

JK, good luck with your trimming!

Victor.

 

I'm just waiting for some pictures please....anyone.....

 

I'm not talking about how the reed moves forward and backward. I mean the reed and regulator are ABOVE the blade by 3/4 of an inch. I really need pictures

 

Sorry I took so long. I hope these help.

 

Thanks for the photos but they aren't doing any good. I'm gonna find my card and take pictures of my trimmer. One thing I did notice on my pictures vs yours was when I put the clamp over the reed, my reed is pointing in a more upward angle while your arches down. Also you see the plate (coated in nickel) that moves back and forth which the clamp is connected to? I believe mine is sticking up.

 

I knew right away when you said your reed was pointing at an upward angle that your regulator must have been on backwards...but this brings up some interesting questions. I was starting to have a very uneasy feeling about this thread because things just weren't adding up. First of all...I've never heard of a reed trimmer that requires assembly. Secondly...you posted about a month ago that you had trimmed a reed using a reed clipper...(that was in the same thread where you mentioned you wanted to write a book about reed making because you knew so much about it)...so obviously you had a working trimmer last month. Was this the same reed trimmer? If so...the only way the regulator could have gotten reversed is if you had taken the thing apart and put it back together wrong. Why in the world would you have taken it apart? And if you did take it apart...why didn't you just say that from the beginning? It might have saved everyone a lot of time and effort. If I had known you had taken it apart at some point...the first thing I would have suggested is that you might have put the regulator on backwards when you put it back together. I'm sure I wasn't the only person confused about why you were having problems since reed trimmers don't ordinarily require assembly. Instead of locating your SD card...(which I'm not convinced was missing)...and posting your own photos so we could tell you very easily what your problem was...you kept insisting that someone else should go to the trouble of taking and posting photos for you.

bandmommy went to a lot of trouble to post the photos you asked for. Believe it or not...so did I...but I didn't post them because I was already starting to feel that something just wasn't adding up.

At any rate...I'm glad you got it figured out. Now I think I'll go bang my head against a wall just for the hell of it.

 

I think the problem is simple. It's just that the reed trimmer is very stupid.

 

Re : Re: Very Stupid Reed Trimmer Mistake Help Please



Oh! Oh! Oh!

 

Eureaka! Fixed. Apparently Gary's comment angered the reed trimmer and it showed off its intellectual ability.

Nah the regulator was flipped the wrong way because I assembled it wrong. LOL


Just a question, if you used a tenor trimmer on an alto reed would the curve be very similar? I know alto wouldn't work because it is too short. I want a reed trimmer for tenor as well but well, $50. Though it is a great investment, the start is always hardest.

Thanks bandmommy and everyone with the help. much appreciated.

 

20 something posts of suggestions and then this:

Nah the regulator was flipped the wrong way because I assembled it wrong. LOL

Anybody learn anything?

 

Is this a NEW trimmer, or something you got used?
A new one would not be sold if it were defective.

 

You assembled it wrong?
All of the Cordier trimmers I've seen have come "Preassembled" in the package.
Unless they come differently in Southern California.....

 

This is a vintage cordier. It worked when it was in the messed up way buy it worked in a terrible way that I knew couldn't be right. and to Gary I have no response

 

Ahhh, 'Vintage'.....

I take it you tore it apart, and didn't pay attention to how it was put together.
Even if I tear mine apart, there is still only 1 way it will reassemble. It's at least 20 years old.

 

Unless the sax clippers are different than the clarinet ones, the regulator is flat. The only angled part is where the lever comes in contact to move the reed up towards the cutting edge of the clipper.
Unless our little reed making expert put the lever on the wrong side......

 

No...actually the surface of the regulator does have an angle to it. You might have to look at it closely to see it. If the regulator is installed correctly, it tilts the reed downward so that the tip of the reed lays flat on the guide plate. If you turn the regulator around, it causes the reed to tilt upward...away from the guide plate. One of the pictures I took before the OP admitted to his blunder was of that very thing. I had a suspicion...so I took mine apart and put it together backwards...deliberately...so he could see what would happen if the regulator was reversed. Turns out that's exactly what it was all along. It would have still saved a lot of time if he had just said he had taken the thing apart. His problem would have probably been solved five minutes after his first post.

This is what the trimmer looks like with the regulator on backwards...

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