Wooden MP?

2152 Views 23 Replies 9 Participants Last post by Stan, May 21, 2007

Logan175

Discussion Starter · May 14, 2007

Hello everyone,
I would like to know if making a wooden mouth piece wouth be viable. I have the tools and various woods to use so that wouldn't be a problem. But basicaly my question is, is there anything I need to know before doing this?
Any advice?

thanks a lot
Logan

1 - 20 of 24 Posts

Martin Williams

· #2 · May 14, 2007

Its certainly viable. Other makers have done so with good success, (e.g. Lamberson)

The hard part is finishing the facing etc so it results in a very nice playing mpc!

Post some pictures of how it turns out!

BarrySachs

· #3 · May 14, 2007

I used to like playing wooden mouthpieces. My favourite was a rosewood model by Francois Louie. It has since cracked beyond repair.

Pascal Brancher makes a nice wooden piece that is as good as the FL.

The problem with wood is that it changes with the weather.

I now prefer old NY Links.

J.Max

· #4 · May 14, 2007

There's a guy on this forum that makes some, and apparently they're very good. You should ask him...

Stan

· #5 · May 14, 2007

Logan175 said:
Hello everyone,
I would like to know if making a wooden mouth piece wouth be viable. I have the tools and various woods to use so that wouldn't be a problem. But basicaly my question is, is there anything I need to know before doing this?
Any advice?

thanks a lot
Logan

Hi, I started making wood mouthpieces some time ago with nice results.
http://www.hobbysax.com/Setup.html
What do you want to know exactly? You just need tools, wood, patience, excellent hand skills and be a very good saxophone player

. That's all

Contact me in pvt if you have any specific problem.

Stan

Logan175

Discussion Starter · #6 · May 14, 2007

Stan said:
Hi, I started making wood mouthpieces some time ago with nice results.
http://www.hobbysax.com/Setup.html
What do you want to know exactly? You just need tools, wood, patience, excellent hand skills and be a very good saxophone player . That's all

Contact me in pvt if you have any specific problem.

Stan

Alright I will stan. My only fear is gonna be the weather here, I am from winnipeg Manitoba, which is Canada just for some that may not know. Our weather has a history of sometimes .cracking wood clarinets.

Stan

· #7 · May 14, 2007

Logan175 said:
Alright I will stan. My only fear is gonna be the weather here, I am from winnipeg Manitoba, which is Canada just for some that may not know. Our weather has a history of sometimes .cracking wood clarinets.

Almond oil is the solution... put one or two drops of oil inside the bore of your mouthpiece and spread them everywhere by using a cotton swab or something of equivalent. Just remember to do it when the mouthpiece is not dry but still humid. That's very important. Repeat any six months (the time interval can change accordingly to local weather conditions

)
By doing this I never had cracks in my ebony clarinet and in my wood mouthpieces.

Stan

Logan175

Discussion Starter · #8 · May 14, 2007

stan you have a PM

Logan175

Discussion Starter · #9 · May 15, 2007

Can anyone else recommend any types of wood to use or possible techniques for making?

I just want a little more info about the subject before I dive in. I am going to give purple heart a stab this weekend.

stitch

· #10 · May 15, 2007

Stan said:
Almond oil is the solution...

But not if there's a chance a future user is nut-intolerant!

Seasax

· #11 · May 15, 2007

dont sell it!!!

stitch

· #12 · May 15, 2007

There's a very interesting thread here, if you haven't already seen it.

Stan

· #13 · May 15, 2007

SearjeantSax said:
dont sell it!!!

Nuts are not Almonds...

In any case, why a nut-intolerant should not have the joy of playing wood mouthpieces? For this kind of problems there will be a special policy: if your mouthpiece cracks without oil I will replace it for free

I am just kidding since I never sold anything up to now, maybe in the near future with the new models I am fabricating now which for sure will not have these kind of problems.
But do you really think a drop of oil in the rear part of the mouthpiece (which is not in direct contact with lips) can create problems? I am not an expert in this field, I should ask my wife, but I think there should be a threshold which is different for each person in the amount of compound you can collect in a specific time interval.
Sorry for my English, I hope you can understand everything.

Stan

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Logan175

Discussion Starter · #14 · May 15, 2007

I have no allergies. The only trouble I am having right now is finding the Tree heath wood.

Stan

· #15 · May 15, 2007

Logan175 said:
I have no allergies. The only trouble I am having right now is finding the Tree heath wood.

Try with a different one just to improve your skills. Rosewood (?), olive, should work fine. Probably it will be easier for you to find some tropical wood such as Ipe' (a very hard one) since tree heath is common I think only in the south part of Europe.

Stan

Logan175

Discussion Starter · #16 · May 15, 2007

I'll probably end up using purple heart possibly maple. I might have some rosewood.

J.Max

· #17 · May 16, 2007

Ironwood would make a cool mouthpiece, if you could carve it with enough precision. It's hard, doesn't respond much to climate change, and would probably lend itself to a bright sound...

Logan175

Discussion Starter · #18 · May 20, 2007

will do.

MojoBari

· #19 · May 20, 2007

I would use Stabilized Wood. It is open pored wood with plastic injected into it under high pressure. Dimensionally stable and visually stunning. I have a Photo of a red LAW one on my site.

Stan

· #20 · May 20, 2007

There are also lot of new wonderful looking plastic-based materials which are wood substitutes. I've found some time ago a kind of patented plastic wood which was really amazing. Unfortunately I forgot to bookmark the internet address and now I was not able to find it...

. I will check again...

Stan

1 - 20 of 24 Posts

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