Looking for a bit of pipe

[Jennifer Deegan]

Hi,

I'm not a plumber, but a home DIY-er, trying to fix a musical instrument. I wondered if I might ask whether a plumbing part might do the job?

I'm looking for a part that would be a bit like the pipe below. It could be metal or plastic, and stiff or flexible. It needs to be about this length and width, but does not need to be exactly the same. The only real requirement is that it should have the outer and inner diameters of the ends be the same as shown in the image below.

The pipe is to be used as a neck for a bass clarinet, which is shown in the image below. It's a lot like a large saxophone.

This is a close-up of the neck.

I hope you don't mind my asking this in a plumbing forum. If it's not the right place then please do just ignore or delete it.

I'm a stay-at-home Mum and getting out to plumbing shops is tricky, so I thought it might not hurt to ask.

Thanks!

 

[ShaunCorbs]

Sorry to say there's nothing like that in the plumbing game

Best bet is to contact a music repair shop

 

[Jennifer Deegan]

Okey dokey. Thanks!

 

[marvoni]

You get copper traps for refrigeration that look pretty similar. They come in imperial pipe sizes but the ends can be swaged. Not sure it's something a DIY'er could do though, more of a fabrication workshop job.

 

[Jennifer Deegan]

I see what you mean, that does look good. I think if the end sizes were not quite right I could just buy the right sized copped pieces and glue them on with epoxy resin and that might be just the job. Thanks!

 

[Gasmk1]

YAMAHA BASS CLARINET NECK, NICKEL PLATED

 

[Jennifer Deegan]

Thanks, yes that's the better option, but I already blew my budget buying the main body and the mouthpiece, and I still need the neck and the bell (trumpet shaped bit at the bottom). I was hoping to cobble something cheap together while I save up for the proper parts. You're right though, that is the proper part.

 

[Gasmk1]

Buy bass clarinet neck and get free shipping on AliExpress.com

 

[Jennifer Deegan]

Oh! That's weird. That's the same shop as on ebay, but much cheaper. I did not know that that was a thing.

 

[Jennifer Deegan]

A clarinet player in an internet forum in the US told me what they'd do there, but I think the fittings and names may be different there. This is what he said:

1" PEX pipe is the closest material I've found in size to a bass clarinet neck. A 1" boat drain tube fits my Bundy neck socket so that's a good place to start. They cost about 10 USD online. 1" copper fittings roughly fit pex pipe so I would use those with some epoxy. A bass clarinet mouthpiece fits in a 1 1/4 copper fitting that's been sanded out around 1mm so I would use that for the receiver.

As for the bell, you can make a bell from pvc pipe. A 90 degree schedule 80 extra think wall "sweep" (can be found in the electric section in your local Home Depot) fits the bottom of a bass clarient tenon. If you cut a 2" section of this, using some more pieces of 1 1/4 pvc pipe and fittings along with a funnel you can make a bell. The hardest part is drilling the hole just right (or just use a 3 way fitting. Also you loose low Eb this way. I made a low D extension for my Bundy bass using PVC pipe and some saxophone keys.

 

[Gasmk1]

i would just buy a new neck by the time and amount of effort to try and make one it will cost you more

 

[Gasmk1]

Bass clarinet neck for repairing workshop clarinet parts | eBay

 

[Jennifer Deegan]

Okay, thanks

 

[Jennifer Deegan]

I just bit the bullet and bought an actual clarinet neck. Thanks for your advice. It helped me make the decision.