Ive got a rosewood Kung sopranino and descant recorder
when I play them the head gets stiffer can any body tell me what I can do about it?

"stiffer"??

stiffer,harder to undoo,tight,stiff,anoying,

They all do. Wood expands when it is wet. The only thing you can do is put plenty of cork grease on before you assemble it.

Liz

I disagree.
a recorder only needs grease 2 a year
if you put on plenty of cork grease on before you assemble it you run a severe risk of making your recorder split.

I agree with Liz.....all wood instruments expand a bit when they're damp inside. Using plenty of cork grease isn't going to make your recorder split, because it's oil-based not water-based.

Ok
but I will not grease my recorder before I play it
when you do grease it your ment to leave it a day any way
by all means do that to your recorder and have an unplayable recorder I have no wish to argue
and I suggest you look at this site
http://www.saundrecs.co.uk/

ben

I quote, from that site:

"If the joints of your recorder become very tight, wood on wood, after playing this is a sign that the wood is moving with a new humidity regime."

- as we said, your recorder joints will be tight because the recorder is damp inside and the wood has expanded.


"Apply any bore oil sparingly and evenly. Avoid the block and corks. Do not oil a recently played recorder, and leave it for a day before playing it again."

- this is referring to bore oil, not joint grease. They are quite different things.

I'm sorry, I agree with the others and wonder if you understand what they mean. Grease the cork on the tenon, that's the joint that joins the pieces. Not the whole recorder. You may have to grease the tenon often. And do mop the instrument after use, yes? If you leave the inside wet when you put it away you'll have trouble sooner or later.

Oiling the wood inside or outside is a different matter and would have to be done as the manufacturer suggests.

Definately go with the cork grease.

I imagine any risk of damaging your recorder with cork grease (applied responsibly) is significantly less than the damage you might accidentally do while struggling to take it apart.

still I have 1 more descant
3 trebles
3 tenors
and 1 bass
and none fo them do this
do different woods do different things?

I'd imagine that it's quite likely that some woods are less dense/more porous than others, so they'd expand more - so, yes!

It sounds like you have a lovely recorder collection there

When you take the recorder apart do you 'screw' the head joint off of the body joint or turn it in all directions to get off??

I wait a while before taking them apart - gives them a chance to go back to their normal shape and size. Make sure you mop them out too.

The recorder expert in that wonderful recorder shop in Bristol told me not to oil them.

Ok thanks every body
yes it's a great shop in Bristol the recorders came from there a long time ago,
if greasing it will work then ill give it a go
what grease do I need?
Is it just the stuff you put on the clarinet?

Ben

Yes. My oboe suffered this in early days. I recall taking it back to Howarths the first summer because neither tenons would fit and disassembling it put the frighteners on me gripping the keys and rods on the lower joint.

so is it do new instruments that do this?