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I have a set of drones, belonging to a friend, which I'm trying to put into playing order. The principal problem is that the mainstock has developed cracks along the side which, in dry weather, open, leaking air and making the drones unplayable.

I've acquired a mainstock which fits the tenor and bass drones comfortably. However the bari drone tenon is slightly too wide to fit into its corresponding hole in the mainstock. The give you an idea, the OD of the bari drone without binding is 4.1 mm, while the ID of the hole is 4.0 mm.

My question:

Is it better to thin the drone tenon, or enlarge the hole in the stock?

PJ wrote:I have a set of drones, belonging to a friend, which I'm trying to put into playing order. The principal problem is that the mainstock has developed cracks along the side which, in dry weather, open, leaking air and making the drones unplayable.

I've acquired a mainstock which fits the tenor and bass drones comfortably. However the bari drone tenon is slightly too wide to fit into its corresponding hole in the mainstock. The give you an idea, the OD of the bari drone without binding is 4.1 mm, while the ID of the hole is 4.0 mm.

My question:

Is it better to thin the drone tenon, or enlarge the hole in the stock?

Review your dimensions please .... 4.1mm ( and 4mm) cannot possibly be correct for the middle drone tennon and the port in the mainstock.... surely ?

Apologies. Forgot to check before posting.

That's OD 13.9 mm for the drone tenon (w/o binding), and 12.7 mm for the ID of the stock hole.

I think 12.7mm is small for the stock hole, especially if it is a solid stock. A larger hole will give more room for reed tongue occilation.... on the other hand the drone tennon could be reduced a wee bit.

How about using a 14mm hole and 13mm tennon ?

The mainstock is indeed solid.

Thank you for your advice.

The first thing would be to glue the cracks. You'd need a very thin epoxy or super glue.
Glue and clamp. Be sure to clamp it so the stock takes its original shape as the presence of a lot of glue could put pressure on the wood and widen the crack of the winter gets drier.

Then enlarge the socket.

Tommy

I think the stock that needs the hole enlarged is a replacement for the cracked stock.