I have played clarinet almost 50 years and just last summer began seriously learning to service and repair them. I have been buying, fixing up and reselling with moderate success but I feel I would do better if I had a good standard mouthpiece to go with the horns which are mostly of the quality plastic student variety such as Bundys, Evettes, Selmers and the like. I have settled on the Hite Premier and instead of buying a bunch of these new or used I am thinking of copying the facing of it onto other cheap, used mouthpieces. I have studied the Brand manual, gotten my feeler gauges, a glass gauge, some large and small files and a micrometer setup which gives me the tip openings pretty well and have a Premier I can use for a model. I have been measuring all my mouthpieces and reading a lot of old MouthpieceWork posts but haven't tried any refacings yet. My question is does my plan of duplicating the Hite from various other mouthpieces sound feasible? I'm not as concerned with getting the exact sound as much as approximating the response of the Hite. Perhaps this is not essential but can the windows be lengthened? The Hite's is 33.5mm which is longer than any others I have. Any other hints or tips would be appreciated, esp  what kind and grade of sanding papers to use. If this is not a good plan perhaps people might have other suggestions on what to do about the mouthpiece issue.
Thanks

Your plan sounds good.  Though I would skip the 50 years of playing...;)

Sand paper grades and use is a personal choice.  I would say start with 320 and 400 grits in Silcone Carbide (the black stuff sold at automotive stores).  220 is better for heavy table cutting, which you should not need to do.  600 and finer for finishing work.  

Some like to do some work dry and some work wet.  Wet does make for a nice finish one the table, but I find the mess of working wet not worth it.  You can get good results staying dry.

I use 3M Mylar-backed sandpaper with PSA (pressure sensitive aheasive).  I have found only one source for it in 8.5 x 11 sheets (see the Links for the source).  I get it in 15 micron (about 600 grit) and 40 micron (about 320 grit).  It does not come in any grits in between these.

As for the window length, I do not think it will make a significant difference.  But you can test it easy enough for yourself.  The shape for the base of the window can make a difference.  In most cases, a blunt shape is not as good as sharper undercut base.  There is some logic as to why this may be presented in the Ferron sax book.  

Making a window longer also makes the chamber volume larger.  This may be the main effect that you will observe, if any.

Thanks for the reply. Are you saying 320 OR 400 or 320 AND 400? Do you use any grades in between those and the 600? What do you use for polishing if any as 600 leaves kind of a dull finish, right?  When you say I can test the window length easy enough do you mean by actually lengthening it with a file and then sanding to finish? What effect would I expect from increasing the chamber volume thusly? I'd dump the 50 years but sorry no time travel option as yet.

Purchase several grades to see what you like.  Get a sampler pack.  I do not go finer than 600 now, but I have tried 800-1200.  for table and rails, I stop at the 15 micron "paper" I use.  It is like a 600-700 grit.  

For chamber and body work, I follow 600 grit with 0000 steel wool.  Then a rubbing compound and/or a Flitz metal polish.  Dont worry about a dull finish on the table.  

Play a test mouthpiece against a tuner.  Then lengthen the window with a file and leave it rough.  Play again against the tuner.  It may be a little flater, but it probably will be easy to adjust with your embouchure or by pushing in a tad.  Now you can sand the file marks smooth and test again.  I doubt you will be able to tell any difference.  But I have not atually done the test.   

--- In MouthpieceWork@yahoogroups.com, "Steve" <stebinus@...> wrote:
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> Thanks for the reply. Are you saying 320 OR 400 or 320 AND 400? Do you use any grades in between those and the 600? What do you use for polishing if any as 600 leaves kind of a dull finish, right?  When you say I can test the window length easy enough do you mean by actually lengthening it with a file and then sanding to finish? What effect would I expect from increasing the chamber volume thusly? I'd dump the 50 years but sorry no time travel option as yet.
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