Wind Instrument Inspection Tools - Quick Introduction

Hello everyone! I’m Makino from the wind instrument team. Some of you might be thinking, “Wait, isn’t Makino the Gibson guitar guy?” Well, I actually handle wind instruments too (and I’m also responsible for inspections and repairs). So today, I’d like to introduce some of the tools I use for inspections!

① Screwdrivers

Repair technicians have a variety of screwdrivers to handle the different sizes of screws used in many instruments. The tips of these screwdrivers are carefully polished to ensure they don’t scratch the instruments.

② Spring Hook

This is a tool I made from scratch during my time at technical school using a rod. I have a lot of attachment to this tool since I made it myself. It’s used to hook or unhook the spring, which is a needle-like part attached to the keys of woodwind instruments. This tool is also polished to avoid scratching the instruments.

③ Burner

This is a burner. Yes, it produces flames! Woodwind instrument pads use a heat-meltable adhesive, so you need to apply heat for adjustments. The burner is also used when soldering or unsoldering parts of brass instruments.

④ Pliers

These are pliers, polished to a shine as shown in the picture.

With this polishing, they won’t scratch the instruments (it took me an entire day to polish them to this state...). Pliers are essential for tasks like bending the keys of woodwind instruments or adjusting the braces on brass instruments. For someone like me, who doesn’t have much physical strength, they’re indispensable (haha).

⑤ Hammer

These are hammers or mallets. It’s used for tasks like bending the keys of woodwind instruments and also for repairing dents in brass instruments.

The head of this short hammer is made of pigskin, so it won’t scratch the instruments.

The long hammer’s tip is made of resin, minimizing damage to the instrument’s body.

⑥ Other Small Tools

This is a feather blade. It might look familiar to some of you because it’s the same one used in razors!!! You might wonder, “What on earth do you use this for?” Well, for a repair technician, it’s a must-have tool. It’s used to cut cork. If you’re thinking, “Why not just use a regular cutter?” The answer is: it won’t work (though it depends on the individual). The feather blade is incredibly sharp and ensures a clean cut when cutting cork.

These are spatulas. What kind of spatulas? They are used to adjust the pads! Without this, the pads wouldn’t close properly, and if they don’t close... the instrument won’t produce sound.

Conclusion

What did you think? Repair technicians use a variety of tools daily, experimenting and working hard to repair instruments. There are many more tools that I couldn’t introduce here. I’d love to share more, but I’ll end it here for now.

Since this was just a ‘quick introduction’, I plan to go into more detail on each tool in the next edition. Stay tuned!