I purchased a Buffet E13 and I have trouble each time it is assembled. Infact I can't assemble it myself because it gets stuck at a certain point, when I join the lower and middle joints together it will only go down so far, then it just seems impossible to completely put together. I used cork grease and understand that as it is new it will take time to wear in. It's putting me off playing it as I have the same trouble taking it apart, my other clarinet is completely fine. I've even tried letting it cool so the wood doesn't swell, but it still seems to get stuck.

I know this might be silly to ask, but do you have any tips, as I'm sure I must be doing something wrong.

i would say f it and bring it to a technician. you shouldn't have that much difficulty, new or old. the technician should be able to clear up the issue.
goodluck
beetlejuice

my 1940 r. malerne professional clarinet slides together beautifully!!

Take it back to the store. You don't have to accept an item that doesn't stand up to what it's supposed to do. You do have constitutional rights.

I`ve also had trouble with my new buffet clarinet too, it is a R13 though. I find that if I put it in my basement when it gets stuck that works, just wait a few hours and with a tiny amount of pulling you should be able to get it apart. When your not using it try to keep it in a cool place so the corks won`t expand, thats what mine was doing. Maybe if you have a plastic clarinet that would be best to use on humid days. Thats what I`m doing now, I really miss playing on my R13 but I don`t want to ruin the corks.

Thank you all very much for your help.

I called the shop where I got it from and they told me to take it in to be looked at and repaired if it needed it.

Basically the cork needed to be shaved a little, it's now perfect, not too loose obviously, but I can now assemble it and take it apart easily. I was so worried i'd damage it before that I stopped playing.

Now I have no worries, thanks once again for your advice, I thought maybe it was just the way I was trying to put it together, now I know different.

Thanks