Putting New Corks Onto a Mute

To repair your mute you will need:

• Corks
• Sandpaper/nail file
• Strong glue
• A Rubber band

I used Humes and Berg corks specifically for my mute. I bought these from amazon for around £4. I'm sure it is also possible to make your own corks from wine bottle corks or a cork board, if you want to save a little bit of money.

The glue I used was Bostik Glu and Fix all purpose extra strong glue. It worked very well.

Steps:

1. Make sure all of the old cork is taken off so that you have a clean and smooth surface to work this. I used sandpaper to take the remains of the cork off and this did not damage the mute.

2. Place a small amount of glue onto your cork.

3. Press the cork onto the mute firmly. Then place a rubber band around the corks to hold in place. Try to avoid moving the cork around too much once it is on the mute.

4. Place on a radiator to dry. Do not use the mute until the glue is thoroughly dry.

The glue I used did not take long to dry at all however I would recommend leaving overnight if possible before using the mute.

Your cork may also need filling down to ensure that it has the perfect fit inside your instrument.