how to remove small object inside cello

[Wendy P]

Hello, today I peeked through an f-hole  of my cello using my cell phone flashlight, hoping to see if there was some kind of identifying label. Much to my surprise,  instead of a label I found a small potato chip resting inside! (I suspect one of my small grandsons caused the mischief. It must have been there for about three years - the only time I recall playing my cello in their presence. I hope it didn't happen when my cello was restrung at a shop a year or so ago!)

I'm not aware of this potato chip having caused any issues in terms of sound quality, but now that I know it's there, I'd like to remove it. But I'm stumped. It's too lightweight to hear it moving around when I move the instrument in different positions. I thought of using a vacuum to bring it near an f-hole opening but don't know how I would actually get it out. I don't know if it might help to break it into small pieces (using a chopstick or something). Or maybe I could put something sticky on the end of a stick and try to extract it that way... but I'm afraid I would just end up with more ucky stuff inside the instrument. So I thought I'd ask for your advice before trying anything. Thanks!

[Craig Cowing]

On 10/8/2019 at 3:34 PM, Wendy P said:

Hello, today I peeked through an f-hole  of my cello using my cell phone flashlight, hoping to see if there was some kind of identifying label. Much to my surprise,  instead of a label I found a small potato chip resting inside! (I suspect one of my small grandsons caused the mischief. It must have been there for about three years - the only time I recall playing my cello in their presence. I hope it didn't happen when my cello was restrung at a shop a year or so ago!)

I'm not aware of this potato chip having caused any issues in terms of sound quality, but now that I know it's there, I'd like to remove it. But I'm stumped. It's too lightweight to hear it moving around when I move the instrument in different positions. I thought of using a vacuum to bring it near an f-hole opening but don't know how I would actually get it out. I don't know if it might help to break it into small pieces (using a chopstick or something). Or maybe I could put something sticky on the end of a stick and try to extract it that way... but I'm afraid I would just end up with more ucky stuff inside the instrument. So I thought I'd ask for your advice before trying anything. Thanks!

could you move the cello around until the chip is directly below an f hole, then put a pencil in to crush it? Then you could shake out the crumbs.

 

[violinnewb]

Just wait for a small mouse to eventually find it and eat it.  

[Three13]

I'd just securely affix some tape to the end of a dowel and use that to remove the offending chip.

[The Violin Beautiful]

Get one of these at your local hardware store. This one even has a built-in light. 
 

https://www.lowes.com/pd/General-Tools-Instruments-Lighted-Mechanical-Pick-Up/3139045?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-tol-_-google-_-lia-_-216-_-specialtyhandtools-_-3139045-_-0&store_code=715&placeholder=null&gclid=CjwKCAiAx_DwBRAfEiwA3vwZYpViszT-AMCw8cR0POY8LeEpx-TixU_9BNEbOjv1RU6Jkrv8RijtBhoC2BMQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

[violguy]

I would contact a luthier tool supplier(preferably German) and buy their latest Titanium Laser-Guided debris removing tool(with Cremonese tips). Maybe pricey,but you get what you pay for!

[Rue]

No no! This must be taken to an expert! Someone with years of experience removing random items from cavernous spaces through tiny openings! Otherwise you could permanently damage *insert possible damage of your choice*!  This is NOT a DIY project!!!

If it was - I'd suggest inserting a small hungry rodent...

[deans]

I used to vacuum instruments. If you have access to a school chemistry or biology lab there is usually a vacuum that you can attach a thin hose.

[martin swan]

This is a "potato chip", what we call in the UK a crisp?

So just turn the cello face down and shake it about until the thing is above the treble f-hole. then crack it with a blunt instrument and shake the bits out.

It can't be any more difficult than getting a plectrum out of a mandolin ... 

[Marty Kasprzyk]

6 hours ago, Three13 said:

I'd just securely affix some tape to the end of a dowel and use that to remove the offending chip.

Instead of tape, try a dab of chip dip.  

[Three13]

2 hours ago, Marty Kasprzyk said:

Instead of tape, try a dab of chip dip.  

If you're in New York, maybe you could find him some Heluva Good Bacon Horseradish Dip. It would do the trick...

[Nick Allen]

This is a no-brainer with several elegant solutions. I vote tape on a stick or clothes hanger wire with a lil hook on the end. 

[Bill Yacey]

https://www.acklandsgrainger.com/en/product/p/GTL70399?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxPyLhMKD5wIVbxitBh3e_AEqEAQYASABEgJh8PD_BwE&cm_mmc=PPC:+Google+PLA&ef_id=EAIaIQobChMIxPyLhMKD5wIVbxitBh3e_AEqEAQYASABEgJh8PD_BwE:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!3645!3!303439922315!!!g!545614785298!

[martin swan]

Or just take it to anyone who has ever fitted a soundpost?

[David Burgess]

Shake the cello around upside down until the potato chip becomes positioned over the ff hole, then lick it until it gets limp enough to fall into your mouth.

[martin swan]

1 minute ago, David Burgess said:

Shake the cello around upside down until the potato chip becomes positioned over the ff hole, then lick it until it gets limp enough to fall into your mouth.

What if it’s smoky bacon flavour and the OP  is Veggie?

[Rue]

Is it real bacon flavour?  Or fake bacon flavour?  If fake, no problem...

[The Violin Beautiful]

I wouldn’t recommend shaking the cello overhead—there’s a lot of risk for damage. I think it’s better to keep the cello secure and reach in with something that easily fits into the ff and can be covered with tape so as not to damage the wings.

[Three13]

1 hour ago, David Burgess said:

Shake the cello around upside down until the potato chip becomes positioned over the ff hole, then lick it until it gets limp enough to fall into your mouth.

Is this how you get soundposts out?

[martin swan]

1 hour ago, The Violin Beautiful said:

I wouldn’t recommend shaking the cello overhead—there’s a lot of risk for damage. I think it’s better to keep the cello secure and reach in with something that easily fits into the ff and can be covered with tape so as not to damage the wings.

Is that how you go about removing a post?

[jacobsaunders]

Take the cello into the garden, that you don’t demolish anything in the workshop. Shake the cello in a semi-upright but crooked state, so that the crisp goes to the rib/back join on the bass side. Then hold the cello over your head in a horizontal position, belly down, and gently shake with the scroll slightly lower than the spike. The crisp will rattle along the bass bar until it reaches the f hole, when it will fall out. I don’t think I would eat it, even with ketchup on, others might differ.

[The Violin Beautiful]

6 hours ago, martin swan said:

Is that how you go about removing a post?

Yes. To be more precise, I use the setter to dislodge the post, then pick it up with the retriever. I’ve got a soundpost retriever right on the side of my bench for cellos and I use it almost daily. I don’t do that with violins and violas, but in the last shop where I worked, my colleagues thought it was a form of barbarism to hold an instrument over one’s head, even a small violin.
 

I’m not saying anyone must use a retriever tool, just that I think it’s the safest and most efficient way to do the job.

[Rue]

[cellopera]

Just use chopsticks through one of the f—holes to pick it up.