~Some things from the mail bag~
Here are some basic inquiries that may help many.
(I know there is more than one way to skin a cat but,
these are, "Answers from the Trenches".)
Remember: You
can only control two things in your life:Your effort and your attitude. The two are usually one.
Because, Attitude controls Effort, in most cases.
"Sapienter Proficiens" (Latin for: Advancing wisely).
WOW!!!
My business is growing because of your help. If you ever need a testimony count me in.
Please, thank the girls too; in the assistance with orders. They are worth their weight in gold. I especially like KATE. I ordered B25's by mistake and said I was not sure if they were the medium thick or not and SHE CALLED me BACK IMMEDIATELY to say the B21's were the medium thick, so I changed the order.
With every good wish.
Pauline
Just wanted to thank you for your time during my visit a few weeks ago.
I've installed the De'jur pads with cone resonators (B64/66 and B56R), as per you
and Jr. Walker...and I agree on all accounts...
I wish I had known about that set up 20 years ago!!
You are right...they are harder to adjust and regulate, really fussy to set up...
but, once I got them right...the horn just sings...
The volume is greater, the tone is more pure, more clear...I think Jr. was right...
the horn feels "faster".
Maybe I don't have his skills for the test drive...but, I can easily tell the difference,
as can others who have heard me. It is more than "just perceived by the player".
I now will start changing a few on the other horns...Bari, Tenor....maybe...
even a few pads on the Soprano.
Has anyone tried these for the larger pads on the clarinet? I have "white kid
leather pads" on the lower joint, these with the reso might intensify the tone a bit...
what do you think?
Thanks again and I'll be in touch.
Regards,
Dave G.
Dear Dave,
While true, the B64 and B66 do not offer much forgiveness, you do have to
be more precise. They do offer a pretty much, "bulletproof", solution for bad situations.
As YOU have found, they are worth the trouble and patience.
You are always welcome here, Gary
(NOTE: Both of these pads come with NO resonator at all and must be installed by the user.)
Got the die. It's the right size. I did the job and it looks factory.
I feel like a real repair guy. Thanks for all of your help.
See you soon, Dan
The first valve of my French horn does not spin freely. I have identified that it is not the valve itself but the chamber that it sits in. I know that I need a tool to fix the chamber but I don’t know what it is. Can you please advise? Joe
Dear Joe,
If a tubing port is bent in, distorting the "chamber" side, I usually just take an E40 scraper and do some judicious material removal where the wall evidenced touching, shown by a burnished or shiny area. Then, I would "clearance" THAT portion, ONLY enough to provide the necessary clearance for the valve to spin freely. Most Repairmen would put a cutting agent, like pumice with oil, in the casing and on the rotor, then spin them together with an electric drill.
To me that method is much too approximate and removes much more material than necessary and only introduces extreme wear characteristics. Preserve the horn, Do NO Harm!
Best wishes for Good repairs,
Gary FerRee, Repairman
Gary, Thank you very much for your help; I was able to get the valve free, using your advice. Joe
Getting a lot of good out of the dent machine and love the Perma-Lac; found it can be put on in high humidity and not cloud or turn white. Important in Ohio. Very forgiving lacquer. Also notice some blemishes go away during the baking process. I've learned to remove a run with a Q-tip and get it smooth enough that all marks go away during baking.
Ralph - Crone Trumpet Repair and Sales
{Gary's Note: Ralph is about 75 years young!}
O.K. Thank you, Ralph.
Some of the things you are discovering about lacquering, we all do. But, no one would believe you if you just told'em and they aren't really the types of things you'd want to tell.
I know you are on the right track, you know, you can retire in twenty five more years. In the meantime, have fun and I will be in touch.
Every good wish,
Gary FerRee
#2 Easy Slide Pulling
I am looking for a tool to pull stuck slides from trumpets. Got one?Thanks
Well, more than one, it depends on how bad they're stuck, the stucture, the location and which method you want to try and use.
As always, I would start by applying a judicious amount of heat (attempting NOT to burn the lacquer) and some penetrating oil, in case this is all that is required. Second, depending on location, like the main tuning slide; I would use the E90 slide pulling pliers on page 169 of our green 2001 catalog. If this isn't successful without major damage, I would remove (unsolder) the bow and use the slide solder rod, more oil, etc. If the braces want to break or break loose from the tubing, I would unsolder the tuning slide outer rail (NO need to worry about the lacquer now, it is gone!) from the braces and related tubing and insert a dent ball into the end of the open tube or use another slide solder rod and then torque the two apart, but they may want to twist and break, in which case you replace them. You may also want to replace them before you get this far, any where along the way.
If it was a valve tuning slide, you may be able to use a fitted form and gently tap with a rawhide mallet contacting the inside curve of the valve tuning slide, but beware of denting or breaking that, as well. This method works most of the time, but NOT all the time except, you cannot do the first slide of a King products instrument due to its larger profile diameter of bend. So, you use the plier method above with the same cautions and possible replacement being the remaining solution, as with all situations.
IF, it is a Yamaha, you basically throw out most of the above, because they use a single tube for the bow curve AND the slide rails, you will likely replace this as the accepted repair method is time consuming and not 100% effective. Plan on two or three times longer than normal. Replacement of parts is the usual.
There is NO magic in this business and it requires much patience and skill. It is a bit risky, so don't over promise results. Many instruments were NOT built to BE FIXED.
Best wishes for Good repairs,
Gary FerRee, Repairman
#3, Rattle-Can lacquer jobs
Hi,I am thinking of re-lacquering an old alto sax (conn). I have used stuff called "incralac" in the past but it lacks the toughness needed for use on a sax. Any suggestions or guidance as to a suitable product would be greatly appreciated.
With thanks, Martin
Dear Martin,
In fact, there is only one way to lacquer a saxophone; with lacquer from a
spray gun in a professional setting. Rattle cans do not do justice to the work required to get a
sax looking good enough to be lacquered in the first place.
That being said. If you are willing to accept the "look" provided by rattle cans, you will
need to use a lacquer that can be applied in more than one coat and that is meant to stick
to non-ferric surfaces.
The rattle can lacquer we have is so. Made by Nickolas, our number is Q1 12oz.) and it
is $10.00+s/h. Nothing can substitute for proper degreasing, which provides that the lacquer
can indeed stick to the instrument. The body usually gets 4 coats and the keys at least 3.
The last coat is usually applied after the instrument has been assembled and regulated with
the keys then corked down so the lacquer will not get on the inside of the padded
surface.
Without proper degreasing, you are wasting your time attempting to lacquer at
all.
Best wishes for Good repairs,
Gary FerRee, Repairman
Followup:
Martin sends a reply. "In fact, I do have access to professional spray equipment. What do you actually
use when you restore an old sax?"
Either nitrocellulose OR epoxy.
NC is applied in 3 or four coats as I described before*, the epoxy is a one
shot deal. You string the keys together and lacquer them, all at once. The
epoxy is good enough that you usually don't have to worry about burning it.
That is why you don't lacquer the keys, when using NC, until after you are done
with the flame work. We have both types, of course. The NC requires both
thinner and retarder to work. The epoxy requires both reducer and catalyst to
work AND an oven capable of sustaining a temperature of about 220F for 20
minutes or so. This cannot be approximate. A common baking oven varies way too
much. Because of this expense, many people stay with the NC and use several thin
coats. /Gary
*AGAIN: The body and keys are buffed and polished. The body and keys are degreased. The body gets
one coat of lacquer. The keys are corked, padded and assembled on the instrument. After regulation, the keys
are corked down and then the keys are cleaned up (Silvo and Q-Tips) and the fingerprints removed from both the keys and
body. Then, the whole instrument gets 2 or 3 more coats of lacquer. The final coat in mixed 50/50 with thinner
as a "bright" coat. After curing, likely the next day, the corking is removed and the horn again regulated to
make sure nothing has changed and to be sure it is still correct.
#4, Pad thickness and height off of tone holes, upper & lower stacks.
Dear Gary,"The pads were still too close."
The pad heights on the stepped end of the flute pad leveling tool has always worked for me. The smallest step is for the trills and the upper C, the middle step is for the stacks, and the largest step is for the foot joint pads.
"Also, could you tell me how to adjust height on f sharp and b flat key."
You can only adjust ONE WAY. The pads must hit the tone holes at the same time, THAT is the adjustment. TO make them all somewhat equal in the up position is a matter of physics, not anything that you can actually DO. The up-stroke stop, is the foot of the key where the foot corks are. They are there to remove lost motion ONLY and not for any meaningful adjustment. The down-stroke is stopped by the pad hitting the tone hole. You can't change that either. Just make it correct, so the pad doesn't leak air and the horn plays.
"I can raise them up if I adjust cork on f ,but then the f will be high in relation to the f sharp again. Or how can I raise the f sharp and b flat and then lower the f."
Adjust the key height of the lower stack FIRST. Get all four, including the F & F# correct. They have to hit tone holes exactly at the same time. You can sand the foot corks or bent the foot arm to remove lost motion. (This is for looks, mostly) Then, adjust the Bb within the confines of the F-F#, that has determined the limits. ALL must hit at the same time on the down-stroke. IT DOESN'T MATTER where the Bb winds up on the up stroke, it just establishes the height of the upper stack. It if winds up too low, you then raise THEM ALL (both stacks), what choice do you have? (Removing more material from the foot corks on the lower stack and following through to the Bb then to the related keys, mainly the A and thumb. The G is separate and can "blend" with the top and bottom stacks for looks. The leveling tool is a general opinion, not a law. If you look on the website, I give you a choice of THREE opinions on these various heights. Scroll to the bottom of the web page. Hot link provided.
http://www.ferreestools.com/charts_&_data.htm < This should take you there, if not, copy it and put in your browser. That should work.
NOTE: This is about a flute; Very similar to a
saxophone. The F, F#, Bb and upper stack CAN be made to work together on
some saxes, like the selmer ones and others with the removable and adjustable dog-bone
off of the F# key. You CAN actually change the relationship of movement
between the stacks
by locating the dog-bone closer of farther away from the hinge rod. It
may take a few tries, but it is well worth it if you have a fussy or finicky
player. When overhauling, I sometimes "marked" where is went.
#5, What's up with these screwed in springs?
Dear Gary, explain to me the Buescher springs I'm looking at.Thanks, Gaetano
Dear Gaetano,
Norton Springs for Buescher saxes are of the screw-in type. They are ALL the same size threads, (3-48) that screw into the post.
The first two digit number, is the diameter in music wire gauge; which differences are:
#08 = .024" wire
#12 = .028" wire
#16 = .036" wire
#20 = .046" wire
#24 = .064" wire
The second two digit number, is the length of the spring in millimeters.
I hope this clears up the confusion,
Gary FerRee, Repairman
#6, What about King's deviated pips?
Dear Gary,I just finished a 1925 silver King alto. I forgot to really look at the octave mechanism.
After finally figuring out how this thing goes together I noticed that the hole for the octave pip is off center, there would be no way the pad could completely cover it the way it comes down on it unless it was concave. I have a 30's King New Voll True, same there. What's the deal? Is it just supposed to partially cover the hole in the pip or is there a special pad or regulation technique I don't know about? Every other horn I've seen has the hole covered by the octave key pad. Any idea what the deal is?
Thanks, Fred
Dear Fred,
The King "pip deviation". Yes, I remember working on those back when first starting out.
You MAY need to offset (bend) the key to favor the "holed" side. Then you MAY want to thin a sax pad or use a bassoon pad (which is about 30 to 55 thousandths thinner) so you can tip it some, if it needs to be; tilting the pad in the cup or the cup itself so that the pad makes proper contact, straight up and down - similar to the Bb side key on a most clarinets or some of the palm keys on saxes and on the side Bb key of most saxes. Where it first hits and then kinda slides (if the hinge tube is loose) into place. Compendre'?
These things are not insurmountable. The original intent was to keep spit or saliva from "hanging" in them for a clearer sound. Supposedly, the spit wouldn't be able to get in them or if so, would constantly drain and not be a problem. As if it ever was!
Good to hear from you, Gary
Thanks Gary,
Getting back to the King pip issue; does it matter about the orientation of the hole? Couldn't I just swivel the pip so the hole is more accessible to the pad, or theoretically, even solder it shut and drill a straight one? This is probably more work than necessary to remedy this situation not to mention that it would only make sense to silver solder and then ruin the finish on the pip, but theoretically couldn't I do this?
P.I.T.A. Fred
Fred, those pips have been like that for over 60 years and they have never needed modification, until now! Take it from that. Theoretically, the hole should be aiming toward the North side of the hole; 'cause water don't run uphill. But, I could be not correct. If they look like they haven't been messed with, I would leave them alone.
But, It is your choice, Gary
#7, Lacquer and a few other questions
* I have a baritone that has some corrosion on the bell. I have cleaned them up with a buffing pad and now the problem is to get the color to match the part of the instrument that still has the original finish. What do you suggest?* If I am refinishing an entire instrument would you recommend epoxy or cellulose type finish
* Is the Epoxy more tricky to apply then the Cellulose?
* If you recommend epoxy do you have some kind of table that gives the quantity of epoxy finish to use for different brass instruments?
Thanks Steve
Dear Steve,
Answer #1, THAT is not going to happen. It is, and has been, physically impossible.
Answer #2, It depends on the facilities and equipment that you have and how much you want to spend on this project. At minimum, you need a spray room, a good sized air compressor, the equipment to keep the air dry, proper filtration, good spray gun and regulator system and if using epoxy, a good sized oven that can be controlled temperature wise very precisely. Nitro-cellulose is a little more forgiving, but takes all off three coats and must be mixed according to the weather. Rattle cans not included.
Answer #3, The only thing tricky about epoxy is you have to cover EVERYWHERE all in one coat, so your pattern is very important. I would suggest using nitro-cellulose for a while, to be able to develop a good coverage pattern.
Answer #4, There is no chart showing how much lacquer you will use of any type. It depends on your pattern, the overspray, and how long you hang out on the lever before you let off and stop the flow. Generally, you mix enough for THAT Day's use. Mixed epoxy has no shelf life, so to speak. AND you can NEVER LEAVE IT IN THE GUN. The gun must be cleaned 100% with every use, or you will be buying another gun each time you spray. Again, use nitro; learn how to take care of the equipment and the various procedures used before jumping to epoxy. The benefit of only having to use one coat is quickly lost by having to do things over for free. Additionally, you must bake on epoxy or it will craze and come off by itself very shortly.
With any lacquer, you must have an Approved DEGREASING SYSTEM or the lacquer will not stay on either.
Best wishes for Good repairs,
Gary FerRee, Repairman
#8, Frozen Rollers
Dear Gary,Got my order today, all looks good. Got another question;
the roller rods on this alto I'm working on are all seized, from the pinky keys to the Eb & C keys. I've tried soaking in corrosion breaker and penetrating fluids, no dice. I know there is a fix for hinge rods on posts, either taking the head side of the rod post off or cutting the head side of the rod, taking the hinge tube off and using pliers/vice grips to back the rod out, but, there ain't much room between the 2 sides of the spatula to even get the roller out after cutting the rod to do this, unless I bend it and possibly breaking the thread-side of the rod in the spatula... is this the only way to get these rods out?
Thanks, Fred
Dear Fred,
I'm sure ALL those methods have been tried with various levels of success. However, this is the way I did it after trying everything you already have.
I "crunched" the pearls (read that: broke them to smithereens, squeezing with pliers.) and then proceeded with the job of removing the rods. Oil, heat and grabbed the rod itself to unscrew it, if necessary. (I never liked making rods and usually, the "pearl" had grown or swelled up and in, too. You weren't going to save the pearl anyway. So, I just used a cellulose one or a hard rubber one to replace them.)
This way you SAVE the keys and the rods, which are most important. We sell 3 sizes of rollers.
Be patient, don't hurry, be firm and strong and the skill will develop, remember? Gary
#9, Valve Sizes
What is the correct size valve sleeve for a Bach 1530 model trumpet? .650 is just the tiniest bit too small, and I've got 3 bent or warped pistons.Thanks a lot! Matt
Tiniest bit??
The sizes I used to use all the time, when I was in the retail repair business in THIS area, were: .6375, .645, .647, .650, .651, .660, .661, .664, .665, .668, .682, .683, and .692.
The "standard" sizes are in bold. You will need dial calipers or micrometers to do this type of work. Model numbers and in some cases 'brand names', don't mean much. Mind you, I did not go out and buy all of these at once. But, they lasted about 40 years and then I sold them used for half the going rate to another guy. Your "tiniest bit" may dictate a: .651 or .660 or .661 or .664 maybe even a .665. ALL SIZES ARE IN INCHES. Measure! Gary
#10, Sax Rods
hello,i'm in search for a long rod screw which are used for saxophones, i.e.
for the left-hand keys (low B and Bb on an conn c-melody), does your
business provide such screws, are they available at least and where can
i find the right one??
please help me out ,
thanks a lot,
chris
Dear Chris,
Good news! You can make one. Any size you want. We stock 31 sizes of drill rod and have all the dies that manufacturers used to make the rods both American and Metric. Just be sure to leave a good reveal so the threads don't ride up. (Some guys forget the reveal) The rod is available in 2-18" or 1-36" lengths. The longer costs more to ship. You must measure the threads to know which die to buy so it will fit the existing post and no one will ever know it is not original. You must also measure the diameter of the rod it self to determine whether you want to install an oversized rod to take out for the wear on an older horn or use the 'stock' size and swedge the key for proper fitment. All that you need is on the website as far as size and costs go. http://www.ferreestools.com/ look under "woodwind tools" and you will see metric threaders and drill rod. For American dies, you will have to look in the catalog and use the email
for confirmation of prices. Since they haven't made a C-Melody in over 50 years and Conn has had over 3 owners; you can't buy such a part. You can hardly buy a part for something made last week. This is what true repairing is all about!
Best wishes and Good repairing,
Gary FerRee, Repairman
P.S. The investment to do this job is quite a bit. The time is about 20 to 40 minutes.
Here, that figures to about $25 to $50, just for the rod and not repairwork connected
with doing it. Like: Is the key bent?, does it need refitting?, Is it in proper adjustment
with related keys?, etc. G
#11, Mandrel
Hello,I bought a flute mandrel from you. Can you teach me how to remove dents from the flute head? Do I hammer it? With what tool?
Thanks for your time.
Ray
Dear Ray,
The mandrel is too expensive to hammer on for me, but, it is your choice.
Seriously, you can hammer, but I would use a rawhide hammer that has been softened, like for sax work, so as not to accidentally 'dent' the mandrel and making it so that it could transfer any knicks or dents onto another instrument.
Straight tapered tubes should NEVER be hammered upon.
Basically, it's exactly the same as doing a cornet or trumpet, etc. except, it is harder to do because the flute is nickel, which is harder to work with and it is thicker, which adds to its mass. Just do it the same way you would any brass tube and you will be fine. Some use rollers and some use burnishers; and some, like me, use the edge of the mandrels end as the radius of a ball. Your choice; as the feel is for personal preference.
Best wishes and Good repairs,
Gary FerRee, Repairman
#12, Getting started!
Hi Gary,Once again, I appreciate your help!
As I mentioned during our phone conversation, I would like to get into woodwind repair with a fairly minimal investment (at least at first). I'm nearing retirement after 33 years as a public school music teacher. I've been fairly successful replacing pads (on saxophones), and regulating the key adjustments. That's pretty much all I've done so far. One of my concerns is knowing how to use the tools properly.
So, I would like to limit my repair work (at first, at least) to flutes and alto and tenor saxophones.
Thanks for your suggestions and thanks so much for your time,
Alan
Dear Alan,
Well, you may as well include clarinets in your
repertoire, they are all so similar.
I always started new employees on flutes. A flute encompasses
everything that is involved in repairing woodwinds and more. It has 3 pads that are
glued in and floated into levelness, like a clarinet and the rest of them are
bolted in solid where the pad cup must be bent to bring the pad into levelness,
like a saxophone. While it is true that the sax pads are glued in and can be humored
using the shellac to make them perfect; they are primarily managed with
bending.
The only additional expense will be the pads themselves which are very
economical. (cheap in the scheme of things) Please read the little tutorials on
our webpage, it may be found at: http://www.ferreestools.com/ click on
"Back to Basics", then click "Woodwinds", then go fish.
You use the same screwdrivers, spring pliers, swedging pliers,
hammers, etc. on all these instruments. There are, of course, some specialty
tools, but you can determine your need for them later.
As far as pads, I would use B31 white or B26 yellow Flute pads (.114" thick) as a
general rule, and the New B7 or B8 for a .098" thin pad depending on the color
you want, white or yellow. All of the flute pads mentioned here are needle felt
for lasting regulation, enhanced endurance and professional feel.
What is professional feel? Firm and solid, not mushy and tentative!
Lasting regulation! The regulation lasts longer because the felt is not
mushy and changeable. Enhanced endurance due to the thicker, less moved
skin. (due to the needle felt)
The B52 and
B53 sax pads would be my choice there. They look like what's being used on most
instruments being manufactured today and for some time now. They are .160" and .185" thick,
respectively. You need both, because both are being used and there are a lot of
older horns out there that are not going to be thrown away, because many of them
are better that what is being produced today! They intermix when necessary and are undetectably different when
installed. The clarinet is best served with the B21 med. thick pad. This pad
fits most instruments built today, and with a little extra shellac can fit some
older ones that required a thicker pad. It is "double skin" for endurance and
quietness (less krinkly sound). Double skin in this case does not mean two
skins, it is a traditional term meaning a skin about 50% thicker. The above
mentioned pads will give you the most trouble free installation and use.
Of course, that is my personal opinion going back to 1954, Gary
P.S. Aside from your basic hand tools and pads, you are going to need springs; flat and round and stainless and bronze.
From now on - Most every thing else adds up FA$T. And, when you need THEM, price won't
matter. G
Thank you very much, Gary!!!
I appreciate the time you took to do this.
Respectfully,
Alan
#13, The P61 Bearing Plate Tool
I have just received the P61 which was left out of my original order. I apologize for my probable ignorance but, I am stumped as to how this is used as rotor bearing plate expander. Is it the right tool? If so, how does it work?? If not, what is it? My quick search through the 2001 catalogue failed to spot it.Many thanks, Rob
Dear Rob,
The P61 is a fairly new tool that is not in the 2001 Green catalog.
(It is however, in the New 2003 White Catalog Addendum.)
We have had this tool in production about 6 months but, it was developed and has been used by John Huth, of Red Wing Repair School
and a Yamaha repair consultant, for several years. It is also
very easy to use, once you see how.
The rectangular rod with the wheel at one end, is the "pressure
applicator". The cylinder with the tapered, triangular or pyramid like
indentation on one end is the bearing plate holder. The indentation allows room
for the bearing trunion to fit into the fixture.
You put the bearing into the fixture and lightly tighten the
Allen screw, which centers the bearing in the fixture. The fixture may be
mounted in a lathe or bench motor. After everything is secure, spin the mounted
fixture and at the same time apply pressure to the outer edge of the bearing by
pushing the pressure wheel against the bearing. It doesn't take much pressure
to compress the brass making the bearing larger to fit tighter into the valve
casing. Try this method in small steps. It is a "hand fit" type procedure. If
you go too far - and you probably will the first few times until you develop a
feel for the job. When you do, just mount the bearing plate back in the fixture with the
outer face toward the fixture and lightly smooth the reveal edge with a fine
file or a fine file with some 600 grit Emory paper doing the actual cutting.
Once again, it doesn't take much and is a hand fit situation. The methodology
of this system is that it keeps every thing moving on center. It works very
well, but don't get in a rush or become impatient. You can do perfect work with
this tool and your skill. You can accomplish a like new fit with a little
effort, where before you had a junk instrument.
Best wishes and Good repairs,
Gary FerRee,
Repairman
Hi Gary,
Ah……. All is clear now!!! I had it in my head
that it’s function was to expand the spindle bearing (against overdoing the
P60!!) rather than the bearing plate. But this makes much more sense
doesn’t it?
I apologize for my ignorance. I am a pro Horn player
in a large city where all the pro brass players use the repairers 2000 miles away.
I am focusing mainly on Horn work at present. You'd be surprised how many
players cannot restring their own valves. I started doing simple things and then set up to do
‘servicing’, as there is nowhere here to even get a chemical clean. I have recently purchased a
few things from you and have been practicing how to remove dents
and do solders on a couple of junk instruments and I am now starting to get jobs in from various places
including pros, schools and amateurs and I am gradually expanding my repertoire of repairs
with very happy results!
I have been very fortunate to have the assistance of several people via e-mail, including Stuart De Haro and
David Laws, who have been very generous in sharing their knowledge with me and answering any stupid questions
I might have. I have a copy of the Erick Brand book and I also found your ‘FIRST’ Brass Bench list very
helpful in selecting the tools I felt would be of use to me in my plans. I am very quick to ask my
‘mentors’ if I am not sure and if I needed to practice the repair on an old instrument first.
I always reserve the right to not do a job if I am uncertain of my ability!!
I realize that this is not the best way to learn the skills needed but I have no other way of doing it. My
colleagues have been very encouraging and I recently I used my P56 to remove a long series of
dents (about 6 inches worth) from below the finger hook on our 2nd horn player’s instrument, which was very
successful and he is very pleased with the results.
Thanks again for your assistance, Rob
Dear Rob,
No need to apologize, I can't play a French horn!
It is important to remember when stringing to have the strings not touch, as that increases wear, etc. They
work, but try to have them not touch. We call that "string over" or "string under" as to where the strings
wind up. Or, you can bend the levers. Another "trick" is to bring the
string out from under the coil when going around the string screws. This
"locks" the string in place both on the stop arm and on the adjusting screw at
the end of the lever. If you don't come out "under" the entering portion of the
string; the screw can tend to "push" the string outward from the screw. You
probably already figured these things out, but on the off chance they may have
been giving you trouble, here you are.
I know Stuart DeHaro and highly regard David Laws, having attended
several of his clinics over the years. You have excellent council. Of course,
you can always refuse service, but you may be loosing out on a great learning
experience. That is how you gain the experience everyone wants you to already
have. "I can fix anything I repair", should become your motto.
One of my students once told me, "You didn't teach me how
to repair band instruments, you taught me how to THINK ABOUT repairing
band instruments." I think this is important!
Approach every job with these things in mind; 1) I have to fix this so
the next guy won't have any extra problems because of what I did; because, the next
guy might be me. 2) Whatever I do, it should be invisible; no one, maybe even
me, should be able to see what I've done because, the best repair is an invisible
repair. 3) Patience, Common Sense and my Accumulated Skill will
bail me out on this.
You will be fine. There is no
test for ambition or desire, only aptitude.
Do not hesitate to communicate, Gary FerRee
P.S. You may mount the bearing into the fixture either way, but keep in
mind that you want to apply pressure on the thicker part to make the overall diameter
larger. The thin part does not play into the fitting, it is just a stop; to keep
the bearing from inserting too far into the casing.
If you create a burr on the reveal edge, it will give you a false
reading. Make sure you remove any burr before you test fit the bearing into the
casing. Move
slow when making these fitments. G
#14, Stuck tubes
Dear Richard,
This is Gary in Germany. Many repairmen have had very good luck with the corrosion cracker type oil we handle. I also suggest removing the valves and flowing some inside where it can also attack from the other end. After soaking, if not loose, I carefully apply some heat, but not to burn the lacquer, if that is a consideration.
As a last resort, after trying the special tuning slide pulling pliers, I will disassemble the slide by pulling the crook from the connection ring and either inserting a slide solder rod or a dent ball and use pliers with or without protection on the connection ring at using heat and the pliers, without breaking the horn apart, work the slide out a little at a time, until I can safely drive it out with the pliers, with or without heat, safely.
There are many things to consider when doing complex jobs like this. Do you want to sacrifice the connection ring or not? Keep your eye peeled for any sign of distortion of the brass so you don't break any thing. In all cases like this, it requires skill and LUCK.
Best wishes and Good repairs,
Gary FerRee, Repair consultant
#15, missing keys
Dear Seeker,
Even if you knew who made this instument, it probably wouldn't do any good. This type horn is usually a stencil made for a distributor with no thought of repair or parts support, or concern for the repairman. (As a general rule, a horn named after a woman or a bird, fits this category)
About the only thing a repairman can do in this instance is to refit a key from an older discarded, wornout or severely damaged horn that is similar in construction and where this particular type key is salvageable. (Ex. teetertoter F# vs. wraparound F#.)
You may have to unsilversolder it, change certain relation ships for position and location, then re silversolder it, but all saxophones are NOT that much different. This is how we fixed them when I started out 50 years ago this month. This type repair is NO BIG DEAL!
Now that all these oriental horns are coming in with no parts support, we all will have to go back to really being repairmen again and stop being parts replacement artists. As far as costs go, the owner has that responsibility. It is not the responsibility of the repairman to make repairs for less than they actually cost. The owner makes that decision when they make the initial purchase, whether a used on or a cheap new one. "It will cost X number of dollars to fix this for you Mrs. Smith and I wish it was a better horn to work on, too. That way I could do it quicker and at less cost for you."
Sympathize with your customer and help them out. They will come back. Suggest they take it back where they bought it IN A NICE WAY so that they will come back to you later. Do not give them a reason not to come back. "If they can't help you Mrs. Smith, bring it back and I will try to help you." Do not boycott the repair, but make the price high enough that YOU do not lose money on it. If you do, you are working for the one who sold it, and out of your own pocket. That is like subsidizing your competition. I always charged more if the instrument was not sold in my shop. In the auto business they call that a "Lot Pack". Every unit must pay a share of your operating expense, whether it was bought from you or not.
Good luck and do not obligate yourself to lose money!
Best wishes and Good repairs, Gary FerRee, repair consultant
#16, tool limits
#17, economical ordering
First, thank you for your wonderful assortment of tools and supplies, and your prompt service. I've been a hobbyist since I was 12 (I'm 49 now!), and recently turned semi-pro to supplement my regular job. Your company has been a great help in this endeavor.But, (you knew it was coming!) I have a minor complaint. I have ordered your B211 clarinet pad assortment twice, and I am mystified as to how you choose the sizes. Out of two assortments, I have only been able to fit six Bb clarinets with a complete set of pads. The assortments have no shortage of small & large - actually, too small and too large - what clarinet uses a 5mm or an 18.5mm pad? But the midrange sizes (8, 8.5,9,10.5,11mm) are a very short. Considering the price, I'd be better off ordering sets!
I usually do name brand Bb student horns (Bundy, Buffet, Noblet, always wood), and have considered ordering the 500 pad assortment, but if the size distribution is the same, it wouldn't pay. I know it is possible to order by size, but don't want to measure every horn. Is there a better way for me to order pads?
Thank you, Garry
Dear Garry,
I believe you are the first person to ever complain about
the mix of our assortment(s). But, if you stop to think about it, there is an
old saying that you cannot have your cake and eat it, too. Here is why.
The assortments were made to give those who order them a complete
assortment of known usable sizes. That way they wouldn't be missing that
elusive pad for some noname, unbranded, "weird" or imported horn. That said,
yes, there are probably sizes that you, fixing only certain horns will never
use. So, yes again, YOU ARE RIGHT, you should either order sets that you have
confirmed the sizes of, or better yet,
order sizes you know you are going to use in dozens or hundreds.
What I usually do with a new person is ask which horns they find most
common in their area and then buy the number of dozens to make 12 sets. That
way if there is only one of a size, like 7.0mm then they would only get a dozen
of them. Likewise, if they used nine 9.5mm, they would get 9 dozen 9.5mm, and
so on. That way they know that even though they will use different amounts of
different pads for repair purposes, they will eventually use ALL of the pads
they purchased. If, however, they get in an odd horn they will not have the
proper sized pad to fit. So, I would only buy an assortment ONCE. From that I
would determine my usage, reorder appropriately and that way I should be pretty
well set overall.
I also usually recommend that when we make sets, they order at least
one set 1/2mm over and one 1/2mm under to take care of damaged or other odd
occurrences. This seems to work pretty well also. There is more than one way
to skin a cat. I personally don't trust any book or recipe, so I always
recommend that the customer measure all the pad cups in the horns they are going
to be fixing. Of course, then it gets down to their particular method of
fitting the pads in the cups. Do they like them totally inclusive or with a
slight reveal? Some like to balance them for float. This again is usually
finalized by the 1/2 over and under preparedness. A few extra pads here and
there isn't going to break any one and in many cases they will find a use in
some capacity. It's better to hav'em and not need'em than to need'em and not
hav'em.
The clarinet pads start at 6.5mm and go up to 20mm. I personally
recommend the double skinned pads (a traditional term, they are a single skin
about 1.5 times thicker than normal) because they don't "crinkle" so much and seem
to be quieter in playing, as well as providing a "little" more endurance. As
far as thickness; MOST horns use the med.thick, nowadays. Some LeBlanc products
in the not too distant past used thicker ones, but the med.thick with a little
extra shellac took care of them without too much trouble. It is a matter of
personal taste. Some do it one way, others buy thicker pads in anticipation of
one of the older horns coming in.
So, in answer to your last question, Yes, there is a better way to
order pads. Order what you are going to use most of the time, and special order
for those odd situations when they happen. If it is an odd horn, the customer
shouldn't mind you taking the extra time to give them $pecial $ervice and may
appreciate you even more!
Best wishes and Good repairs, Gary
Gary,
Thank you very much for the information. I wish your advice was in the
catalog - it says "**CAUTION** Try to avoid ordering pad sets" in
several places. Between this warning and the admonitions that pad sets might
not fit, I figured the assortment was the way to go. I will definitely use your
method on my next order!
Thanks again,
Garry
#18, the new F20
Hi,I got my F-20 flute pin knocker-outer from you yesterday, thanks. I was wondering what all the parts are for? What is the allen wrench for? I see two allen wrench screws in the back of the F-20, but they're just rusty holes as far as I can detect.
Would you mind giving me the skinny on using this thing, as well as telling me what all the parts are? Thanks.
If a "third hand" was included, where is it? What does it look like? How does it work? I think I read an account of sorts on your site but, I can't find it among all the other non-flute clutter.
Thanks a million, Ross
Dear Ross,
First, the "third hand" is the fact that you no longer
have to hold the pin driver in place as before because all the new ones have a
spring mechanism to hold the pin for you. That is what the Allen wrench is for;
adjusting the pressure of the third hand. Look at the pictures of the F20 on the website, again. The upper hole in the back, is
where the Allen that pushes the spring that pushes the ball that pushes the
driver is located. Clear? The lower hole is for assembly use. What
you are referring to as rust may have been a reaction between the rust
preventative and oxide finish before drying.
Now, all those parts. First, there are the three anvils. They allow
the pins to be knocked out without loosing them. Two are tubular, a tall one
and a short one, to be able to get in and around the key that you are working on
when the pin is on part of the hinge tube.
The third is a lead (soft metal, rhymes with bed, not seed) anvil that
allows you to push the pin that sticks through part of the key where an arm is
silversoldered. Like the F# pad at the top of the bottom stack, or the one or
two on the top stack. You usually have to use a different one to put the pin
back in than the one you took it out with, as you are using the other side of
the key for that part of the job.
The three drivers are: one pointed, one flattened and one dimpled.
You use these as necessary to either put a pin IN or knock a pin OUT. I hope
this is all clear for you.
Best wishes and Good repairs, Gary FerRee
#19, spring interchange
Dear Gary,You once told me that stainless steel springs were not a direct replacement for blued steel springs. Is there a formula or rule of thumb to help decide what to use when making a changeover? I noticed this inquiry on Delphi and this person seems to be having the same problem. Can you shed some light?
Thank you, Nan
"The original spring was blued steel. I replaced it with a stainless steel
spring of the same diameter. The original was sharply bent in the middle;
I bent the new one from the post -- a lot. It still wasn't right." Sydney
Dear Nan,
I'm afraid there is no rule or formula. However, I have
observed that when I used a stainless spring in place of a blued one that I had
to drill the post and use one about .005" or .006" oversized just to be equal to
the pressure but, still it didn't have the 'Snap' that you get with blued ones.
Although I never tried it, it seems to me that going larger yet would gain you
some 'Snap'. Don't forget to file out the spring hook for the larger diameter so
it doesn't "catch" in the hook, this can effect the action greatly also.
Be sure to chamfer the radii of the hook pocket to further reduce the potential
drag. Why don't you try it on a junker and let me know the results?
Nice hearing from you, Gary
On further thinking; where the spring is bent has some effect
on the tension as well. Bending the spring in the middle makes it a little
stiffer because you now have two shorter straight lengths which are stronger in
proportion. But, it looks bad. Bending from the post works better if,
the spring has been properly annealed; that is, only
being annealed about
half way thru the
post. If it is annealed too close to the working side or beyond, you
would be trying to use the annealed portion as a spring, and that simply will not
work.
The bend close to the post {1/16" (1.5mm) to 1/8" (3mm)}
will work and doesn't look odd. I would also check and see if the spring
was binding from rubbing on the body or the post flange and that the post is not
turning in the body and putting pressure on the key/rod assembly causing it to
bind. Additionally, I would check to make sure the spring hook was not in
any way affecting the movement of the spring.
#20, using shellac, again
Gary,Most probably I will not shout to the high heavens about the advantages of using the amber shellac when installing saxophone pads. However, on this day I just repadded my 3rd saxophone, since our last visit of less than a month ago.
Damn, Gary, why have I abandoned this method I learned from you and Cliff years and years ago? Makes no never mind at this point. These last three jobbies have renewed my faith towards using amber shellac. How enjoyable now, to be able to nurse a pad into health (levelness) with so much ease.
There is now, in my opinion, no comparison of this shellac approach as compared to the oft referred to "hot melt" glues represented by many. Just had to express my opinion.
Later, Pat
Dear Pat,
Thanks for the kind words. Welcome Home! I have never understood why folks would go for
something just because it is different or new. It was okay, but I never thought it was as good as stick
shellac.
I remember the good
old days with Dick Rush and George Jameson, the double reed twins. George gave me
a slug of some of his "milk carton glue" at one of the conventions, back when he first
started using it. (I'm sure he thought it was better, at least on bassoons.)
Anyhow, he gave me a large
Polish sausage sized hunk of it that he had formed in his oven and I took it home and used it over
the next several months, on and off; it was a big piece. There were
pluses and minuses.
When I used it up I then went back to using the amber shellac.
Why? No reason to change. It may have been almost as good but not
better. I usually only change if something is better.
That was in the 80's and I haven't seen anything better even up to now.
Great to hear
from you, Gary
{Another 2 weeks goes by}
Gary,
Did another alto sax yesterday using the stick shellac. Man, I am hooked!
Later....
Pat
#, screws and rods
hello,i have one of your catalogs in my hands. and maybe im missing the page but maybe you can help me out.. i have a frank holton alto saxophone.. im fixing to repad it soon, but one thing is stopping me.. the longest screw on the right side (side your right hand plays on) that goes down thru one section of the arms.. the head is past the point to where i can't use a screwdriver any longer.. so my best bet would probably drill it out from top n the bottom.. but heres the thing, i dont know where i can get another screw rod at. i do know its 10 1/2" long and probably is the longest screw on the altos' do you sell these screw rods? or know where i can get one at? i would appreciate hearing from you
Lee
Dear Lee,
There is NO WAY you can drill out the rod in any amount without messing up the horn. That
is not the way a repair man would attack such a job. I can tell you how, but then maybe you
still would be unable to do it; due to lack of tooling, supplies and basic repair method.
First, you cannot buy a new rod for this 50 year old relic. You must make one or have one
made. I would guess to remove the old one and build a new one, a tech would use up most of
$100. It is time consuming and NOT a money maker.
If I were doing it, I would unsolder the post off the body (never mind the silver or
lacquer, the finish is not the issue. Besides, the fault for disturbing the finish goes to
the person who let it get in this condition, not the person fixing it!) and then grab the
stub end and unscrew it, if it will unscrew at this point. I would most likely put penetrating
oil on ALL the key to key and key to post seams along the stack as well as at the threaded end
post.
If it would not unscrew at this point, I would attempt removal of the threaded post by
heating up the solder at the body and twisting the post at the same time trying to break
loose the rod in the above keys or by turning the post the opposite direction unscrewing the
post off the rod with the extra leverage obtained by separating the post from the body.
One or both sides of the post flange will be damaged by now due to the rotation. And who is
to blame, CORRECT! The person who let it get into this condition. By now we have used up at
least $50.
IF the rod has now loosened we may be able to extract it from the remaining keys and posts
with more heat, more oil and more swearing and cursing. The other things that can be damaged
in this process are the springs and some of the other posts and some keys even.
If we are lucky, and this now comes apart, we can proceed to measure and make a new rod
after purchasing the proper die to match the threads in the post and procurring the correct
sized drill rod from which to make the new rod.
After the new rod is made, the post flanges kind of made to look like they did and reassembling
the stack (after removing the springs from the posts we are going to resolder) we can proceed
to resolder the posts to the body after proper surface prep.
Disassemble and clean the areas soldered. Spot finish if possible and you are done.
Oh,
the horn will not play yet, of course. It still must be repaired as if none of this other
damage caused by improper care had happened. But I am sure we have used up the FIRST $100 by now.
The next, who knows how much, will have to include two new springs which were unavoidably annealled in
the UNSOLDERING stage. If you have the facility to due the above work, you will not have any
trouble doing the actual repair.
If you are a repairman I would give an estimate of at least $150 for the above and explain
in advance all that will be involved before proceeding. If you are a novice, I hope you can
find a technician who will even take a job such as this.
Best wishes and Good repairs, Gary FerRee, repair tech
Gary,
thanks for the tips and all of the advice... i'd be sure to find a good technican around -
now that i know what it all involves. i sure do thank you.... it was very helpful...
Lee
#, interior cleaning
Dear Mr. Ferree;Hello from Puerto Rico in the Caribbean. I'm a trumpeter of the western area of the island.
My problem is that my two Benge trumpets have some rot or green "fungi" in the lead pipe. I'm planning to buy a small drum and chemical powder to clean completely the instruments. Personally, it worry me because I feel very proud to have all my instruments very well cleaned.
There's only a few of this rot in the lead pipes. The first one trumpet an USA Benge of 1987, I remember that when it arrives have some marks inside the pipe, I think that was residues of welding. The other one an 1976 L.A. Benge have same. I cleaned with degreaser and a brush with warm water and the problem does not resolve this few fungi or rot is still there.
Could you recommend me something to delay this process?
My respect to you and very Thankful; Felix
Dear Felix,
Once the "rot" is visible on the outside it is apparently thru the tube, although a very small hole.
It is too late to "prevent" it, but you could stop more.
Most trumpet players I know just put a few
drops of valve oil down the mouthpipe each time before they play it; that coats the inside with an
oily film that helps prevent anything from sticking to the bore and providing a place for a hole to start.
As far as cleaning the pipe out on a regular basis, what you have done sounds okay.
A solvent and a brush
would loosen and remove most things, water would loosen up sugars and generally any remnants would
then be
washed out. I think this is about all you can hope for.
You don't mention whether they are silver plated
or lacquered. You must watch that you don't remove the lacquer in your cleaning.
Too hot or too cold of
water may crack the lacquer and provide a place for it to start removing. Silverplate holds up better for
this purpose. As far as patching the "holes" caused by the rot, patching with brass patches, neatly soldered,
is standard and then "spot" lacquered. I have used silversolder in overhaul
situations; both these on
lacquered horns. On silverplate, a nickel patch, neatly applied, is hardly noticeable
and no lacquering is
necessary as the tarnished nickel looks close to silverplate.
Or, if you want to get by quickly, just apply a little clear fingernail polish over the cleaned
'rot spot'
and reapply as necessary to your own satisfaction.
Best wishes and Good repairs, Gary FerRee, repair technician
#, valve basics
Hello,I have a trumpet that has two valve holes that appear to be non-true. The valves do not freely go into the valve hole. All of the valves go freely into the valve hole that appears to be good. Do you have a way to repair this type of problem?
Thanks, Karl
Dear Karl,
If by "valve hole" you mean the valve casing (cylinder part), then you
would most likely use an N58 valve mandrel of the proper size for the instrument you are working
on. To order, we would need the brand (mark) of the instrument and the size (the diameter of the
piston (valve). It also helps if we know the size of the casing. This does assume that the
valve came in the horn that you are working on. If there has been a wrong replacement of bad
repair, this would change things.
You may also need to use an N28 valve sleeve to check and correct the
straightness of the piston. Sometimes you can check them by putting them in one of the other
holes, er, casings.
If you are referring to the indexing of the air passage holes thru the
valve, there is not a lot you can do about that, except to find the proper valves. If it is made
"off index", it is a defect. You can spend a lot of un-rewarded time working on something like
that. If it is only .010" (.25mm) you can probably carve (using an E39 or E40) the metal of the piston,
opening the port to align a little better, but I would check the alignment first and compare it and the general character of the valve
with the others. As a repair, this is best not done.
In using the N58 mandrel to straighten the casing, after checking for
obvious faults, you force the mandrel into the casing all the way, then "shock" the mandrel by
sharply striking the ends of the mandrel with a rawhide or leather hammer at the angle that aligns
with the port tubing intersections. That would be two ways for each tube.
Some reparaturs use a wood or metal hammer with success. I use leather
90% of the time and brass the rest. I do not want to injure the tool. So, the
tool will be hit in about 6-8 directions all tolled. Two for the intersections of the port
between the valves, two for the bell or mouthpipe ports, and two each for the valve slide ports,
if different. (The N28 valve sleeve is used in similar fashion, using the "vibrations" to
burnish the piston straight.)
I hope this has been helpful. And, I hope you understand the
mechanical principle I am trying to describe. Basically, you are making the mandrel 'vibrate'
or "ring like a bell" and it removes all the little invisible imperfections that cause a valve
to drag. Additionally, it seems as though the "vibrations" cause the casing to straighten due
to the vibrations along the mandrel. I "hammer" the mandrel very briskly with the sides of the
hammer, (more of a "whipping" action) not the working surface. That way, I do not have
to be so precise and chance less damage if I should miss. I have used this method for over 35
years. There is no removal of metal,
and no premature wear.
Best wishes and Good repairs, Gary FerRee
#, bent sax dent
Hello GaryThe bell which is attached to the main body by way of a ring is moving when i push it. You told me that a Selmer Mark 6 tenor is not made for a novice to try repairing. But is there any safe, even temporary step that i could take to minimize this fault?
Further down there is a detached foot on the low e-flat bumper that needs to be re-soldered. Would you recommend a 40 watt soldering iron for the job or A GLUE TO HOLD IT FOR A WHILE?
Richard
Dear Richard,
Yes, this is pretty standard on Selmer saxes. (the moving of the ring holding the body to the
bell/bow section) Since I am not there I will point at two things it may be.
First, it is possible that the ring is too big. If it is, in fact the
ring, remove the ring and either file with a flat E29 or E29A tone hole file the threaded side
of where the ring screws together. Or, if you're "good", you can carefully use the small band
sander with the metal backing plate using a fairly aggressive grit like 240 or 180.
Test the
result on a similar piece of brass to better predict your result. Be very careful that you do not allow
the piece to catch; you could mess up the piece and perhaps loose some skin in the process.
If in doubt, use the file method!
DO NOT GO TOO FAST OR TOO FAR, IT GOES QUICK! AND IT GETS
HOT! (Can burn the lacquer!)
Do not open up the ring any more than you have to, to do this, either way.
With this technique you can periodically check your progress by screwing the ring together and
observing that you are staying parallel to the opposing flange. It will not take
much removal
to make the ring smaller enough to be tight again.
Lastly, using an E39 or E40 triangular scraper, remove any flash that
may have been created by burnishing all effected edges of the flange so that no one can be
injured by any sharp edges or slivers. The first movement could be a 'back cutting' move, (so as
not to carve) followed by a near parallel move for an actual burnish.
Second, and maybe you should check this FIRST. It is possible that the
ring has "swedged" the body where it touches. After all, there are just two small edges doing
all the squeezing. If this is the case, use a long straight rod with a round ball on the end
(like an N74 or N31 and an N80D ball of the proper diameter) and "raise" the lowered or
"squwoozen" area back up to where it started life. The ring can start all over again.
This
would be preferable to the above job.
You did not mention that the body and bow joint was loose, some of the
old ones weren't soldered. ALL SAXES SHOULD BE SOLDERED HERE! Epoxy glues, no matter how good
they are, will fail; properly damaged. However, you can epoxy it if you wish since you are doing the job.
Here is a little lesson on
epoxies. The longer it has to set, the stronger it will be. The faster it sets, the weaker it
is. '24 hour' will always be stronger than '5 or 10 minute'. You can make up your own rules, but
this will be the result.
Now, as to the soldering on the body. You mentioned the Eb guard foot
flange. This cannot be soldered with any electric resistance type solder gun satisfactorily.
The heat that they generate is not centered or focused enough. They will try to heat up way to
big an area and most likely won't get hot enough, and if they did; other things would start
falling off.
So, that leaves you learning how to solder with a TORCH.
This is not hard to master. The 'trick' is to heat the larger part just
enough to transfer the
heat to the small part and the solder melt between them, using the solder as the heat gauge.
The method here would be, slightly darkening the room so you can SEE where the flame is going
AFTER IT LEAVES THE SCENE OF THE CRIME. It should go off harmlessly to an area where there is
no spring, felt, pad or lacquer to be damaged. A damp rag or other heat shield may be used or
sometimes just changing your angle of attack (torch angle) can fix this.
This particular case kind of breaks the rule or trick we just mentioned.
Here, not wanting to burn the lacquer much, if at all: you are going to heat the
body THRU the flange. This is tricky! You will burn ALL the lacquer
off the flange but, if you are careful, you shouldn't effect the body
much. WATCH THE FLAME.
REMEMBER, the person responsible for the burning of the lacquer,
IS THE ONE who broke the flange off the instrument so that they had to bring it TO YOU.
Maybe, we should have a sign on the wall explaining this concept. It would
save a lot of uninformed conversations. Lacquer Burns!
You can use 60/40 solder for this.
You can use ribbon solder or take your dent hammer and flatten
some of what ever you have for an inch or so. Keep testing the temperature of the metal
WITH THE SOLDER by periodically touching the solder to the brass while the torch is not.
Do not leave the torch "ON THE SPOT" or YOU will have things falling off.
Wave the torch at the chosen spot to gently heat it up and you may not even burn
the lacquer. Practice on something else similar, if necessary. Another exercise is
building a tower of solder an inch or two tall on the side of a piece of brass tubing.
This will teach you heat control.
There is basically only ONE RULE for a successful solder job. The areas to be
soldered MUST BE ABSOLUTELY CLEAN. Sanded, if you have room I suppose.
BUT, I prefer to scrape the areas with an E39 or E40. You can scrape very
precisely.
On the flange, not only the soldered face but, the corner edge around the flange as well,
Not all the side, just maybe a 45 degree drag as if to burnish. That way when you solder,
the solder won't climb up the flange side. And the clean-up will be easier.
I hope this is all clear, a good thing is you can read it more than once. If I had told you
this, it would be easily forgotten.
By the way, You must use solder flux, preferably liquid with an eyedropper or pipette.
Or the solder won't stick even if the metal is clean. The stuff we sell, I have used for
years and you don't need much at a time.
It also provides strength if you use it as a coolant, because it only half-cools and won't
crystallize the tin in the solder.
Making for a stronger joint. You can do the final clean with water. Or if you don't want to cool with the flux, I saw them using a "mist-er" set-up at YAMAHA when I was at their seminar.
May have been a spray cleaner bottle. But the misting didn't quick-cool
the joints and it did clean as well. I guess it is just what you get used too.
My best to you and Good repairs, Gary FerRee