first repair

[wavygravy]

just made my first home repair....i bought a gear4music alto from ebay for ?80...only 3 months old....it plays really well apart from one problem i found..the small piece of cork that stops the G# key from depressing to far was missing....i didnt know where to buy cork sheeting but it turns out that B&Q sell cork floor tiles ...the thickness was perfect..i just just a small piece almost circular with scissors then filed it to the right shape and size with smooth emery cloth...now comes the potential problem...i have glued it in with contact adhesive...will this last or is there a better glue to use

Steve Howard i aint but it is kind of satisfying to have a go yourself.

neil

btw..the floor tile was 30p from the tat shelf...i reckon theres enough lleft over for about 500 G# keys

 

[jonf]

Isn't it satisfying? I've done this on a number of instruments over the years. I always use contact adhesive, and I can't think of a repair that's come unstuck.

 

[sharon]

It is satisfying and especially so for a girl 😉 I usually use a sliver of red wine cork and a tiny dab of superglue. Get stuck to the sax every time but so far I've always managed to pry myself off 😛

Sharon

 

[phil_edwards]

sharon wrote:
It is satisfying and especially so for a girl 😉 I usually use a sliver of red wine cork and a tiny dab of superglue. Get stuck to the sax every time but so far I've always managed to pry myself off 😛

Sharon

I can hear it now Sharon "I think some of the corks on the sax might be coming loose, I'll open another bottle of wine just in case..."

Phil

 

[wavygravy]

wine corks...why didnt i think of that....any excuse for wine is ok with me

neil

 

[Col9]

Wine corks are great, I repaired a "vintage" Suffolk Punch lawnmower for someone once. The clutch went and wine corks came to the rescue. A ring of them 5mm thick inside the clutch housing made a perfect repair.

the things you learn eh!

Col.

 

[sharon]

Phil Edwards wrote:

I can hear it now Sharon "I think some of the corks on the sax might be coming loose, I'll open another bottle of wine just in case..."

Phil

:laugh: Yes, I have quite the collection at the moment 😉 The other use for wine corks is an odd one. I still have real problems getting low B/Bb and read somewhere that you can put corks in the bell of the sax as this makes it easier. So I thought why not ......and blow me, it worked 😱 . Something to do with reducing the volume of the instrument so my engineering husband tells me. Wonder if anyone else has heard of this.

Oh, apologies for going off topic.

Sharon

 

[suethesax]

sharon wrote:
It is satisfying and especially so for a girl 😉 I usually use a sliver of red wine cork and a tiny dab of superglue. Get stuck to the sax every time but so far I've always managed to pry myself off 😛

Sharon

I'm liking your style 🙂

 

[fourears]

If you want cheap cork look no further than your local model shop. People who play with train sets use it for laying track on and it comes as 1/32", 1/16" and 1/8" in sheets of 2x3 ft usually though you can get it in smaller sheets. You can also get it on ebay.

As an example I got a 2x3ft piece of 1/32" from my local model shop for about ?2.40.

 

[saxismyaxe]

The one thing to keep in mind when looking for suitable cork is that it must be compressed to function properly over the long haul.

Some sheet cork found in Hobby, DIY, Arts and Crafts stores etc. isn't compressed enough to work for neck corks, keywork cork etc. Over time, it becomes so spongy that your adjustments will be WAY off.

Wine bottle cork is often sufficiently compressed, dense, and stable to be useful if Music Instrument grade cork is unavailable.

Instrument grade synthetic cork works extremely well and is very stable too.

 

[jools]

oh.. and B&Q sell cork already cut into small circles (they're for ornaments - as feet, I understand) and they have adhesive backing so good for emergency repairs. Find them under "hardwear" they come in sizes as small as 5mm.