how big is your LH table key?

[oldcorollas]

Hi Everyone,,
How big is your left hand table key, from top to bottom? (edit: on tenor)

I'm modifying my keys, and have pictures from MarkVI, Yanagisawa 992, and Yamaha 875, but i am not sure how big the keys actually are 😀

From random pictures, they look to be about 48mm long?
If anyone has a ruler and their sax in same room at same time, could you quickly have a measure?

Also, is it worth putting the connection bits between B-C# and Bb-C# while i'm there? or makes no difference to a beginner? 🙂

Something like this.. (this is a yamaha 875)

thanks in advance! (will put up progress pictures later)

 

[old git]

49mm x 42mm on a Hanson ST 8 and suspect that most Chinese and Formosan/Taipei tenors will be in the same region. Mind you I have cataracts and did not use a vernier.;}

 

[jonf]

Is that an alto or tenor?

BTW, what's the deal with the oldcorollas name? As a one time owner of an old Corolla (and I mean the car, not a small crown, before some latin-speaking public school educated pedant chips in), I'm curious.

 

[oldcorollas]

*slaps self on head* for a tenor, i forgot to mention..

Thank you very much OG! i guess ST8 has similar to the selmer keys? i'll have to upscale my test balsa keys by a few mm 😀

btw that ST8V is a very pretty bit of kit!

"oldcorollas" = me on internet 😀
I started a yahoo group (before they were yahoo groups) called oldcorollas back in 2000 and the alias stuck.
Basically, I modify KE1x corollas, the first generation, mostly the KE15 coupes. brakes, suspension, fuel injection etc.
here is my standard one http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn77/oldcorollas/newcar2i.jpg

how old was your old corolla? sometimes people with 1990 corollas try to join the oldcorollas group.. i guess it is all relative 😀

 

[oldcorollas]

oh, and this is the slightly ambitious plan :welldone
the direction of movement will be different to a "proper" sax, but it will still by 11ty million times better!

from this

to one of these

(oh, i keep forgetting to adjust the cork on that key.. too open 😱 )

 

[Rogerb]

50 x 40 mm on a Bauhaus M2 tenor ..... Good luck!
I do find the LH pinky keys a bit of a stretch on both my BWs (and on my previous Hanson). I have 'average sized' hands and quite long fingers.
My teacher's MkVI tenor is noticeably easier...I think the whole table on that is set a little higher.

 

[kevgermany]

sorry about the delay, have guests and am not able to get to the sax when I remember this.

On mine, it's 48mm. Have discovered that it's an Evette Schaeffer stencilled 'A Santoni', not a rare A Santoni...

 

[Bari251]

oldcorollas - I'd be interested in how you are making the new keys. (Cut from solid; castings; soldered up from brass bits?). I've modified my Bb bis key on the Antigua baritone in a pretty crude, but effective way, and am considering putting in an extra strut on the low C cup to stop it waving in the breeze.
Malcolm

 

[griff136]

Oldcorollas,

I have a complete L/Hand pinky table including rollers you can have for a small donation to Pete's charity plus postage.

they're in great nick and come from a new horn that had "an accident" and the insurance company wrote the insturment off - I use it for spares.

Griff

 

[Targa]

The best car I owned was a Corolla GT coupe that I bought new in 1986.
Injected 16v dohc RWD with LSD.
I had it for 16 years then gave it to my nephew who still has it and it's as strong as ever.
This is my first post on one of these forums was I supposed to mention saxophones?

 

[Rogerb]

The best car I owned was a Corolla GT coupe that I bought new in 1986.
Injected 16v dohc RWD with LSD.
I had it for 16 years then gave it to my nephew who still has it and it's as strong as ever.
This is my first post on one of these forums was I supposed to mention saxophones?

Probably Targa, but welcome, anyway 🙂

 

[visionari1]

Nice one Targa:welldone........it's ok to be off topic, .......what am I doing here anyway. I don't have a tenor to measure!

Cheers
Jimu

 

[oldcorollas]

i apologize for the late reply, i was internetless and phoneless over the new year!! :shocked:

Thanks for the measurements Roger B and Kevgermany!
seems 48-50 long will be about the right size.

Thanks for the offer Griff, but i would feel bad cutting the keys up 😉 I purchased a spare dodgy Nikkan N020 from yahoo auctions for about 10 pounds (missing C# key) so I was planning to just use those key tubes, and silver solder additional arm and the bit you touch to them.
It is probably just as easy for me to machine up new bits as it would be for you to pop them in the post 🙂, but much less hassle for you 😀
Do they have the "tilting" mechanism? (which model sax is it btw?) If so, i would really appreciate pictures, as i have not been able to find many detailed images of that kind of thing via internets...:welldone

Malcolm, i have some 20x3mm brass strip, and also some 30-40mm hex rod i could mill up. First the bit you touch with finger, then arm (as per above) and then silver solder them all up.
Not sure what material to use for the rollers yet. stainless? teflon? delrin? acrylic? or just plain old nylon? see how we go 🙂

I've worked out the new thumbrest position (but haven't attempted desoldering yet, as the pearls are firmly crimped in), so will start on the keys soon and update in a couple of weeks (if all goes well).


Targa, that would be the 4AGE powered AE86. last of toyotas RWD corollas and quite a cult car in japan, Australia and probably the US also.
I still consider them "new" corollas 😀

Thanks for the help guys (^-^)

 

[Stephen Howard]

How detailed do you need the photos of bell spatulas to be?
If you look at the review section of my site most of the reviews have shots of these keys.
If you need something specific I might have it on file somewhere.

Regards,

 

[Targa]

That's the one.
Chris Hodgetts (?) won the BTCC championship in one in 1986 and 1987 against sierra cosworths.

 

[oldcorollas]

Thanks Stephen, I have been using your site as a reference for many things recently 🙂

I took these (completely dodgy pictures) today at shop before the staff got mad at me 😉 but i think i can see enough detail to work out the pivot points etc. (but still not sure if i should bother.. key position itself will make 1000% improvement)

 

[Stephen Howard]

You can make significant improvements to the bell spats by carefully adjusting the angles of the spatulas.
For example, the Bb spatula can often be angled down ( so that the roller is lower than the rear of the spatula - excluding the raised lip ) - ditto the C#.

It can be a tricky job though - you have to watch that you don't create any collisions with the touchpiece arms beneath the spatulas.

Regards,

 

[oldcorollas]

thanks Stephen 🙂
I think i will need to have more experience playing before i can make those judgements... and will consider this "stage 1"...but will keep it in mind. a slightly lower than flat C# will make things more comfortable for sure, but the keys are only balsa at this stage 😀

balsa, knife and a couple of beers later.. (on the junk sax). i expected a more shallow angle would feel better, but not so far.. maybe because this sax doesn't have th emodern rotation?

 

[SteveK]

50mm x 39mm on a Yanigasawa 9930 Tenor

 

[oldcorollas]

finally got around to making a bit of progress.
got the shape almost done, just need to make some small alterations for my fat fingers 😀

It won't be on such an angle (relative to the body) but not parallel like the old one.. maybe halfway between.

Interestingly, putting the keys in a "modern" position was nto as comfortable, since the upper and lower tone holes on this are aligned, as opposed to the more modern split design..

But this should make it much easier to play 🙂