Ouch... a broken octave lever

[JTHANK]

Hi all,

I was actually about to start a post on mouthpiece/ reed combination after my practice tonight. Then something bad happened and I am posting this instead:

Help! Any suggestion what I should do? I really would like to find just a replacement lever and not getting a completely new neck... 🙁

Regards,
JT

 

[jbtsax]

That should be an easy and quick job for a repair tech to silver solder the key back together. If you don't have an instrument repair shop nearby, a jeweler could possibly to the job as well. Unfortunately at that stress point regular soft solder would not hold up very well.

 

[griff136]

That should be an easy and quick job for a repair tech to silver solder the key back together. If you don't have an instrument repair shop nearby, a jeweler could possibly to the job as well. Unfortunately at that stress point regular soft solder would not hold up very well.

+1 for what jbt said.

what sax is it from JT?

 

[JTHANK]

+1 for what jbt said.

what sax is it from JT?

Thanks JBT and GRIFF.

It is from a Martin Committee I (Skyline) Alto...

 

[JTHANK]

hi all,

anyone out there who can give me a hand on this? I can send the parts out for a fix and pay... please PM me.

just found someone here in Hong Kong who fixed a similar problem like this. looks ugly though... seems like it is being held by wires and soft soldered...

 

[kevgermany]

Not sure if Kingsley can point you towards a repairer. I'd avoid the wire braced repair!

Good hint about the jewellers, they do this high precision silver soldering all the time. Just needs a big enough torch to get the bits hot enough. Silver soldering is also known as brazing - but make sure whoever does it is used to fine work. Need to watch the tube for the pin as well. Shouldn't be too difficult to do, but make sure you clean it thoroughly afterwards. The flux is corrosive.

 

[Kingsleyhk]

Sorry JTHANK - I missed the start of this thread.

I'll ask around. Do you know James Cheung or Mike Legge?

 

[JTHANK]

Sorry JTHANK - I missed the start of this thread.

I'll ask around. Do you know James Cheung or Mike Legge?

No problem kingsley. I do not know them but I happened to have asked James Cheung and he replied to me that they are not doing repair jobs anymore.

Anyway, I had it fixed tonight with a lot of help from my dad using silver bearing solder. He is the kind of guy who has acquired many different skills growing up. When I was re-padding this horn, he showed me how to make shellac sticks from the shellac flakes I got with boiling water and a towel. Pretty amazing to me.

Regarding that octave, It doesn't look too good but the joint is strong. Good learning though. Thanks everyone. I can then focus on my practice again.

Hey kingsley, do you play this weekend? Maybe I can stop by and say hi.

 

[Kingsleyhk]

I knew James had lost his techie - shame he did a great job repadding my Selmer.

I'm playing at the Wanch from about 400pm until about 730 tomorrow (Sunday)

Look forward to seeing you.

 

[aldevis]

When I was re-padding this horn, he showed me how to make shellac sticks from the shellac flakes I got with boiling water and a towel. Pretty amazing to me.

How? I melt them on some kitchen foil. Sometimes I prefer to have very thin shellac sticks.

 

[JTHANK]

Thanks everyone. This is how it looks now. It took me so long to readjust the curvature to get it back in working order with the horn though.

 

[JTHANK]

How? I melt them on some kitchen foil. Sometimes I prefer to have very thin shellac sticks.

It is difficult to illustrate without photos. Anyway, here are the steps:

1. pour a desired amount shellac flakes on a cloth. I used an old tee for this.
2. boil a pot of water. When it is boiling, put the shellac flakes in by holding the corners and rim of the cloth, so all the flakes should be contained by the cloth.
3. the flakes will start being softened. When it is soft enough, take out the whole thing, place them on a flat surface.
4. start wrapping the shellac with the cloth, and squeezing out the water. The flakes will become a piece of clay like shellac. You would like to turn on the tap water to cool down your hands. Similar trick is used for shaping hot melt glue with bear hands.
5. should be able to shape the shellac with the cloth removed after a while. Roll it with two hands like playing with dough. If it gets hard, you can put it in the boiling water to soften it and then keep on shaping it to the thickness desired.

hope you understand what I have described. If I am to make another one, I will take some photos and start a new post.

 

[Tomasz]

hi all,

anyone out there who can give me a hand on this? I can send the parts out for a fix and pay... please PM me.

just found someone here in Hong Kong who fixed a similar problem like this. looks ugly though... seems like it is being held by wires and soft soldered...

Soft solder will not do. It must be a silver-solder repair because (unfortunately for you) the octave arm snapped at the point where the screw pivots. Silver solder gives a stronger bond than a soft-solder repair.

 

[Tomasz]

Thanks everyone. This is how it looks now. It took me so long to readjust the curvature to get it back in working order with the horn though.
View attachment 834

I'm impressed. That's a very tidy-looking repair.

 

[Tomasz]

hi all,

anyone out there who can give me a hand on this? I can send the parts out for a fix and pay... please PM me.
just found someone here in Hong Kong who fixed a similar problem like this. looks ugly though... seems like it is being held by wires and soft soldered...

Ugh! That's not a pretty solution. It's very messy.

Your own repair looks so much better.

 

[nigeld]

@Tomasz - this thread is quite old - it's from 4 years ago.

 

[Tomasz]

Oops, didn't notice it was such an old thread...