Saxophones Pork Tales: Saxophone Repair DIY Adventures.

Life around the barn.

Tales from a pig that likes to stick his nose into everything.

Paint that S. How difficult could it be ?

1) Search the net.
2) Find the color.
3) Order color.
4) Study task on University of YouTube, aka; For destruction by DYI presented by pro tech.

Do the cleaning & prep.

Paint and cleanup / detail the edges with hard cotton swabs. Sounds easy……

Yeah tha guy Matt makes it look easy.
Anyone remember your first experience cooking bacon crispy while still in the frying pan !

 

[Targa]

How about an overhaul kit for your neck cork ?
View attachment 31962

For when you participate in 'pig wrestling'?

 

[PigSquealer]

I like seeing conservative adjustments. The tech could have reemed out the tube. Instead they added a simple non intrusive bit of silk string. Long term natural wear has occurred. Without the string the fit is now excellent !

 

[PigSquealer]

Conservative fine regulation materials used too. Nothing was bent to final regulate.

 

[PigSquealer]

Removing the pads I can see where the tech scrapped the cups clean.

Installed with an early generation of hot glue. I think hot melt glue first appeared in the mid to late ‘80s.
The removal doesn’t come out clean. Lots of strings. Hold the cup facing downward to keep the strings off the work.

 

[PigSquealer]

Hot melt glue is flexible. Real shellac doesn’t bend like this.

HMG can be sticky when cold too.

The work was consistently good with a generous amount of HMG.

 

[Pete Thomas]

I thought that was the end of your thumb for a moment then.

 

[PigSquealer]

Cleaning HMG from cups is a chore. I can usually remove full of pads and clean the cups in a hour and half.
This set took just over three hours. HMG needs to be completely removed so real shellac bonds properly.

As soon as the pad is out. I gently remove what I can with a chisel pointed chopstick. Some additional heat helps. Paper or cloth towels are useless. They just stick to the cup.

The next step never shared with anyone. Olive oil has a high heat point. HMG melts @130°-160°. The two will blend for 95% removal.

I final the step with steel wool. Any residual oil will wash off with dish soap.

 

[LostCircuits]

Cleaning HMG from cups is a chore. I can usually remove full of pads and clean the cups in a hour and half.
This set took just over three hours. HMG needs to be completely removed so real shellac bonds properly.

As soon as the pad is out. I gently remove what I can with a chisel pointed chopstick. Some additional heat helps. Paper or cloth towels are useless. They just stick to the cup.
View attachment 31973

The next step never shared with anyone. Olive oil has a high heat point. HMG melts @130°-160°. The two will blend for 95% removal.
View attachment 31974

I final the step with steel wool. Any residual oil will wash off with dish soap.
View attachment 31975

View attachment 31976

Have you tried heat plus naphta? I think that's what I was using but I don't recall. All I remember is that the hot glue came out like nothing using a paper towel and some solvent and there are only a few in my kitchen, no acetone for sure.

 

[PigSquealer]

Have you tried heat plus naphta? I think that's what I was using but I don't recall. All I remember is that the hot glue came out like nothing using a paper towel and some solvent and there are only a few in my kitchen, no acetone for sure.

No I haven’t. Did you do this on a lacquered piece? I’ll experiment with this on another day. I use very little naphtha these days. The best deal I can find on a gallon is $77/gallon. That will buy a bunch of olive oil. The savings in labor time is worth the naphtha cost though.

 

[Colin the Bear]

If naphtha works won't Gasoline or Kerosene?

 

[LostCircuits]

No I haven’t. Did you do this on a lacquered piece? I’ll experiment with this on another day. I use very little naphtha these days. The best deal I can find on a gallon is $77/gallon. That will buy a bunch of olive oil. The savings in labor time is worth the naphtha cost though.

What else do they have as charcoal lighter fluid?

 

[thomsax]

Is it possible to warm the pad/-cup and adjust the pad as we can do if we use shellack?

 

[Targa]

If naphtha works won't Gasoline or Kerosene?

In extremis - napalm

 

[LostCircuits]

Is it possible to warm the pad/-cup and adjust the pad as we can do if we use shellack?

Yes but hot glue will shrink and then the pad is out of alignment again

 

[Woodpad]

Cleaning HMG from cups is a chore. I can usually remove full of pads and clean the cups in a hour and half.
This set took just over three hours. HMG needs to be completely removed so real shellac bonds properly.

As soon as the pad is out. I gently remove what I can with a chisel pointed chopstick. Some additional heat helps. Paper or cloth towels are useless. They just stick to the cup.
View attachment 31973

The next step never shared with anyone. Olive oil has a high heat point. HMG melts @130°-160°. The two will blend for 95% removal.

Interesting idea, as Christmas nears I will try it with materials from candles, without setting fire to the place.
My normal method is to first heat and remove manually, then heat and apply adsorbing paper for removing traces. After that steel wool and cleaning.

Waterproofing too.

Besides waterproofing with paraffin wax it also reduces air transport through the pad. A saxophone is a leaky tube and a lot of different methods have been used to make it less leaky. Mostly by airtight layers of different materials inside the pad. This is the first type of exo-layer I have seen.

 

[PigSquealer]

What else do they have as charcoal lighter fluid?

This is California. No telling what’s in BBQ lighter fluid anymore. “A blend of solvents”. The state already tried to ban charcoal & fluid. Worth trying again.

Is it possible to warm the pad/-cup and adjust the pad as we can do if we use shellack?

As @LostCircuits mentioned thermal stability can be an issue.

In extremis - napalm

Aka Sterno. Those heating cans under the party chafing trays.

If naphtha works won't Gasoline or Kerosene?

Not all solvents work. California gasoline is a special blend depending on time of year. Evaporation like painters solvent @ $24/gallon. Neither is user friendly.
Kerosene is no longer available… unless you want buy tiki torch oil $15/gal. That now is loaded with citronella that I’m allergic too.

What works without damaging any finish is first concern.
Fire safety, handling / use and storage is also very important.
Costing doesn’t matter much. It’s a trade off between material cost and labor costs.

 

[PigSquealer]

Back working the 57 tenor.
Crook tenon had a load of high & low areas. Less than desirable fit.
The polished areas are high spots, dark are low areas. Out of round too.

Inside well cleaned and made concentric with gentle pressure use of internal expander. The exterior hand shaped with wide mill bastard to .000-.003. Surface worked flat and smooth with flat anvils on english wheel. Polished with oil & 1000 silicone carbide paper.

Receiver was in excellent condition. Surface cleaning with 0000 steel wool and metal polish was all that was required.
Final fit tested with body plugged, crook in place unclamped. Pressure applied with the joint soaked in soapy water. Zero bubbles 🙂

 

[LostCircuits]

This is California. No telling what’s in BBQ lighter fluid anymore. “A blend of solvents”. The state already tried to ban charcoal & fluid. Worth trying again.

As @LostCircuits mentioned thermal stability can be an issue.

Aka Sterno. Those heating cans under the party chafing trays.

Not all solvents work. California gasoline is a special blend depending on time of year. Evaporation like painters solvent @ $24/gallon. Neither is user friendly.
Kerosene is no longer available… unless you want buy tiki torch oil $15/gal. That now is loaded with citronella that I’m allergic too.

What works without damaging any finish is first concern.
Fire safety, handling / use and storage is also very important.
Costing doesn’t matter much. It’s a trade off between material cost and labor costs.

If heat turns the glue into goop, what happens if you just put the piece in the freezer? I haven't tried it with hot glue but with some other stuff that came off in a single piece. Just wondering, not saying it'll work but maybe worth a try.

 

[PigSquealer]

If heat turns the glue into goop, what happens if you just put the piece in the freezer? I haven't tried it with hot glue but with some other stuff that came off in a single piece. Just wondering, not saying it'll work but maybe worth a try.

The previous tech was challenged removing the bathtub calking. With all the home repairs you have done. What removes 50 year old calking ?

I used elbow grease and wool with luck. Almost ran out of luck though.

 

[PigSquealer]

If heat turns the glue into goop, what happens if you just put the piece in the freezer?

Just placed a HMG stick in the freezer to see what happens. Temp is -11°c / 12°f.