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 !

 

[PigSquealer]

With pads sealing well to socket rim. I’m setting a mild impression into pads.
Start with G# and go down. I warm the leather with a hot air touch or a warmed pad ring. Then with very gentle pressure wedge the key closed. How gently? If I squeeze the key any the wedge will fall out.

View attachment 32233

This is different than using clamps or rubber bands. Setting an impression this way requires that the key & pillar fit is of high quality. The springs are loaded too for this step.
View attachment 32234

Notice the gap between top of key feet and bottom edge of backbar. Nothing but a wedge is holding the F# key closed. This also shows a good starting point for regulating materials.
View attachment 32235

Good time to check the F# to G# finger gap too. This distance was reviewed during dry fit.
View attachment 32236

Get everything the way you want and let it rest a day.

Lower stack results achieved.

 

[PigSquealer]

Upper stack setting an impression is different. (And yes I know there’s fancy clamps made for this task.)
There’s no foot to wedge under on Bb & G, so I use very light rubber band tension. The key lifts easily.

Out back it’s business as usual.

The result after resting a day.

Some of the Brasso fans may notice that the patina has been lacquered over.

 

[PigSquealer]

Same technique on bell keys.

Setting / checking everything I do in total darkness. A mirror comes in handy. No need to handle the sax to see the backside.
The pink object mid mirror is actually a 1.5v flashlight. It’s attached to the pull switch on shop light. Easy to find over my left shoulder.
Had 60w on to take pictures.
Those are sealing under their own weight.

 

[PigSquealer]

It’s all small stuff…

T

Work away from bench edges and over a cloth. Reduce your chances of loosing one of 11 nonexistent 75 year old oddball German thread size ?? screws.

 

[PigSquealer]

Always something…
Like felts 2mm larger than holders. Make them fit !

 

[PigSquealer]

How I did this ? Well I like my fingers.

Holding with the “parts grabber” above and a freshly squared stone on my bench grinder. Turned by hand to the required distance.
“Craft the bits”.
Glue the felt & pot. Assemble. Monitor & adjust until set. Let rest a day.

 

[PigSquealer]

@mark_addy
Before

After

The change using this tool.

The goal is to get reasonable bite on the driver tip without damaging the part or “spreading” the end. Reworking a slot has challenges. Use good judgement. These were originally razor blade thickness slots @ .012” .

Just make sure everything is clean on assembly !

 

[PigSquealer]

Late Saturday night porn

 

[PigSquealer]

A tip on oiling. Especially on long assemblies.
Have everything well cleaned. As a last step before oiling. I pass a new dry pipe cleaner through. Then a quick blast of compressed air.
Add a few drops of oil into the barrel. Run the rod in slowly while turning. Distributing the oil evenly inside work the rod back and forth. One last time all the way through and wipe the excess off the end. If at anytime you feel any grit or lack of smooth movement stop ! Start over. This includes checking if the rod or barrel is bent.
Using this approach insures a proper amount of oil and little to no mess on the work. You don’t want oil on your pads !
On assembly I give the rod a light smear of oil then final installation.

More than a foot long can get really messy.

 

[PigSquealer]

When reviewing a horn pre disassembly pay attention. Take notes on special needs.

Before service.

After

It’s all small stuff.

 

[PigSquealer]

A little case TLC.
Use the old outline as a pattern.

Same thickness.

Fit check. That’s close but the end plug is firmly against the side.

Epoch upholstery fail.
Lay fabric down, spray with glue.
Spray 5 sides of block
Lay fabric ontop of plug
Press wood part on plug and wrap to finish.

The glue bled through the fabric. No big deal just clean it off. “ cleanup with acetone “.

The acetone melted the fabric into a big gooey mess.

 

[PigSquealer]

After cleaning up the mess. I reworked the job old school. Wrap & staple.

Final fit check.

Clamp into position to drill pilot holes.

Case is 1/2” thick
Block is 3/4” thick
Screw is 1”
Flutes on small bit stop at 1”, insert bit into drill chuck to this point. Drill two pilot holes.
Bit #2, just under shank size of screw. Tape mark equals thickness of case.
Last bit is to countersink the holes so the screws are flush to surface.

A little attention to the edges. Mask & brush on contact cement.

 

[PigSquealer]

After letting the cement set for half hour it’s time to place the trim back.
You get one try to place the work and that’s where it will be forever.

Once in place I like to work over the joint with a roller. This insures good bonding contact everywhere.

Notice nothing has been cleaned yet. Masking tape will sticks really well to clean leather. A good chance when removing the tape you’ll take a patch of leather too. Leave it dirty until done. Mask, glue, remove mask, let dry, bond, roll. Done. If you feel the need to clamp or tape secure the area. No need to. Or just put a dusty brick on it. I use the brick for soldering work too. It hard to burn.

 

[mark_addy]

Nice - thanks for including your mistakes, it is encouraging 🙂 I find it quite hard to be as patient with contact cement as one is meant to be, regarding letting it set for what seems like a very long time before bringing the pieces together.

 

[skeller047]

I always try to think of some other task to do when setting aside contact cement to dry. A bit difficult when the only task is replacing a neck cork...

 

[Stephen Howard]

Masking tape will sticks really well to clean leather.

Pro tip. There are many kinds of masking tape. Over here we have something called Frog Tape, which is designed for 'delicate surfaces'. It's very different to the bog-standard beige stuff.
Treat yourself.

 

[Pete Thomas]

Pro tip. There are many kinds of masking tape. Over here we have something called Frog Tape, which is designed for 'delicate surfaces'. It's very different to the bog-standard beige stuff.
Treat yourself.

For actual paint masking, you can get a more expensive version (maybe that is frog tape). It seems to be more sticky than the standard beige tape, but is less prone to pulling off whatever paint surface it was sticking to. Even better, you can actually reuse it several times as it comes off easily without tearing, so the extra price per roll is worth it for big jobs.

 

[Stephen Howard]

For actual paint masking, you can get a more expensive version (maybe that is frog tape). It seems to be more sticky than the standard beige tape, but is less prone to pulling off whatever paint surface it was sticking to. Even better, you can actually reuse it several times as it comes off easily without tearing, so the extra price per roll is worth it for big jobs.

Yeah, that's Frog tape. Comes in various colours depending on its tenactity. Good (but dear) stuff.

 

[LostCircuits]

Yeah, that's Frog tape. Comes in various colours depending on its tenactity. Good (but dear) stuff.

The different flavors are color-coded and for work on horns I always use the yellow type. Even with that you have to make sure you let any paint/lacquer cure for at least 48 hours before you mask over it.

 

[LostCircuits]

I always try to think of some other task to do when setting aside contact cement to dry. A bit difficult when the only task is replacing a neck cork...

Practice the Windsor knots. On the other neck, that is.