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]

This 1940’s Smith No2 little torch is ready for solder work. Cleaned and pressure tested I’m just waiting for the new hoses to arrive.

If you’re looking for the modern model here’s a link. Keep in mind the tank regulators are extra.

https://www.riogrande.com/product/basic-smith-little-torch-all-fuels-system-with-five-tips/500057GP/?code=500057

 

[PigSquealer]

Every day is a new day and a new surprise.
The replacement hose set was something like $52 for 12’. I didn’t feel like spending that much money on twice what I needed.
6’ is plenty. Logic kicked in. $20-$25 buys a complete cheapo kit. I’ll just take the hoses off
16 hours later it arrived.
First I checked if the fittings attached properly to my regulators.👍👍

Then I started comparing the size difference. 🤔

Considerably smaller and lighter🤔🤔

I took the time to read the owners manual. Not much different than any mixed gas torches. Tip #1 & #2 are two fuel gas only. Hydrogen or Acetylene + oxygen only. Tip #5 on mild steel 6 psi each. Max thickness 3/16.
Usual safety concerns like blowing up in your face or hands is well stated. Nice for the maker to suggest a full safety leak test before use. Complete with step by step instructions.
Makes me wonder how many hobbyists don’t have a fire extinguisher.

Later I found conflicting information on pressure settings for tip sizes 1 & 2. 5 PSI seems really high. Two would be normal. So I sent the seller an inquiry. Hit reply….this shows up next😤 AI I hate you.
1/4”, 25’ hose with fittings on both ends, on sale $19.99

 

[PigSquealer]

Busy week limited my fun time. Rain last week didn’t help either. I needed to open the barn doors to access my torch bottles. I don’t open them in the rain.

 

[PigSquealer]

If you’ve never used a proper gas torch before get help. Take a basic welding class. Read and understand the importance of safely operating the tool. Buy a quality tool setup. Not this one !

Just because it’s new doesn’t guarantee it’s leak free. It leaked badly where the tip attaches to body.

Tip ferrules were inconsistently assembled. One has a dent. Another the brazing didn’t fill the part. This is a leak point three fingers away from the flame.

I also inspected the inside of each tip. Bad time to have a clogged tip. And NO these don’t have synthetic jewels as flow jets.

 

[PigSquealer]

Proper education will pay off the moment you read this worthless chart below. Following these pressure settings is a nice way to blow your hand off. Oxygen should be at least 25% higher than fuel gas.

Have an open flame to light it up. A sparker is no good on small tips. (The thingy on left)

 

[PigSquealer]

First test on dirty metal went well. I do need to adjust my technique and timing some. This little bugger puts out a bunch of heat.
Solder with 6% silver. Acid paste flux.

I was happy that I didn’t overheat the base metal. It’s stuck together and won’t bend ! Overheating will soften brass. Note the rose color from heat.

More practice is needed before a live job is done. It’s a worthy tool to have. Just don’t buy a cheapo like this one.

 

[PigSquealer]

How about a simple task like case repair ?

Start some small brads. #17 x 5/8”
Spread the joint. Brush and blow off loose debris with compressed air.

Brush a quality glue into the joint.

Align the two parts and partially drive in one nail at midway. Check alignment halfway to each side, adjust a tack in place.
Proceed to finish. With a wet paper towel remove any excess glue.

 

[PigSquealer]

The old tape glue should come off with a squirt of Goo-gone. With some luck it will fatten the case so the bell fits. That’s why it’s not closed below. Also why it split open !

I can cut this area out and the bell will fit.

 

[PigSquealer]

Ever wonder what inspired an invention or product ?

 

[PigSquealer]

SOP work this week on an unknown brand “Jem” ? The build is almost identical to the other one a few weeks back.

 

[PigSquealer]

A sticky high F# was first task to troubleshoot.

 

[PigSquealer]

After loosening the pivot screws on key touch arm it moved freely. Some of these have cork or a plastic type material insert inside the barrel. This is to cushion / remove slack in the assembly. Sometimes the material deteriorates and causes a binding effect.
I removed the part and found the plastic type insert. The pivot screw could be fully inserted on both ends without interference.
I then replaced the screws into the pillars without the key part. Viewing from the rear they appeared perfectly inline. Viewing from the side exposed the issue ! The lower pillar was slightly skewed. This is a factory defect 😤

With the side F# key removed and problem part assembled. I then gently heated the base of lower pillar until a ca-chink was heard a long with a slight movement viewed. Let cool, attached the action springs and it worked as it should. No lacquer discoloration. Nothing to clean up.

 

[PigSquealer]

The next task was to reposition the Eb key cup. The pad was barely making contact.

A bend to right then downward was a small improvement. This picture below shows before the move. Notice the close proximity of the guard pillar and screw. Not much to work with here. The distance from the barrel to edge of cup is like 25mm. There’s a risk of breaking the part.

A new pad installed. Had to float it some to achieve a good seal. Previous installation was done with HMG. Used the same. A bit of it oozed out the edges 🤨.

 

[skeller047]

After loosening the pivot screws on key touch arm it moved freely. Some of these have cork or a plastic type material insert inside the barrel. This is to cushion / remove slack in the assembly. Sometimes the material deteriorates and causes a binding effect.
I removed the part and found the plastic type insert. The pivot screw could be fully inserted on both ends without interference.

On inexpensive Chinese horns, they often use pointed pivot screws and a cylindrical barrel. They then stuff the barrel cavity with something oily to take up the space: newspaper, shredded faux leather from cheap pads, cardboard, etc.

Music Medic has an article on the best way to deal with these, which involves filling the barrels with solder then creating a true seat for the pivot. What I did when working on my cheap Chinese soprano was to use short lengths of PTFE tubing (1mm ID, 2mm OD) which makes kind of a seat for the point of the pivot screw. Smooth, and the key uses the screw points for bearings as it should.

 

[PigSquealer]

On inexpensive Chinese horns, they often use pointed pivot screws and a cylindrical barrel. They then stuff the barrel cavity with something oily to take up the space: newspaper, shredded faux leather from cheap pads, cardboard, etc.

Music Medic has an article on the best way to deal with these, which involves filling the barrels with solder then creating a true seat for the pivot. What I did when working on my cheap Chinese soprano was to use short lengths of PTFE tubing (1mm ID, 2mm OD) which makes kind of a seat for the point of the pivot screw. Smooth, and the key uses the screw points for bearings as it should.

Thanks for your feedback. I’ve experienced the scenario you’ve described on altos before. Late 1990’s to 2010 horns. The MM and PTFE fix are both very valid. The issue I had at hand this didn’t work. The lower post pivot was at least 7°-10°out of alignment. Backing off the screw 1/2 turn it worked. So I wrapped some thread under the head and ran it back in. Nope, no go ! The moment it was solid in the pillar it was out of alignment and locked up.

 

[PigSquealer]

Anyone notice another issue @ Eb area ??

How about two curved SOP’s back to back with chimney leaks !!

 

[PigSquealer]

Yeah, a 0,125mm leak will ruin your day😕

Common no. Common to a repair tech ? Yes. The chances are higher to see these issues. Largely due to the fact that techs get handed problem children to place back into good working order. How often to a given maker depends on how good their quality control is.

 

[PigSquealer]

FWIW. I sealed the pinhole with super glue. I used a rolled up tissue to hold the key open. Applied the glue with a needle to inside and outside, and let dry overnight.

 

[Stephen Howard]

On inexpensive Chinese horns, they often use pointed pivot screws and a cylindrical barrel. They then stuff the barrel cavity with something oily to take up the space: newspaper, shredded faux leather from cheap pads, cardboard, etc.

Music Medic has an article on the best way to deal with these, which involves filling the barrels with solder then creating a true seat for the pivot. What I did when working on my cheap Chinese soprano was to use short lengths of PTFE tubing (1mm ID, 2mm OD) which makes kind of a seat for the point of the pivot screw. Smooth, and the key uses the screw points for bearings as it should.

The PTFE tubing fix works extremely well - as well as being a fast, cheap and reliable fix. There's another kind of tubing I use - the name of which I can't recall offhand 'cos it's about six miles long - but it's denser than PTFE. Not that I've noticed much difference in application because the forces involved are so small. This is why stuffing the barrels with cork works...though only for a while.

Perhaps the greatest improvement that can be made to Ultra-Cheap Chinese sopranos is to upgrade the top stack rod screw. Sopranos have very little tolerance of play or wear in the top stack - and the design of the keys makes swedging difficult and largely ineffective. Reaming out the pillars and keys and fitting an oversized rod screw (typically 2.62mm on these horns) makes a huge difference to the reliability of the stack.

 

[kamak]

Yikes! What happened there?