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 !

 

[turf3]

I think for me, the "avoid a place for gunk to accumulate" factor would probably decide me in favor of "plugging", to make the bore smooth there.

 

[PigSquealer]

Think I’ll clean the area well inside the socket. The tape with foil tape flush on inside. Fill the socket with polyester auto body filler from outside. Then solder on a brass cap to finish. Peel the tape off and paint clear coat on inside.
The two part polyester sets hard in half hour.

 

[Stephen Howard]

Think I’ll clean the area well inside the socket. The tape with foil tape flush on inside. Fill the socket with polyester auto body filler from outside. Then solder on a brass cap to finish. Peel the tape off and paint clear coat on inside.
The two part polyester sets hard in half hour.

Sounds like a good plan - I'm all for modern materials in the right circumstances, and the brass cap gives it an old-school finish.
But...if you have any nickel silver lying around it would sit better with the original finish - or you could have the cap plated.
And if you bought it when the price was right, you could even consider a solid silver cap 😉

 

[PigSquealer]

Sounds like a good plan - I'm all for modern materials in the right circumstances.

Lightweight, made to bond to metal, sands & shapes well, waterproof and best of all…I have a tin on hand paid for !

and the brass cap gives it an old-school finish.

Owner has friend with wand electroplating setup.

But...if you have any nickel silver lying around it would sit better with the original finish - or you could have the cap plated.

You’re a bad influence. I’ve got a 5¢ plan now. Besides, I needed to test my new tub of lead free type flux.

A US nickel is 1.3 x 21mm

And if you bought it when the price was right, you could even consider a solid silver cap 😉

Pre 1964 US dimes were 90% silver and large enough for the need. But that’s expensive. Now about a $2 plug.
My other 50lbs ☺️.

 

[PigSquealer]

@Stephen Howard , same owner as JK brought this in for COA & polish.

DIY with JB weld and a creative finish.

 

[PigSquealer]

Day five paint check results.
None are tacky with a good press of finger pressure. All retained gloss. The hue difference is just the lighting.
View attachment 34903

The hardness / film layer test results show why thinning is necessary.
Remember each of these three represent one dunk of the toothpick.
Left directly from container, mid is partly thinned, right fully thinned as applied.
View attachment 34904

Fingernail press test above. Yeah, low tech but most people have fingers. No fingernails🤦‍♂️ just pick a used reed.
The left is still soft or molten inside.
Middle is reasonably hard, only a very slight indentation.
Right is hard as steel.

Follow up to May 13th #738 post. “Five day test”
Paint is hard and well bonded to the glass all three levels.
Paint samples as applied L to R. Directly from container, partly thinned, fully thinned and as used on part.

 

[turf3]

Lightweight, made to bond to metal, sands & shapes well, waterproof and best of all…I have a tin on hand paid for !

Owner has friend with wand electroplating setup.

You’re a bad influence. I’ve got a 5¢ plan now. Besides, I needed to test my new tub of lead free type flux.
View attachment 37559View attachment 37560
A US nickel is 1.3 x 21mm

Pre 1964 US dimes were 90% silver and large enough for the need. But that’s expensive. Now about a $2 plug.
My other 50lbs ☺️.

Actually, most coin shops will sell bagged, mixed, silver US coins (so badly worn to have zero collector value) at spot silver price. I think an old Roosevelt or Mercury dime worn down to near nothing would probably cost you $0.50 ~ $1.00.

 

[PigSquealer]

Actually, most coin shops will sell bagged, mixed, silver US coins (so badly worn to have zero collector value) at spot silver price. I think an old Roosevelt or Mercury dime worn down to near nothing would probably cost you $0.50 ~ $1.00.

I actually looked up the meltdown price the day I posted. Today’s melt price is $4.40.

U.S. Silver Coin Melt Values | Silver Dollar Melt Value | NGC

See melt values for U.S. silver coins, including morgan silver dollars and silver quarters. NGC provides historical coin melt values, coin price information and a melt value calculator.

www.ngccoin.com

 

[PigSquealer]

Non sax car stuff Saturday night.
Finally received some factory GM restoration “GS” (Grand Sport) badges I’ve been waiting for.
These are for the ‘66 Buick Wildcat.
I don’t like drilling holes in bodywork. A little off and you’re stuck with a crooked $35 1”x1” emblem. It also difficult to sometimes reach the back to attach the retaining clip. Lastly they can leak in the rain. Not that we ever have any.
So I trimmed the mounting studs off.

Then milled to be flush.

Checked for level.

Removed the protective tape. This also keeps hot metal off the paint.

Scuffed the backs and degreased with isopropyl. Then cut 2mm slivers and filled the cavities.

Last step was covering the full back and trimming the detail out. Challenging to not lift off the backer material. I used a hot X-Acto knife. The material is 3M emblem mounting tape. A double sided foam type tape.

 

[PigSquealer]

I’m happy 😃

 

[PigSquealer]

Came in on Friday afternoon. I didn’t get to work on this until Tuesday. A COA & Polish. Got a 911 call. Need for Friday ! Was scheduled for Wednesday

Take an SA 80 apart in under an hour. Keep the 34 pivot screw locations well identified. Next time I’ll keep the barrel rods on small caddy and all pivots on big one. Something like 58 bits of hardware on big caddy.

It’s a pain to polish assembled keywork. Pads are in good condition. All five makes and four different boosters. Two need replacement.

Yes a pad will fit a cup, No not all pads made of a given size have standard booster sizes. Measure cup and tone hole !

Easy to pick a matching new pad with five choices.

Five hours polishing key parts. Another four on body. Nine hours of cleaning. Yes everything was dismantled.

Power outage delays 😤. I’ve been working nights to beat the heat. Good thing I have emergency reading materials.

Customer picked this up Thursday evening. Zero additional adjustments even after replacing some pads and a partial regulation re-cork. Test play to qualify was less than five minutes.

 

[PigSquealer]

No “S” painting was required 😉 New crook cork only.

 

[PigSquealer]

Next up 😀
This is an 1934 Martin Imperial tenor. First year was 1933 and after the Typewriter, but during the Troubadour. Made from 1933-1936. 1935 being first year of Committee 1. These are rare birds in tenor or alto.

With no case the seller did a fantastic job packing it. Those foam blocks are glued in. Customer was happy it arrived safely as he bought it and shipped to the barn directly.

Pictures from auction listing.

This will be a preserved look as finished project. Aka patina left alone. This presents a challenge. I’ll need to be careful with tool and technique choices. Like no open flame heating the key cups to extract the old pads as one example. Keep fingers clean and oil free being another.

 

[PigSquealer]

Anyone notice something odd about this crook ?

Here’s another clue.

Still don’t see it ? Well the brace is missing.
I’ll be making one using my Typewriter tenor as a pattern. Adding a faux patina match will be challenging.

 

[PigSquealer]

This Imperial also need a full re-spring. Some odd craftsmanship going on here.

Luckily they didn’t finish the job !

 

[PigSquealer]

Not sure if the patina is intact under the felt glue 🤔. Looks more recent than the polish / wax on pad. Probably about the same the rollers last turned too. The dirt line on Eb roller is like reading tree rings 🤣

Maybe I’ll just do a COA ?
These pads should float and seal perfectly

Happy Friday 🤪

 

[PigSquealer]

FWIW the JK Tone King is on hold. The bumper holders came in and didn’t fit. So the owner is reviewing other options.
Like ST90 guard availability. If anyone has a cadaver with a complete set/ all 3 including the mounting. Please send me a DM. Other suggestions too if you have all the bits to offer.

 

[mark_addy]

If I had an odd horn with an interesting history which came with key guards which looked like bits off a heating system, I think I'd want to keep them. Mind, I am odd. I even thought, regarding those extra long springs in the photos above, that 'hey, if it snaps off at the base and you can find the bit that drops off, there might be enough left to fit it again' 🙂

 

[thomsax]

Keilwerth ST90 , Jupiter guards can work?

A Jupiter bari key guard.

 

[Tuppertn]

Next up 😀
This is an 1934 Martin Imperial tenor...

Part restoration, part resurrection. Looks like it's Mostly Dead. If you need a chocolate-coated miracle pill...I know guy.

Does the Typewriter neck fit the Imperial receiver? It looks exactly like most of the Imperial necks I found in my research. If the models were closely consecutive, what are the odds that they used Typewriter necks on the early Imperials? I also found some Imperials that had the flat, flush-style brace like a Comm I.