Accessories pull through for tightwads

[kernewegor]

Take one flannel of the type sold for wiping little kid's faces. It's just about the right size for a tenor sax. We have plenty sculling around years after the event... don't be tempted to use anything too big or it will hang up on the octave shift thingy which sticks out inside the bore...

Tie a piece of suitable cord securely to one corner. No landlubberly snowball hitches, please - you know, the sort where the sun comes out and it melts - you don't want to have to retrieve the flannel from the inside of your sax, do you?

Get a wine cork by the obvious process. Stick a drawing pin in one end. Before pushing it home, tie the other end of the cord - leaving enough length to do the job - around under the head. Push pin home.

MIne is going strong after six months of regular use with no sign of wear and tear and no problems - gets the bore nice and dry, too.

Use and enjoy. You have just saved quids.

 

[jbtsax]

Great idea. I have seen some folks use a small fishing weight (sinker) on the end of the cord for sax swabs. For clarinet swabs a handkerchief works great. One can actually sew a shoestring across the diagonal. If the shoestring is long enough to leave a "tail" at the bottom, that's even better. If it gets stuck, you can pull it out the way it went in.

 

[kernewegor]

Great idea. I have seen some folks use a small fishing weight (sinker) on the end of the cord for sax swabs. For clarinet swabs a handkerchief works great. One can actually sew a shoestring across the diagonal. If the shoestring is long enough to leave a "tail" at the bottom, that's even better. If it gets stuck, you can pull it out the way it went in.

I'd be worried that a lead fishing weight might damage the lacquer on the inside of the bell, hence trying a wine cork which I find is plenty heavy enough to pull a light line through, even if every two or three goes I need to jiggle the sax a little. I pays to hold the sax so that the weight has to pass as few holes as possible, but in any event a bit of a jiggle gets it through.

Yes, a handkerchief is good for a clarinet. Again, tying a very thin line to one corner makes it a bit easier and quicker. I once got one stuck and had the devil of a job to get it out - the moral is, as you say: always leave a tail of either string or handkerchief to pull on if you need to take it out the way it came in! And a small handkerchief - 'ladies' size - is adequately large and lessens the chance of getting stuck.

Thin string and handkerchief is good for sax crooks, too. Cheaper than buying a brush, and gives you a reserve if you get a fit of the sneezes!

 

[jbtsax]

Your point about the lead weights is well taken. Perhaps they could be dipped in the plastic solution used to coat the handles of tools to prevent any damage to the inside of the sax. I use a clarinet "hanky swab" all of the time to clean the inside of my neck (crook).

 

[saxismyaxe]

Nice idea. Along similar lines, I've been making my own pull through swabs for years from pure silk fabric. It works out cheaper than buying them pre-made, and I can make them the size that I need too.

 

[TimboSax]

I thought a tightwad was another name for a pull through...

(I'll get me coat)

 

[kernewegor]

Your point about the lead weights is well taken. Perhaps they could be dipped in the plastic solution used to coat the handles of tools to prevent any damage to the inside of the sax. I use a clarinet "hanky swab" all of the time to clean the inside of my neck (crook).

Good idea. Silicon rubber would do it - if you haven't got a tube already opened cadge some the next time you see someone installing plastic windows (plastic windows have to be good for something!).

A coated lead weight, being smaller than a wine cork, ought to go through without jiggling the sax as often - not that it happens enough with a wine cork for me to rush out and buy the proprietary item... but I've got some lead and I'll keep my eye open for double glazing fitters and give it a go.

 

[kernewegor]

I thought a tightwad was another name for a pull through...

(I'll get me coat)

Only if it gets stuck.

 

[Ivan]

I thought a tightwad was another name for a pull through...

(I'll get me coat)

Tightwads for tightwads

 

[Colin the Bear]

I use a chamois leather pull through. I've had bad experiences with textiles leaving threads and fibres that can foul pad seating and are a pain to find if they are very fine.