Tech/maintenance SHWoodwind Updates

[JazzMatt]

Didn't know if this was an oblique reference to some drug taking practice I hadn't heard of

Google tells me it's a product to prevent pads from sticking, that I haven't heard of

Do pad papers work and are they a good thing?

I only need to run the powder paper 3 times a year. It does work, but properly drying the pads after use (I use a BG pad drier thingy-o) is prevention rather than cure.

Paying careful attention to the pads which are closed.

 

[Stephen Howard]

It's review time! And in this update there are two new reviews and two updated ones.

First up is Yanagisawa's five grand alto, the WO33:

Yanagisawa A-WO33 Elite alto sax review

Then we have a Borgani soprano from the 1970s:

Borgani (1970s) soprano saxophone review

...and both the Yamaha YBS62 baritone and Yamaha 875EX Custom alto get a refresh (new pics and revised text):

YamahaYBS62 baritone saxophone review

Yamaha Custom 875-EX alto sax review

 

[Stephen Howard]

Today's Benchlife Blog update - It's finger sniffin' time...

A rolling blog of everyday life on and around the workbench

 

[thomsax]

Today's Benchlife Blog update - It's finger sniffin' time...

A rolling blog of everyday life on and around the workbench

View attachment 9078

A solder expert tried to silver solder some committee toneholes on a complete clean The Martin tube. Not easy to do because the sockets are so thick on Martin. Martin is "thick wall" as well. Easier on King saxes. I don't know why Martin didn't silver soldered the toneholes? Maybe to cut hours? Or not o stretched the brass too much. Do you know?

 

[Stephen Howard]

There's nothing especially difficult about using silver solder other than the need to bring the job up to a much higher temperature. This wouldn't be a problem in the construction stage, where you'd be working with a bare tube.
You'd also need to be quite accurate, as cleaning excess silver solder off is much more work than dealing with excess soft solder.
Both of these requirements would have added costs to the price of the construction - and I guess they felt that the wider surface area of the meaty toneholes would mitigate any problems further down the line. Assuming they even considered it, of course.

 

[thomsax]

There's nothing especially difficult about using silver solder other than the need to bring the job up to a much higher temperature. This wouldn't be a problem in the construction stage, where you'd be working with a bare tube.
You'd also need to be quite accurate, as cleaning excess silver solder off is much more work than dealing with excess soft solder.
Both of these requirements would have added costs to the price of the construction - and I guess they felt that the wider surface area of the meaty toneholes would mitigate any problems further down the line. Assuming they even considered it, of course.

Thanks. Yes, it took my friend some hours to solder 5 toneholes on a "banana" Martin tenor. Including cleaning, set the clamps, fitting .... He used to work for the medical industry so maybe he was too overambitious? There is/was 50 years warranty of the Committee toneholes. And the last "The Martin" saxes were made/sold in the early 70's. Leblanc company took over Martin in -71.

 

[Stephen Howard]

More fun with a Martin on the Benchlife Blog. Today's entry - Lappin' it up.

A rolling blog of everyday life on and around the workbench

 

[Stephen Howard]

Today's festive Benchlife blog update - Father Christmas's bari

A rolling blog of everyday life on and around the workbench

 

[Dibbs]

Today's festive Benchlife blog update - Father Christmas's bari

A rolling blog of everyday life on and around the workbench

View attachment 9124

You say felt can be pressed or woven. I thought the woven stuff was called baize. Am I wrong?

 

[Stephen Howard]

Baize is a different woven wool fabric, though made from much the same materials.

I prefer these woven wools (of which there are many different types) over felt as they're fantastically hardwearing.

In fact I used them for the backgrounds on the sax and clarinet manuals. The sax is a red melton and the clarinet is a match-spec baize.

 

[Karolis]

Benchlife from the future!!…last two updates seem to be written in July…

 

[Stephen Howard]

Benchlife from the future!!…last two updates seem to be written in July…

Yeah, my "7" key has stopped working.

 

[Karolis]

Yeah, my "7" key has stopped working.

I hope the copy/paste function will remain in tact a little bit longer … (fingers crossed.)
Just shows that WE DO pay attention to every word (or symbol for that matter) on shwoodwind, and enjoy every minute reading it.

 

[Stephen Howard]

I hope the copy/paste function will remain in tact a little bit longer … (fingers crossed.)
Just shows that WE DO pay attention to every word (or symbol for that matter) on shwoodwind, and enjoy every minute reading it.

Glad to hear it!

Mind you, I recently had an email from a chap who pointed out quite an obvious mistake in one of the Notes articles - and while it wasn't originally a deliberate mistake I reckoned I'd leave it there to see how many other people spot it. He was the first in over a decade.

 

[Karolis]

I reckoned I'd leave it there to see how many other people spot it. He was the first in over a decade.

bugger… now I'll have to read it all over again….

 

[kevgermany]

Yeah, my "7" key has stopped working.

But it's still June.

 

[kevgermany]

bugger… now I'll have to read it all over again….

There are a lot of them... May take some time.

 

[Stephen Howard]

There are a lot of them... May take some time.

Articles or typos?

(You'd be right either way...)

 

[kevgermany]

Articles

Sometimes I'm laughing so much I can't see typos. Jazz bore and the drummer are my favourites so far.

 

[Karolis]

There are a lot of them... May take some time.

I 'm well aware.. hence the 'bugger"…