Slow G# key first pres, then gets faster

[JBMouse]

Hi, Hopefully this has not been asked before:
My G# key opens very slowly on the first time each day, or when left for a couple og hours, but as I keep operating it the speed increases to what I, a newbie, consider normal speed. Can I easily cure this, or does it need a tech, or should I just ignore it and ensure I open the key a few times before serious practice/playing?
I have a video of this happening, but don't seem to be allowed to attach to the post.

 

[mizmar]

The key cap for G# raises by spring. If it's hesitant it's either because the spring is too weak or the pad is a bit sticky. For the former this is unlikely to change as you describe. So, probably, a bit of a sicky pad?
Solved by gently drawing some material over the pad. People often suggest a doler bill - maybe because it's construction remains somewhere in the 18th century? Or maybe cocaine is good for pads? Anyway, you slip the bill between the pad and hole, let the pad close - possibly applying a little pressure - and slowly pull the note out.
Personally I use modern, microfiber pull throughs, and use that if a pad is a little sticky.
About 2 pages of other suggestions are available

Hopefully this has not been asked before

Sticky G# Key

Hey everyone. I'm Deb, back to band saxing after a break of about 25 years. I've a beautiful Beuscher Aristocrat Alto, recently serviced, with a G# key that still sticks occasionally. Any advice on how to cure it gratefully received. It's the pad-on-metal that sticks when I've been using my...

cafesaxophone.com

 

[JBMouse]

Thanks for the first reply, but I wouldn't say it is the pad sticking as the key lifts off the horn without hesitation, it just takes about 1 second to come up to full travel, then it closes fully. Next press takes abot half a second, third press almost back to proper speed, weak spring? I am baffled (but I am a real newbie)

 

[mizmar]

Oh, ok. Fair enough.

If it was me, I'd check the rod hinge. Maybe too tight or needs a clean and lube...
But I'm not a Tec and won't be dishing out advice like that!

 

[Pete Thomas]

Dismantle, clean teeny bit of oil, and remantle. Or take it to a tech. I say dismantle because if it's slow due to gunk in there, oiling could just make it worse without cleaning first. (I use lighter fluid for cleaning.

 

[turf3]

Oil in the works has gotten gummy.

Applying more oil (light weight) might soften the old gummy stuff, or you might need to disassemble, wipe off the old stuff, run pipe cleaners through the key hinge tubes, apply new high quality oil, and reassemble.

 

[Stephen Howard]

It could be simple...or it could be complicated.

As you'll probably have worked out by now, the G# mechanism is in two parts; there's the lever key (the bit you press) and the cup key (which is the bit that raises the pad off the tonehole).
You've ruled out a sticking pad - because you say that the cup key raises, albeit slowly.

So what could be the cause?

Well, it could be a weak spring on the key cup - but even a weak spring tends to move a key reasonably smartly once it's in play.
Is it a Chinese horn? They often use a grease that's compsosed of, well, I dunno what - but it tends to congeal after a year or two. The fix for this is to pop a drop of cigarette lighter fluid at each and of the key barrel (the longish tube on which the key cup pivots) and work the key a few times. If it frees the key up, follow it up with a drop of suitable oil.
All easy-peasy so far...

Another cause of a sluggish key is a malformed rod/hinge screw. If the thread had been turned slightly offset to the centre of the rod screw it can often lead to binding when the screw is in a particular orientation. It most commonly happens when the screw is fully tightened. Quickest way to check for this is to back the screw off a little and see if it makes a difference.
It could also be a taper cut into the end of the rod screw before the threaded portion (rather than a flat).

Another cause is a knock to either the cup key or the associated pillars. If anything's out of alignment it's going to cause problems.

I'd start with the cig.lighter fluid and if that fails try backing the screw out a little. Thereafter it's likely a job for a repairer.

 

[JBMouse]

Sorted it !
Completely loosened the rod in the barrel but didn't remove it, twiddled ot around a little, screwed it back up properly, and, hey presto, it works from the first press!
I didn't want to start fiddling with it without a little extra info which, thanks to you all in the forum, I got. Thanks.
Can I mark the thread answered here?

 

[mizmar]

Can I mark the thread answered here?

Here, on Café Saxophone, no issues is ever considered completely answered; however satisfactory the situation.
Asking a question here, however good the answer, is like turning Dante's circles of hell up to 11

 

[Pete Thomas]

Can I mark the thread answered here?

Indeed you can, I have activated the mark thread solution feature now