Yamaha Tenor Sax Neck Repair

This fairly new tenor sax took a bad fall and landed on the neck and the bell rim. Both ended up badly dented, but this neck clearly took the brunt of the impact.

 Usually when we see neck damage, it's because the neck has been bent and is out of round. This was a unique project, because most of the neck was still in fine shape and there weren't huge high spots to deal with. On bent necks, the high ridges running down the sides are a big challenge for me. The trade-off of not having to deal with that, though, was that the isolated damage was pretty severe. Repairing it involved first removing the saddle plate, buffing the tinning and lacquer from the damaged area, and annealing the dent. The high heat of annealing burned a lot of the remaining lacquer, too, despite my well-intentioned but futile efforts to protect it with Cold Shield past. Cold Shield is great for protecting nearby solder joints that you don't want to overheat, but in this application it sucked up too much heat, which prevented the dented area from reaching the temperature needed to anneal the brass. So I had to clean it all off and proceed with the annealing, knowing that a lot of heat would get transferred to the lacquered areas and toast what lacquer was there.

Once annealed the brass was soft enough to move and begin reshaping. About a half hour of careful work brought it to this point:

The large area of exposed brass is from buffing away all the lacquer that was burned during annealing. After some more shaping with dent balls and tapping with a soft hammer, the area was smooth enough to reinstall the saddle plate, then clean, buff, and lacquer. I'd say this is some of the best dent work I've done, especially on a sax neck, but I need to get better at matching lacquer tint - not having a spray gun is a hindrance. I  try to tint the brass before spraying it with clear lacquer, but I need to work on that process more. It's certainly a step in the right direction, though, with regard to improving the finesse of my dent work.

Buffet English Horn Bonus Post 2 - New Octave Mechanism

Those who know me know that I have nothing against automatic octave mechanisms on english horns. It's probably the defining characteristic of my personality. People who meet me often walk away saying "There's a guy who can appreciate a well-made english horn automatic octave mechanism." One of my first posts on this blog was about how to regulate such a mechanism on a Theo Markardt english horn, which was pretty elegantly made.

That being said, the automatic octave mechanism on my personal Buffet english horn was a bucket of junk. Most such mechanisms have only one octave lever, which is all you need. That one lever operates either of the two octave keys, depending on whether the G key (third finger left hand) is open or closed - that's also how automatic octave mechanisms work on saxophones. On this instrument, though, there are two octave levers, just like the manual (actually semi-automatic) mechanism that you'd find on most oboes and english horns. You could press either lever to activate the mechanism, and both had the same effect: they would allow the appropriate key to open depending on whether the G key was open or closed. So if, say, a saxophonist were doubling on english horn in a musical and wasn't familiar with how to use a manual octave mechanism, they could exclusively use the thumb octave lever just like they would on saxophone. Or if a player were feeling funky, they could exclusively use the side lever. And for those of us familiar with a traditional manual mechanism, you could use both levers just like you always have, and get the right "feel" while the automatic mechanism is actually choosing which key to open. It sound like a neat idea, but in practice it's pretty goofy. It's like buying a car with an automatic transmission, but driving it as if it were a stick-shift.

The original, automatic octave mechanism

A closeup of the original mechanism, showing multiple contact points that all had to be kept in adjustment

So the mechanism was over-engineered, had a clunky feel, and was finicky to keep in adjustment. Further, it was articulated to the G key by a long rod that made that key feel sluggish and heavy. I wanted to do something about it, and since there was no way to uncouple the levers from each other, I elected to replace the mechanism outright with a manual mechanism. Not wanting to sacrifice any parts of the existing mechanism, that meant making new keys from nickel stock.

Shaping the keys is a pretty simple, if time consuming process. After measuring and tracing parts of the existing mechanism, it was a matter of grinding and power sanding the rough shape into a bar of nickel, then filing and sanding by hand to refine the shape and remove scratches. Some parts had to be annealed and hammered on a mandrel or in a vise to create curves and angles. Here are a couple shots of the roughed-out thumb touchpiece still attached to the bar, after being hammered on a mandrel to create the curve that will allow it to wrap around the body of the instrument.

Side view

Top-down view

Only a couple parts had to be machined -one being a key cup for the upper octave key. The original lower octave key was usable in its unaltered condition, but a screw barrel had to be made for the thumb octave lever to connect to it. Those two parts were made from brass.

Brass rod in the lathe, ready to be machined

The new pad cup and screw barrel

The hinge rods that form the pivot axis for the keys were just nickel rod cut to the appropriate length, then center-drilled and reamed to accept the existing pivot screws. After that the various key parts were drilled out to the diameter of the rod and slipped on, then carefully aligned and soldered in place with silver solder. Finally, spring catches were made for both keys by filing down some scrap nickel. A small hole was drilled in each rod to accept the catches and they too were soldered in place. After a quick bath in descaling solution to removing the residue left by silver soldering, the keys were buffed and ready to pad/cork/install. The resulting mechanism is easier to use (for me, at least), feels more responsive, and it's simple, so it won't require constant monitoring and adjustment. 

General view of the new mechanism

Side view, showing the the thumb octave lever

Thumb touchpiece from the earlier pictures, polished and mounted

Closeup showing the new pad cup on the upper octave key, and the original lower octave key still in place

Side-by-side of the old and new mechanisms

A post for the sake of posting

Sometimes I get asked to fix things other than instruments, like this little metal pumpkin that I got to solder back together for my mom :-)

Also, I have a new facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/keystonemusicrepair. A couple of updates there, and more coming here soon, as well.

Articulation Materials

Articulation materials are those materials placed on woodwind instruments at any point where two pieces of key work engage with one another. Any time one key or lever activates another key or lever, a piece of articulation material will always 1) prevent noisy metal-to-metal contact and 2) sometimes allow adjustment of the relationship between the two keys. For instance, if pressing one key closes another key, they will both need to close at exactly the same time. Placing material of the correct thickness at their articulation point will allow that. If the material is too thick or thin, one key will close first and prevent the second key from closing. In cases where adjustment screws exist, the articulation material just silences the connection, and changing the position of the screw is what changes the relationship between the keys.

Articulation points are different from key feet, which are the parts of the keys that contact the body. Key foot materials tend to be chosen exclusively for their firmness or noise level, while there are other factors that come in to play when selecting articulation materials including compression and coefficient of friction. There are a lot of materials useful for articulation points, some better suited to certain purposes than others. These are some of the ones I use.

Natural cork: is very quiet but squishy, so thicker pieces don't hold adjustments well. If you have a strong grip on the keys, you'll likely squeeze through any compression so the drawback of "squishiness" is, in that case, negligible. Natural cork has a relatively high coefficient of friction and tends to tear easily, so it's not great for sliding articulation points or very small points. However because it's so quiet, it's often found under the articulation screws on oboes. In this application the corks should be replaced at least once a year lest they become too compressed and start to get noisy, or tear. When it is used in sliding points, natural cork can make a squeaking sound as it moves. Nonetheless, it's the material most often used by manufacturers on their factory set-ups because it's inexpensive and forgiving of sloppy pad work. It's the material I use least often.

Gummi cork: is firm and resistant to tearing, but its stability comes at the cost of being noisy. Gummi corks are not to be confused with low-grade composition cork. Gummi cork is made of very small scraps of cork held together with very strong glue and cut to a precise thickness. Because of its stability it's great for places like bridge keys on clarinets and oboes. It's also commonly found on the backbar of saxophone F# keys, but here the noisiness is more noticeable because saxophone keys have more mass that's slamming down on to the cork. It is extremely stable, and so very useful for joints where a precise regulation is needed. Gummi cork isn't exactly a low-friction material, although it does last longer than natural cork when used in sliding joints. Over time, though, it will compress or tear in certain application, like the back of the F/C key on clarinets, where the key contacts the left hand F/C lever. 

Felt: is very quiet and often resistant to tearing, but is also very compressible and not great for precise adjustments. Felt can't be made especially thin either, so the right thickness isn't always available. Felt can be soaked in a variety of substances to harden it and make it more dimensionally stable, sometimes without making it too much noisier. It has very low friction and can work quite well for sliding joints, especially where precise adjustment isn't required. It's compressibility makes it good at absorbing shocks, so it's useful under saxophone key feet when one is trying to eliminate "key bounce," though over time it can permanently compress and become too dense and firm to prevent bounce.

Synthetic felt: is more stable and firmer than felt, but it's also a little bit noisier, and a good bit more expensive. It great for joints where a precise and quiet connection is needed. Again, though, it's not available in especially thin sizes so it has somewhat limited applications. I often use it in places on higher end instruments where tradition dictates that felt be used - between the A key pearl and Bb bis key on saxophones, or between the thumb Bb lever and B key on flutes. Because it doesn't compress as readily as felt, it's a longer-lasting fix for eliminating key bounce.

Nylon: most often used as an insert in regulation screws on flutes, oboes, and clarinets, nylon is relatively quiet on small articulation points (such as you'd find on those instruments). It's not as quiet as natural cork or felt, but on small keys with little range of motion, the noise can be quite manageable. The greatest benefit is that nylon tips are extremely stable and long lasting, perhaps never needing replacement as long as they're not damaged. They can't fall off like pieces of cork or felt and will remain dimensionally stable regardless of how often the screw is moved. Nylon is also fairly low in friction, so it doesn't stick or cause mechanisms to "hang up."

Leather: very thin pieces of leather are sometimes found under the articulation screws on oboes. Specifically, the leather is usually of the type used in making saxophone pads, which can be a little too thick for this application on certain instruments. It's resistant to tearing and relatively quiet. It has a little more friction than other materials, but since the articulation points on oboes don't really slide, that is of minor concern.

Teflon sheet: is of course very low in friction, so it's an excellent choice for any sort of sliding joint. Teflon sheet is available with a treated back that can be bonded to keys with glue (the front surface, of course, won't stick to most adhesives). It has a plastic-like consistency, so it's also very stable and resistant to tearing. Unfortunately it's also very hard and loud, so its use is always a bit of a compromise. Again, on smaller contact points, the noise is less noticeable because of the small mass of the keys.

Ultrasuede: is low in friction and extremely resistant to tearing. It's not very firm, though, so it's most often my choice for sliding joints where a precise adjustment isn't needed. For instance, on old baritone saxophones where the Low B and Bb pads are separate from their levers, linked by a sliding ramp. Because ultrasuede isn't very dense it squishes easily, but doesn't stay compressed. Ultrasuede is pretty expensive, like synthetic felt, and a royal pain to cut with a razor blade.

Laminated cork: is made from a sheet of very thin paper laminated between two pieces of very thin cork. The idea is to create a thin cork (.003") that will be resistant to tearing or compression. Generally, it fulfills those criteria, but any material that thin is going to be somewhat noisy.

Sorbothane: is often used in the insoles of shoes, but has found limited use among musical instruments. It is excellent at absorbing shocks, so it's great for eliminating "key bounce." It's also pretty quiet, but it's designed to compress and recover, so while it always returns to its original thickness like ultrasuede, it can't be used for precise adjustment or anywhere that a firm feel is desired. It's also a pain to cut.

Other: Whatever is out there! A lot of technicians get creative with the articulation materials they use, and find things that work better for their particular needs and the needs of their customers. I've lately been trying out pieces of very thin natural cork with a piece of Tyvek envelope laminated on top of it, for any place where a very thin piece of material is needed, and especially under regulation screws. The Tyvek is almost impossible to tear, it's slippery, and it's extremely thin. Adding a backing of natural cork cuts down on the noise of the Tvyek (being very thin, it's also very noisy), and since the Tyvek itself is what makes contact, it protects the cork underneath from tearing.

Really, the best articulation material is what makes the customer feel comfortable with their instruments, so a technician must be capable of using all of them properly. As always, it is critical that a technician understand the tools at their disposal and be prepared to deploy them in order to suit the customer's specific needs and preferences.

Regulating the Lower End of an Oboe

On a full conservatory system oboe, regulating the lower end of the instrument can be a challenge for the uninitiated. Specifically, the keys controlled by the left hand pinky table present the technician with a lot of regulation screws and connections between keys that need to be adjusted to have little or no lost motion. The keys concerned are labeled below.

Before getting in to adjustments, there are a few things to check to make sure you have a solid set-up to build upon. If you're very confident that the instrument is already properly set up and just needs some tweaking, you can jump to step 7. It's always smart to mess with as few things as you need to.

1) Make sure the regulation screws at the bottom of the rod for the left hand pinky table are set to a neutral position. They're circled in the picture below. There needs to be a gap under each screw so that the pinky table can rock back and forth (at least a little bit) and won't contact the Eb closing spring and Bb linkage arm at the same time. If both screws are in contact at the same time, the Eb key may be held open. You'll adjust these screws later.

2) Also make sure there is a gap between the Eb closing spring and the arm on the back of the C key. The clearance in this spot is very tight, and it's not uncommon for the arm to press on the spring, which will hold Eb key open. If there is contact, the way I commonly address it is to file away a little bit on the bottom of the arm until there is clearance. Doing so will allow you to address this problem without altering the height of the C key or its relationship with the Eb key. The very tip of the arrow is where you want to look for clearance.

.

3) Make sure the left hand pinky table is properly aligned and isn't bent. The Bb touchpiece sticks out further than any other key on the lower joint and is most prone to get bent. Make sure the arm leading to the Bb touchpiece is parallel to the arm of the Eb touchpiece and B touchpiece when viewed from above. Viewed from the side, they should also be parallel. (The left hand F touchpiece should also be parallel, but that's not involved in this procedure).

4) Check the height of the B and Bb touchpieces. Because things aren't regulated yet, they may not rest at equal heights, but press on the Bb touchpiece until it contacts the cork on the B touchpiece. When that contact is made, the two touchpieces should be at the same height. If they're not, you can change the cork to a different thickness, or bend the arm that the cork is glued to.

5) Make sure the B and Bb keys are at the same height. I'm assuming here that the pads have the same amount of protrusion from the key cups, and that the pads are already level to the toneholes. The height of the B key is controlled by a foot cork on the B lever that contacts the body. Keep in mind, if you change the thickness of that cork, it will alter the height of the B touchpiece. So it's generally better to adjust the height of the Bb key to match the B key. The height of the Bb key is either controlled by a foot cork on the bridge that contacts the body, or in the case of an instrument with a resonance key, the protrusion of the pad on the resonance key. More protrusion means that the Bb pad will be more closed, less protrusion means the Bb pad will be more open. If you need to adjust that, also look ahead to the next step and keep an eye on the bridge.

6) Make sure there is a gap between the bridge on the Bb key and the bridge on the lower joint. On an instrument without an adjustment screw or resonance key, you would just place a thicker cork on the bridge where it contacts the bell joint (slightly below the bell socket ring shown in this picture). On an instrument with a resonance key, make sure the adjustment screw is set to a neutral position. If there's still no gap, something is way out of whack. In any case, you would need to adjust the resonance key pad to change the height of the bridge, which will change the height of the Bb key (yuck). 

7) Now that everything has been verified as being properly set up, you can start regulating! Turn the right hand screw from the picture to regulate B to Bb. Tightening it (clockwise) will make the Bb close sooner. Loosening it (counterclockwise) will make the Bb close later. In other words, if the B key is closing and the Bb is still hanging open, tighten the screw. If the Bb is closing but the B is hanging open, loosen it. Regulation screw are supposed to a little tight (that way they stay in place for a long time), but if it's really resisting, don't force it, lest you break the head and make it into a much larger (and more expensive) project. Always use the largest screwdriver that you can fit into the slot. The more purchase you can get, the less likely the screwdriver is to slip or damage the slot. And always rest the instrument on a stable surface while turning screws. Trying to hold the instrument in one hand and turn the screwdriver with the other is a great way to end up with a screwdriver in your arm.

If you back the screw out all the way and the B key is still hanging open, you'll need to adjust the bridge key from step 6 a little more. You can back out that regulation screw further to gain a little more ground. This will, of course, create a larger gap in the bridge key, and you always want to strive for the smallest possible gap on oboe keys, but if you've done everything correctly, that gap will be addressed shortly. For now, the concern is getting the regulation correct.

8) Once the regulation is set, you'll adjust the left hand screw in the above picture to remove the gaps (lost motion) throughout the mechanism. The idea is to eliminate the gap between the B and Bb touchpieces (from step 4), and create a minimal gap between the bridge keys (step 6). This should be achievable by turning that left hand screw. Generally you'll need to tighten in (clockwise) to close those gaps. If you turn it too far, though, it will hold the Eb key open by pressing on the closing spring. Keep an eye on that key and check it constantly. Open it with the right hand touchpiece and let it close, then do the same with the left touchpiece. Do it a few times with each one and make sure that it closes fully each time. If it doesn't, go back to step 2 and double check that there is a gap between the C key and the closing spring. If that's not the problem, you've overtightened the screw, or there may be an issue with spring balancing (the spring on the Bb linkage arm needs to be weaker than the Eb closing spring).

Go back and check your gaps one more time. Again, there should be no gap between the B and Bb touchpieces, and a small gap between the bridge keys. These are actual pictures from after I completed the setup on this oboe, showing those two spots.

Only after completing the B to Bb regulation should you proceed to the Eb-D trill regulation (when present), the B-C# regulation (when present) and the C-Eb regulation. Whatever you do from this point, do not change the height of the C key, as it can mess up the Eb closing spring.

There! That was easy, huh? What an elegantly simple mechanism the oboe has!

Regulating oboes can be extremely trying, but doing it well is absolutely essential for quality work. Oboes are know for being unforgiving in their adjustments. A poor setup can mean the difference between an instrument that sings and one that is impossible to control.

In other news, my cat usually dislikes the sound of the oboe, but while I was writing this post he finally got close enough to give mine a good sniff.

It's Always Exciting to See Outstanding Work

I had this flute in for a cleaning last month. The owner last had it serviced when she was in high school in Indianapolis, so it's been 30 years since it was worked on. But the last person to work on it was David Straubinger, former flautist with the Indianapolis Symphony, developer and maker of the now-famous Straubinger Pads for handmade flutes, and to this day a highly respected flute technician. When the owner called me and said the flute hadn't been touched by a technician in 30 years, I told her to expect the worst when she brought it in. When I opened the case, though, I was surprised to that the pads were not only in excellent condition, but almost all of them were still level and sealing. The instrument really played like it had just been recently worked on, despite the fact that the owner had played up to four hours a day through her teenage years, and then put it away in a closet for a couple decades after that. There was nothing fancy about the pads or the way they were installed, but it was obvious that the work was done with a great deal of care and attention to detail. In any craft, the work speaks for the worker, and the story it tells can be either a good or bad reflection. You can learn a lot about a person just by seeing and studying their output - their work ethic, skill level, and sense of personal pride, to name just a few. This flute spoke volumes about how Mr. Straubinger developed such a strong reputation for excellent work, and presumably why he continues to enjoy that reputation today. His work tells an impressive tale, and it's made me think more about the story my work will tell 30 years on. I can hope it's a good one, but beyond that I need to work to ensure it's a good one. It's essential that any serious craftsman have vigilant adherence to the quality standards they set for themselves, and be unwilling to waver from them. 
Thinking about this has reminded me of a motto I repeat at least once a day, one I learned from another, more seasoned tech: "Just do a good job." No excuses, just straightforward work done to the highest standards I can achieve.

King Double-Bell Euphonium

This is just a neat instrument I recently got from a friend - a 1927 (or maybe '28) King double-bell euphonium (of "Seventy-Six Trombones" from The Music Man fame.)

(Oh, you say you don't get that reference? Well here's a little dose of campiness to bring you up to speed)

The second bell is activated by pressing the fourth valve. That reroutes air from the main bell to the second bell, giving a softer, less robust sound.

It looks like someone rebuilt this instrument and did a lot of dent work at some point, and they didn't do a bad job of it at all, though it was surely not a professional restoration. There's evidence that a lot of the solder joints have been redone, and hammer marks from some less-than-perfect dent removal. They managed to put it back together with everything straight, though, which is a tough job. Plus, they managed to not damage the plating! The gold wash in both bells is incredibly well-preserved except right at the rim. It's just about the finest gold wash I've seen.

The owner has had this instrument sitting around for awhile, playing it occasionally, but he hasn't done extensive maintenance on it, and has never sent it out for cleaning. It was completely black when I got it from him, so it was tough to tell the condition of the plating. Fortunately the satin silver turned out to be mostly intact, so things cleaned up very nicely.

I love these old engravings!