Leather guards

[imperialbari]

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[tubatooter1940]

Porkchop, think plastics. Inert substances that will not react with the tuba material are what to get.
I understand real leather plus water can get some green funk goin'.

[Rick F]

I've been using "Leather Specialties" guard (customized) for 2 years on my Yamaha-641 without any problems. I have it on my third valve slide and beneath the 4th valve where my left hand holds the instrument. They're made of three layers. The outside layer is a thin leather, under that is a thin layer plastic (to prevent moisture penetration), then the part that touches the instrument is NOT felt but a thin material like valor (no tarnish underneath).

Klaus, I know you don't like leather, but these are working for me.

[imperialbari]

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[imperialbari]

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[dwerden]

I have used leather guards on my euphoniums and baritone for years. I have also used leatherette successfully. HOWEVER, there is a caution in both cases.

Knowing no other option in the early 1970's, I made them myself. First I made a template of paper, cutting it until it wrapped where I needed it to and missed the braces. I made it ample enough to overlap about an inch so I could sew on Velcro for fastening and for easy removal when cleaning or polishing. I have made one for the bell, between the leadpipe and first joint (to protect from my arm when I rest it there, and from my buttons), and also one that wraps around the 3rd valve slide.

I tried "bare" leather and found that it blackened the silver (because of the acids mentioned in other posts/topics). So I lined the leather with soft flannel. That worked very well, and I haven't noticed any seepage of moisture/oils from my hands. I used a spray-on fabric glue to affix the flannel to the back of the leather.

You can also use imitation leather, but be very careful here. You want it to be backed with a fabric that feels like cotton. A student used material that had a Nylon-tricot lining (very soft-feeling fabric, sometimes used inside bedroom slippers). The Nylon was extremely abrasive and wore off the silver plate in places. I never had that trouble with the cotton-like lining. I also used fabric that had a fuzzy lining (still cotton, I think), and it worked well. But this fabric was much thinner and did not last well.

On the whole, I would prefer to purchase something that is high quality and ready-made for my purpose. That's what I would recommend if there is a guard made for your particular horn.

[tbn.al]

I made a couple of guards out of "Cotton Duck", tent fabric, with very good results for my old raw brass Ernst David Bielefelder. I was more interested in protecting my clothes than the horn, although it does both. They are pretty easy to make up out of cloth. Then just lace them on. I covered the area from the bottom bow up to the leadpipe. No dectectible change in sound and no more green smudges on my pants.

[Rick F]

It is my understanding that Leather Specialties dropped the tuba wraps a few months back as they couldn't keep up with this custom work which was very time consuming. They had a few outstanding tuba wrap orders they were going to fulfill and then stop the custom work.

Got this email from 'Leather Specialties' recently that said...

"I should say that we have not entirely discontinued making the tuba guards, just designing new ones. If a customer's tuba is one we already have a guard for, we can make it easily."

LSCO website
...their picture of euphonium guard is NOT of a Willson model, but a Besson (see loop support in valve slides).

[jon112780]

Kevin Powers has a line of these products, but they are through his store, not at Custom Music. It might be called 'Michigan Winds' or something like that...

Hope this helps!