Stoopid tuning slide stop question

[MartyNeilan]

Not just stupid, stoopid, tuning slide question for the TNFJ
My old-style Mirafone 181 has slide stops added to the main tuning slide, and the alternate main tuning slide, as well (A=440ish and 442ish?)
There is no kind of pull rod (nor does there appear to have ever been) on the main slide.
I have to make sure to completely adjust and tighten the locknut on the threaded rod after tuning, else it will vibrate and make noise. Pulling the slide requires spinning the nut several dozen times, very inconvenient if I just want to drop some oil down the rotors.
I have seen the same thing added on other tubas once in a while.
Here is the stoopid question:
Why add a slide stop to a slide that is nearly impossible to move while playing, and does not have any kind of pull rod or mechanism on it?
(Note: horn has since been cleaned up a lot)

[willbrett]

Perhaps it was prone to falling out???

[imperialbari]

Perhaps it was prone to falling out???

Right to the core of the problem, especially in certain climatic situations.

Bavarian summers can be quite hot, and marching/parading will expose brass instruments to the sun. And the Germans use their tubas for marching - no shifting to sousaphones. A far pull is a bad combination with marching.

The US climate varies over a wide spectre of temperatures, so Miraphone just wanted to take the secure road. I am no Miraphone fan, but I wouldn't blame this matter.

Klaus

[willbrett]

Perhaps it was prone to falling out???

I'll add that I would have loved to have this feature on a couple of horns I've played over the years...

Yeah, it may be inconvenient if you're the type to pull the slide out to dump condensation (and I am that type, on my current horn), but it can be a life saver, too!

Am I correct in assuming that the threaded rod is long enough to allow maximum slide pull without losing seal?

[MartyNeilan]

Actually, the main slide requires a great deal of effort to move it at all. It was like this when Wade played on the horn back in the Eisenhower era, and it is still like this. If gravity was strong enough to pull this slide out, I would never be able to take a single step forward.
Good idea, though!

[Uncle Buck]

If your main inconvenience is when you want to drop oil into the rotors, just do that through the fifth valve slide instead.

[J.c. Sherman]

Actually, the nut is probably on the wrong side. The stop rod is to stop your lap, pants, chair or stand from pushing the tuning slide in, not keep it from falling out.

J.c.S. (who's installed a few of these...)

[MartyNeilan]

Thanks for all the smart answers to my stoopid question!