Looking for a 20K third valve

[insurix]

Hi there,

I recently replaced my Conn 14K, whose valves appeared to be in pretty bad shape, by an old 20K which sound quite great.
But it appears that the third valve is not the original one but a modified first valve, which fits thanks to a previous modification of the position of the valve stem and cap. I didn't even know it was possible.
Anyway, I discovered by checking the alignement that there was an angular mis-alignement due to this weird "fixing".

Lacking for any other DIY solution, and after checking with my local repairman, it seems that the only non-too risky solution is to find a real 20k third valve.
So do you have any idea where to look for such a part ? A third valve for a Conn 20k ? Thanks for your help fellas.

[Dan Schultz]

All three pistons are different. Also... all three of the valve guide caps/pin assemblies are different. You can order whatever parts you need from Conn-Selmer or Allied supply. However... you need to make sure EXACTLY which parts you need first.

Not only could the piston be wrong but the pin/cap assembly could be, too. All the parts should be numbered.

[insurix]

Thank you for your answers.
Actually the valve piston is numbered "1" and the valve cap is a "2". But it doesn't matter here because it has been modified so that it is "re-aligned". I should post some pictures, just to share and illustrate my words.
But you're right to make me think to look for a piston AND a valve cap.
I'll let you know what I achieve to do.

[insurix]

It's easy to say that from the US but believe me, here in France even when I went to the tech here in Paris, maybe the best one in town by the way, he said I had to find by myself such parts because he can't access them.
So I looked through the web, didn't find any interesting track, maybe I can get lucky and find an american repairmen who could order them for me and ship them to France, especially the piston. I'll call some of them at random sooner or later. If you have suggestions, feel free to let me know
Thanks anyway.

[Dan Schultz]

It's easy to say that from the US but believe me, here in France even when I went to the tech here in Paris, maybe the best one in town by the way, he said I had to find by myself such parts because he can't access them.
So I looked through the web, didn't find any interesting track, maybe I can get lucky and find an american repairmen who could order them for me and ship them to France, especially the piston. I'll call some of them at random sooner or later. If you have suggestions, feel free to let me know
Thanks anyway.

Yeah... trying to get US parts from France can be a big problem, I guess. US repair guys have the same trouble getting parts from Buffet/Crampon! There are several folks on this forum (including me) who would be able to help you out once it's determined exactly what you need. There are a few Europeans on TubeNet who know their way around American horns and have parts networks. Look for 'timswisstuba' in the members list and try contacting him through TubeNet messaging. If he doesn't know... perhaps he can point you in the right direction.

[insurix]

Here are some pics of my actual third valve. My interpretation :
You can see the original holes which have been clogged with copper. To make this valve #1 fit the valve #3 casing, they re-bored two new holes, one for the valve stem and the other for the pin of the piston guide.



Seeing these, getting a new real valve #3 still seems to be the better option ? I can't figure out any other solution, except machining a new notch in the casing which is too risky according to my tech.