I'm not sure that replacing the casings is necessary just because of worn guide slots. Valve guides are always oversized and machined to fit on instruments of that vintage, and if the slot is no longer true it can be widened slightly to correct issues.billako wrote:I am thinking of replacing the valve casings and pistons on my 1976 4-valve E flat B & H tuba, because the valve guide slots are worn and the valves have not been replated ever. The work would be done by good repair technicians in Athens, Greece, but they do not do this on tubas every day.
So, I wanted to ask if someone has had this done and has any suggestions or warnings that I might pass on to the technicians.
Do the valve casings for later Besson 4-valve E flat tubas fit on the B & H Imperial, or would I have to get original valve casings and pistons? I wondered if the design layout had changed slightly or a difference in the thickness of the metal would be a problem.
Any advice would be appreciated. Bill.
The casings will need to be align-bored, however. Then, the valves can be replated to build them up and then honed to fit. I have no idea who in Europe could do this, but in the U.S. I would only trust Dave Secrist to do the boring and plating and a superior technician to do the final honing after reassembly. It might be worth having your local technician remove the valve section, and then send it to someone in the U.S. for rebuilding. That might be cheaper than outright replacement, especially considering that Besson is currently in limbo.
There must be someone in England who is skilled with this, but from Greece that might not be an advantage over the U.S.
Rick "who has one instrument pending this work on finances" Denney
