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What is the average time it takes for instrument repairs? I took a mouthpiece in for replating over 2 months ago. I spoke to the shop after a month and they basically would only say they would let me know when it's done. Today I spoke with a young man who is having a euphonium rebuilt and he said it's been in the shop slightly more than a year. Are such long time frames normal for repairs?

That seems long, but if it's a one person operation, it could take a while...or if they're really busy. It is feasible.
Some of the more experienced repair people on here will comment better

I waited 2,5 months for my kaiser tuba to be cleaned and soldered back on the loose braces.
That's mainly because I told the repair tech: "Not urgent, take your time, don't really need the horn now."

Wim

oedipoes wrote:I waited 2,5 months for my kaiser tuba to be cleaned and soldered back on the loose braces.
That's mainly because I told the repair tech: "Not urgent, take your time, don't really need the horn now."

Wim

I run a one man shop here and I stay pretty busy for the size of the operation... I think. There are many factors that effect the time line of a repair. There are too many and too many variables to list. If parts need to be ordered, or if parts need to be sent away for plating then that can really hold things back. The OP's mouthpiece could have been sent out to a plater and the shop is waiting to get it back.

The biggest factor for me is priority. I usually try to concentrate on schools first and small private work second. Custom work, overhauls and horn building all take a back seat. Overhauls and the like for private customers can take very long (sometimes I need a phone call to remind me to do it) especially when I hear a customer say "Not urgent, take your time, don't really need the horn now."

I work very hard at NOT having much of a backlog.... meaning I can turn routine repairs around very quickly. If I get caught up I simply work on my own horns or items I've purchased to resell. The only two things that can cause serious delays in my shop are... 1) parts orders and/or plating work... and 2) if I have to search for obsolete parts or make them.

The most popular plater and valve rebuilder is currently backlogged 6 to 8 weeks. That's probably pretty typical in a manufacturing environment that has multiple departments and lots of workers. If you couple that to an additional couple of weeks to remove and replace a valve section... and some additional time for scheduling... you could be looking at three to four months for a valve job.

I currently have two horns in the shop that have been here for over two months. One is a five-valve Holton double-belled euphonium that is totally missing the #2 piston. In this case, I have to either find a piston or have one made before starting on the other repairs the horn needs. The other is a euphonium that originally came with a main tuning slide 'kicker'. The 'kicker' assembly was missing and I'm having a difficult time just finding out what the old one looked like. These two examples are not what I would consider to be 'routine' repairs. They might just be here a while longer.

My best advertisement is a local music store that quotes six to eight weeks for EVERYTHING. Even valve alignments or just replacing one flute pad. They have a seven-tech shop that requires fairly close scheduling to keep everyone busy even during lean times. I quite happy that I'm just a one-man shop where scheduling is not a problem. Sometimes I work an eighty-hour week. There are also weeks that I simply 'take off' to do other fun stuff. I have a real luxury inasmuch as I don't do any complete overhauls that require refinishing. I can usually concentrate on a job from start to finish without a lot of interruptions for contract services and transportation problems.

TubaTinker wrote:I work very hard at NOT having much of a backlog.... meaning I can turn routine repairs around very quickly. If I get caught up I simply work on my own horns or items I've purchased to resell. The only two things that can cause serious delays in my shop are... 1) parts orders and/or plating work... and 2) if I have to search for obsolete parts or make them.


My best advertisement is a local music store that quotes six to eight weeks for EVERYTHING. Even valve alignments or just replacing one flute pad. They have a seven-tech shop that requires fairly close scheduling to keep everyone busy even during lean times. I quite happy that I'm just a one-man shop where scheduling is not a problem. Sometimes I work an eighty-hour week. There are also weeks that I simply 'take off' to do other fun stuff.

I do the same. My only local competitor quotes anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks for general repairs. I actually keep coffee, tea and other beverages handy so customers can sit and wait (not in the shop over my shoulder) while I work or I send them away for an hour or two.

A college buddy of mine works about 4 hours from me in a HUGE music store with a HUGE repair shop and HUGE repair volume. He has his own repair pile where clarinets and flutes (all he works on) can be stacked for him to fix. They discovered recently that the instruments at the bottom of that pile have been there for over 6 months! He just kept working from the top of the pile and just never got to the bottom before more got stacked on top. This is apparently quite common there.

I'm not suggesting that the OP's repair provider works this way... Just a funny story.

I have found that if you can form a relationship with your repair person that things can go quite smoothly. I always try to set up an appointment for work to be done. I would rather have the horn than have it sitting in the shop. I get on the schedule and then take the horn in when my turn comes up. Consider giving your repair person a tip. If he/she works in a big shop you may have to do this quietly but it can be done. If you slip your repair person $20 each time they work on your horn they may be much happier to see you than the guy who doesn't. Praise work that is done well. Of course you expect good work and should receive it but letting the repair person know you thought they did a good job may make them feel better and again happier to see you-thus you may get better service. If you honor your repair person (and they are very important people) they will have a tendency to do better work for you.
Just my 2 cents, Phil

bloke wrote:(Assuming you can do these and accept the work...) If some school asks you to do complete restorations w/satin silver finishes on their twelve sousaphones - and it's July 15th - there IS going to be a "wait"...I don't care what one's intentions are about keeping caught up with their work.

Joe... you are MORE than welcome to contracts like that.

If I were unhappy waiting for a mouthpiece replating job, I would go to the store, tell them I changed my mind and pick it up. Then, I would call Anderson's Plating and tell them I was shipping a mouthpiece to be plated and probably get it back within a month. Chances are that a mouthpiece sitting around is going to continue sitting around.

Bad things happen when a horn sits around. The longer it sits, the worse it gets -- that's true about all repairs: instruments, cars, houses, etc.

If you are talking about a real restoration... that's a different matter. If you are talking about blueprinting a rare and valuable instrument, that is definitely a different matter.

My advice: Go get the mouthpiece, you'll both be happier.