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What valve springs do you use now a days? mine are rattling and do not stay centered, it is a recent purchase so I'm unsure as to what they are but I am guessing standard Yamaha's by the looks of them. Any suggestions TNFJ? I can take pics of the bottom caps tomorrow for a reference. I know they are not original to the horn and have been machined specifically for this tuba.

I second Elephants recommendation

Never knew you could buy rubber coated springs... who sells those?

I use Yamaha springs in my Olds 099-4 also. When I had the valves rebuilt, Dan O. machined a groove on the inside of the bottom caps which would keep the spring centered. The Olds bottom cap has enough meat that machining the groove (about +/- 1/8" deep) was not a problem.

The posts above refer to the clear-plastic-coated springs that Yamaha uses for all of the Yamaha 4/4 and larger-sized tubas. These springs perform better than any others that I have encountered within the size parameters where they will fit. Coupled with a thorough chemical-cleaning and Hetman lubricants, the Yamaha springs seem to last for years with little or no coating breakdown.

bloke wrote: ... If this was the biggest controversy the world knows, wouldn't things be grand? ...Nevermind, WERE this the world's biggest controversy, we would probably go to war over it. "

You must be a tuba player , 'cause that's pretty deep.