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Hello Tubenetters,
Where would I able to find tuning slide stop rod nuts for my MW 2145 CC tuba? My tech searched through the Allied Catalogue and there did not seem to be any in there. The horn is now seven years old. Any ideas or ideas about a reasonable facsimile that would work?
Thanks!

Your tech should be able to measure the threads and let you know what size nuts will fit. Ljv is probably right. Bach stop nuts are 5-40 fwiw.

Thanks for the help. My tech tried the nuts from a Bach trumpet and they did not fit. We''ll keep on looking.

LJV wrote:If he has a set of metric taps, he can make them work...

LJ"realized I had a new box of metric taps stashed away a couple of days ago"V

That he does have a set of metric taps and said he can make it work using those. I am taking the slide in tomorrow and he will fix it in a timely fashion. Those of you who know of Kevin Junk and his shop (Musicraft) in Saskatoon will not be suprised that Kevin will be able and willing to take this little project on.

bloke wrote:Two very commonly-utilized thread sizes on modern German-manufactured tubas are M3 x .5 and M4 x .7

Those are the common thread sizes among metric threads, and are not musical instrument specific. If you go to a well-stocked hardware store and find regular M3 or M4 nuts, they will be M3x.5 and M4x.7. Another local source may be a car parts store or motorcycle dealer (not Harley though!), as European and Japanese cars are metric. M3 may be a little small for car parts though.

Once you know the thread, if you need unusual fasteners (like acorn nuts, thumb nuts, brass nuts ...), there are a few good internet and specialty sources. If you can find a Fastenal store nearby, they tend to have pretty good stock, and can order things. Their web site shows that they have two locations in Saskatoon. On the interwebs, good sources include McMaster, and AmazonSupply (the former Small Parts, Inc.).

Obviously, getting the "real thing" from Meinl/B&S/Buffet is better, but these source might get you something temporary much faster.

bloke wrote:Bach trumpet stop nuts (SAE 5-40) threads are too small.

Two very commonly-utilized thread sizes on modern German-manufactured tubas are M3 x .5 and M4 x .7

Since M3 x .5 is slightly smaller than (but in the same ballpark as) the SAE thread, 5-40...

why not try (??) tapping some Bach/Blessing (etc.) trumpet stop nuts to M3 x .5 and testing them...

...and if they are obviously not right, tap them out larger to M4 x .7 and try them again.

(Your repair-guy can do this easily.)

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Why not just order the proper stop nuts...??

Currently, there seems to be a parts "logjam" in regards to the B&S factory, and - logjam or no - I doubt that very many shops are willing to place an order to eastern Germany for a couple of stop nuts.

bloke "Are these on the 5th valve slide? If 'yes', I haven't ever met anyone who uses that stop rod."

That is exactly what the tech is going to do. Hopefully within the next two weeks.