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Can anyone cite good sources for valve felts for my Besson BBb 3-valve compensating tuba?

Do i need 3 or 6?

Could I cut my own out of ... felt?

You need to check the alignment of each valve to see how much felt you need. A dental mirror is a great tool. . Remove a valve next to the one you're checking. They are cheap enough from a repair tech, it would be a lot more trouble to measure and cut to size.

There are a bunch of places that sell felts/corks/whatever: Votaw Tool, J. L. Smith, and Ferrees are a few.

For original equipment Besson felts, or straightforward replacements, you will probably find them at Dawkes: http://www.dawkes.co.uk/index.php" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank. If you don't seem then in their web site, email and ask. Their prices, even with international shipping, are quite reasonable. It's where I get the felts for my 981 clone since I can't seem to find them elsewhere (at least at reasonably prices).

In terms of how many you need, look on the piston and see what you need. Probably 6 (one under the valve cap and one under the finger button?).

However, the advice about valve alignment is good. If you don't know how to do this yourself, you'll need to take it to a repair tech since just replacing the old felts with new ones won't necessarily guarantee correct alignment -- so you may need slightly different ones from the originals, or you may need some thin shims to make things come out right. And he'll have the felts anyway (probably).

My initial examination shows that the felts in the finger buttons are of smaller diameter but thicker than the felts on the top of the pistons.

Did they start out different or is that the result of years of being where they are?

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