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Hello!

So here's a piston from one of my horns. How do you repair these "built-in" valve guide?

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Thanks,

Not your only source of wear...

No, but it's the one that keeps me from playing.

What kind of tuba is it?

Typically, these are small metal pieces that screw into the sides. You can buy some small plastic screws that have the same thread size and cut them down to the right size to use... I forget what size that is, but someone will chime in about that.

Besides being worn out and the valve spinning and not staying aligned, the new guides will be plastic and QUIET.

It's an old old old Besson & Co Eb Helicon.

I'll look closely if it is, in fact, screwed there.

Is that a little solder I see? it might just be a filed-to-fit piece of brass soldered into place.

So I messed with it.

Success so far.

I did a small plop of solder there and filed it down to size. Been playing a couple hours without problems!

SteveP wrote:I wouldn't look at that as a long-term solution. I believe solder is somewhat soft and it'll wear quickly.

Some people do a short-term fix soldering steel or brass guides in place if the threads are worn or stripped and they won't quit rotating. In the long term, if a replacement guide won't stay in place, it may have to be professionally repaired.