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Good one. Thanks. Mine is a 186 copy. It never occurred to me not to submerge the linkages, but I have a habit of flushing it with a garden hose.

Nice. I always remove the linkage and waterkeys and submerge the tuba fully.

P.s. My wife told me to use a towel to not damage the bathtub

bloke wrote:

Stryk wrote:3 in 1? Have you seen what that does to guns over time?

guns:
I use gun-oil on guns (not that much oiling, as I don't shoot daily). Most complaints - found on this particular discussion list - relate to "too thin", "stains wood gun stocks", "volatile", "odor", "lack of corrosion protection"...none of which relate very well to hinge tubing, linkage, links, or rotor bearings (other than "odor", which - again - I don't mind at all).
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?t ... ns.465220/

I find firearms to be some of the ruggedest things I own. I have almost exclusively "old school" (real wood and blued steel) arms, and find that if they are kept clean and dry that's about all it takes, and is the extent of my maintenance (bolt guns, levers, pump, o/u.) Autoloaders, though, get a thorough toothbrush-scrubbing on the bolt, bolt face, and chamber, and a small amount of Rem-oil applied from a clean cloth. The 1911 gets field-stripped and cleaned every year or so. We do shoot a fair amount up here.
OH, the muzzle-loader gets a wipe-down after each use, thorough cleaning after the season ends.

My local repair shop told me to use piston oil instead of rotary oil on my 186. Does that make any sense?

With Ultra-pure oils, their main product is for pistons or rotary valves. They also have an "ultra-light" version.

Then there is Hetman oils with regular and light versions of piston and rotary oils, as well as bearing oils, etc. It DOES make sense somewhat, as especially for things like ball joints, you need to balance lubrication with "staying power".

I have found however that some rotary valves, particularly Kanstul C.R. valves, like the lighter rotor oil better. Might be due to the valve just being lighter, or closer tolerances. My Yamaha trombones with standard rotors work just fine with the oil that came with the horns. Then there are aluminum core Axial Flow / Thayer valves, which are just a pain to lubricate and keep moving correctly.

Actually you need 2 different oils to properly maintain your rotor valves. The first is a lighter oil that you put down the lead pipe and/or slide tubes as described in the Miraphone literature. What most people miss is a heavier oil applied to the stem of the rotor. This is where damage to the rotors starts. Superslick makes a key and rotor oil intended for this application. You need to put a drop on the shaft under the rotor stop arm and a drop on the stub that rotates in the rotor bottom plate. You need to remove the bottom rotor cap to access this point. It is the shaft that keeps the rotor properly aligned in the housing. Without oil the shafts and mating bosses wear allowing the rotor to contact the sides of the housing and the clacking noise starts. If the shafts are kept properly oiled the light oil for the rotor bodies only needs to help seal against air leakage.

Key oil should also be applied at the ends of the pivot tubes on the valve levers, next to the dividers, and on the bearings on the link arms.

For my 186, I keep on hand and use the following:
Roche-Thomas piston valve oil for putting a couple of drops down the valve slides directly onto the rotors when necessary;
Singer sewing machine oil for the well in the bottom valve plates for the bottom rotor bearings and to apply directly to the top rotor bearings;
3-N-1 (brand) oil for the S-arm linkage and springs;
Ultra-Pure light for "riding throttle" on the first valve slide;
Thicker valve slide grease (frankly, I don't know the brand - the label has worn off) for the main tuning slide and the 2, 3, & 4 valve circuit slides that are set and rarely moved, and for the threads for the bottom valve caps.

I used to own a Mirafone contrabass trombone that was made in 1977-78. Miraphone included a little zipped case for accessories, including this same sheet of instructions, lubes, and a wooden mallet! I thought it was curious that they felt the need to include a mallet to tap the rotor out. Turns out I never needed to use it; the valve performed flawlessly at all times.

I use a bag like that that I still have from my 1972, 186. I just transfer it from gig bag to gig bag and I don’t have to think about what I need that day. In it, I keep: 2 mouthpieces, valve oil, pen, pencil, double ended screw driver, 2 clothes pins, Korg metronome and a folder clip (that I use to hold up lousy music stands due to the weight of my iPad.)

npgriff wrote:Actually you need 2 different oils to properly maintain your rotor valves. The first is a lighter oil that you put down the lead pipe and/or slide tubes as described in the Miraphone literature. What most people miss is a heavier oil applied to the stem of the rotor. This is where damage to the rotors starts. Superslick makes a key and rotor oil intended for this application. You need to put a drop on the shaft under the rotor stop arm and a drop on the stub that rotates in the rotor bottom plate.

I'm skeptical on this one.

I do it periodically; it takes no effort, and it can't hurt. But really, does any oil get inside there? I've put oil on that stub, pulled the valve slide to get some good vacuum, and watched. It never runs in even a little bit. Same on the rotor stop arm though you can't see it as well. If that part really needs oil, I think I would have to disassemble the rotor, and I don't do that very often.

I remember hearing someone discuss how the "well" in the rotor valve rear cover is actually to assist in oiling. You put oil in it, then you pit it back on the instrument, so that the spindle bearing dips in it. Then you pull out the tuning slide just a bit, and it sucks in some oil.

I have no idea if this is true, or correct, but I did hear it.

For as long as I have had rotors, I've used a higher viscosity of oil for the spindle bearings than for putting down the slide receiver. The thicker oil also works better on the linkage, and the pivot points for ensuring fast quiet action on mechanical linkages. Ball joints get ball joint oil.

I mean, I may have just fallen into the Hetman and Ultra pure marketing, but I definitely noticed improvements when using combinations of oils.

Just acquired this for the archives.....

https://imgur.com/gallery/t6KZGZi" target="_blank

And this...

https://imgur.com/gallery/grvpzj6" target="_blank

And a soon to be posted on Horn u copia —-another Mirafone catalog, retail & dealer price lists, and mthpce catalog...