Thanks to all Repair Folks Posting on TubeNet
Posted: Tue Dec 07, 2010 10:34 pm
Folks, TNFJ, all the esteemed repair guys who post here on TubeNet: thanks for helping me help one of my Scouts have a great Christmas. I can't make this up: his father was laid off just before Thanksgiving, so StepMom is having to work OT. Meanwhile, while StepMom is working OT, 16-y stepsister gets pregnant. So stress in this household is an understatement. My Scout brings me his Martin Imperial trumpet, which has had a bad life before he got it for beginning band last year, but plays well, and says it is stuffy. As I pull the main tuning slide to see what's wrong, both legs of the tuning slide collapse in my hand from deteriorated solder.
Now, a repair bill is out of the question. So I review carefully what has been posted about tuning slide repairs on this forum, borrow a small torch from another Scout dad, do the usual emory, wire brush, solder paste, and the finest non-acid solder I can find, and hope for the best. I had already resigned that if I fouled it up, I'd just give him my Besson 2-20 trumpet I got for $75 off eBay. But, the flux bubbled properly, the legs reacted just right, the solder flowed exactly as it should, and everything cleaned up well. The main tuning slide is now more secure and moves more easily than it ever has since I've been acquainted with the horn.
Now, don't worry. I'm not giving up my day job. But it was either this or no horn for the middle school Christmas concert next week. My soldering job? @ 8 out of 10, which is better than some of the older repairs on this horn, including both solder and dent removal. But the valves are in great shape, and now there's a few more years left in this old horn.
Guys, you helped me help one of my Scouts have a better holiday season. Thanks.
Now, a repair bill is out of the question. So I review carefully what has been posted about tuning slide repairs on this forum, borrow a small torch from another Scout dad, do the usual emory, wire brush, solder paste, and the finest non-acid solder I can find, and hope for the best. I had already resigned that if I fouled it up, I'd just give him my Besson 2-20 trumpet I got for $75 off eBay. But, the flux bubbled properly, the legs reacted just right, the solder flowed exactly as it should, and everything cleaned up well. The main tuning slide is now more secure and moves more easily than it ever has since I've been acquainted with the horn.
Now, don't worry. I'm not giving up my day job. But it was either this or no horn for the middle school Christmas concert next week. My soldering job? @ 8 out of 10, which is better than some of the older repairs on this horn, including both solder and dent removal. But the valves are in great shape, and now there's a few more years left in this old horn.
Guys, you helped me help one of my Scouts have a better holiday season. Thanks.