Where to buy metal Miniball links?

[willthetubaguy]

Looking to do a linkage rebuild on my F tuba. Anyone know where I can get metal Miniball style links without paying a crazy amount for Uniball?

[marccromme]

Something like this in Aluminium? https://www.amazon.com/Aluminum-Linkage ... 91&sr=8-10" target="_blank

[roweenie]

At the risk of asking a stupid question (too late, I've already been there many times), could someone supply a link to the manufacturer? I'm not able to locate it.......

[roweenie]

Many thanks for that link, elephant.

However, it's kinda confusing (especially considering I've been a life-long piston horn player). Which ones do you recommend for tubas?

[roweenie]

Bloke, IIRC, you had mentioned once, something about "lapping in" Dubro links - could you explain?

For reliability and price, they can't be beat (the ones I usually use are the simple ball and socket type - the socket just snaps onto the ball) - however, I find they can be pretty finicky if they're not lined up perfectly. I'll sometimes put one (or two) #60 "o" rings over the ball - that helps them stay in their proper place (somewhat), but can restrict their movement (somewhat).

I should add that my experience is limited to thumb-activated 5th valve setups, so they aren't always as straightforward as regular rotary valve configurations. I thought that the minibal type might be "smoother" in operation.

Mark, are you talking about the kind that has a small metal ball in the center of the arm? I've never had any success with those - they always seem too "stiff" for me.

[WessCollette]

Coming from a RC Helicopter hobby, I have this for sizing links. https://helilids.com/products/synergy-b ... izing-tool" target="_blank


I have been thinking about replacing my linkage on my Mack Brass TU410 with helicopter parts. I need to do some measuring to figure out what size balls and links I need