Stupidest repair stories?

[J Stowe]

The purpose of this thread seems to be about oddities that happened to instruments or repairs that were obviously not well thought out, not complaints about concise repairs that weren't quite up to what the person expected them to be. There's so much hostility in miscommunication. I would agree that it's not fair to criticize a repairman if something doesn't look quite like you dreamed or some slides don't have the mobility that you would imagine; maybe it wasn't possible or you shouldn't have let it get that bad? Accidents happen, though, and definitely so do bad days. But reconfiguring an instrument into a lampshade isn't something a person can just cough up to a bad day. I don't know if there is a censoring for the forum, but $#*! happens.. You just need to be informed and thoughtful about how to fix it.

[Todd S. Malicoate]

If you can't do better than that yourself, realize it, chalk it up to a bad day, and get the person to fix their mistake.

I know that's all I ever expect of a car mechanic, tailor, jewelry repair technician, or anyone else who works in the service industry.

I have no idea what this means in the context of this thread. Are you saying that unless your skill level at fixing something is better than a professional's (when would that ever be true?), then any dissatisfaction you have with the final product should be chalked up to a "bad day"? What if you can do better than that yourself? Wouldn't you have fixed it yourself in the first place?

I'm aware that mistakes are made...believe me, I work in the auto parts industry. Most of my customers think I'm out to gouge them, or know nothing about auto parts (thanks, Autozone, Advance, and all you other chains that hire high-school dropouts with no experience).

I'm pretty sure the point of this thread was to share bizarre or funny repair stories, not bash the instrument repair industry. I just don't understand where the "if you can't do better than that yourself" argument comes from. Why do I need to be able to "do better myself" to recognize a mistake was made? Should I just be satisfied if a job is done "better than I could do it"?

I'm not attacking anyone, I'm trying to understand the point that a professional contributor was making. I'll happily chalk up the misunderstanding to my hard-headedness, if that's the case.

Todd S. "who finds 'stop blaming others' easy to understand and prefers expert repair to 'doing it himself' every time" Malicoate

[pulseczar]

As a member of the service industry, we can't do much if someone thinks our work sucks. I just heard a story of Keith Bowen (bassoon repairman extraordinaire) forgetting to properly fit a bell tenon after fabricating new mechanisms and cherrying the crap out of a bassoon.

As a sidenote, I've noticed a trend of amateurs tending to the be ones who like to drop names around the shop and the pros just wanting the horn to be fixed.

As for my stupid repair story, I was grinding out rivets and I was facing the wrong way so thousands of metal shards were flying into my palm, creating a field of metal splinters which are 10 times worse than wood splinters. After taking out most of the splinters, I realized that if I stood on the other side, the shards can fly harmlessly out of my way.

After doing that, I rubbed my hand onto my apron and got even more splinters on my hand.

[Todd S. Malicoate]

BTW, Anyone jumping on CJH/bttmbow is missing his point.

Agreed...I know I'm not understanding it.

It looks like Chris was talking about someone or something in particular...I'll just make my apologies for reacting the way I did...sorry, Chris, for the harsh words. I thought you were talking to everyone regarding complaining about instrument techs in general. I have removed the bug in my posterior. I hope whatever situation prompted your post resolves itself well for you.

J Stowe was right on the money about hostility in miscommunication. Sorry, everyone, for the tangent.

Todd S. "guilty as charged" Malicoate

[Kayla]

Not so much as a repair story but a maintenance one.

When I first started playing tuba I took a valve out to oil it. I found the spring in it, and being a trumpet player and knowing very little about the tuba, I thought this was something stuck in it so I took the spring out. When I put the valve in, the valve didn't work. I was freaking out until I realized that the spring was a part of the valves. By this time, my baby sister had taken the spring and stretched it out while playing with it.


oopsy!

[Rick Denney]

The customer has an agenda outside of getting their horn repaired. They're bitter. They're jealous. They'd have no itch to scratch if a refund was received or additional repairs completed.

That is why I oppose using the forum to air complaints about specific situations. That is best left to established means of righting wrongs. The forum is not that. There are always two sides to every story, and always an ax to grind. The problem is that the balance of belief tends to go to the most articulate person, and repair techs and store owners can't respond in kind without the risk of a pissing match that makes everyone a loser. So they often have to keep quiet while the other party presents only one side of the story. Then, the forum behaves as forums always do, and jumps to conclusions, piling on without any notion of the true facts.

In the several cases about which I have had actual knowledge, the forum in question (not always this one) ALWAYS came to the wrong conclusion.

Rick "consistently arguing against using the forum to air commercial grievances" Denney

[windshieldbug]

By this time, my baby sister had taken the spring and stretched it out while playing with it.

And, I'll bet, she didn't even charge you for the lighter valve action...

[bttmbow]

The comment I made was not about a problem with one particular poster, or any of you.

I tried at one point to "repair/modify" a horn or two, and was not as good as I thought I might be.

My initial point was meant as,"Stop B*#$&ing about others' work, please!"

I hope this clears things up,
C

[mclaugh]

Try doing it yourself, then you can stop blaming others for the work that they did that was BETTER than your own. FWIW

CJH

Man, care to share the bug that flew up your butt right before you posted that?

"It's better than you can could do" is a debate tactic best left on the elementary school playground. It's certainly not a standard that reputable instrument repair professionals subscribe to.

From a TubeNet contributor with "professional" by their screen name...ridiculous.

[Todd S. Malicoate]

Hey, mclaugh...I already apologized to Chris for my harsh choice of words. Are you trying to stir the pot by reposting them? You didn't even add anything.

I disagree with Chris' point that this thread has been "bitching" about other people's work...as long as we don't start pointing fingers at specific people, I don't see the problem with sharing stories. But, that doesn't excuse my original post in this thread...it was unnecessary, too acerbic, and not at all constructive.

How about we just let it go?

[Dan Schultz]

I've has several horns here for work that apparently have been 'fixed' by marching band dads. Some have had the dents filled with Bondo and then spray painted gold. I even had a double-belled euph here once that had Bondo in the piston casing knuckles!

[Todd S. Malicoate]

Alas, in this day and age it probably is best to at least ask if it's OK to take the horn to a rehearsal for a test drive...

Actually, quite the opposite.

In this day and age, it would seem to be the norm that people do what they want, what feels good to them, no matter what the consequences or effects on others.

In the "good old days," asking to use someone else's property was normal. Using someone else's stuff without asking would have been dishonorable at best, thievery at worst.

Right and wrong don't change...it's just as wrong today to do this as it was "then." Too bad so many folks don't appear to give a &*%#.

[iiipopes]

Remember, "freedom of speech" only applies when redressing grievances or preferences to government. And although it took an executive order to establish the internet, it is still basically private. We are all here only because of Sean's invitation and tolerance of us. He can shut down any post, any thread, any user, or even the entire forum at will at any time for any reason or no reason at all.

Please remember that the next time someone is about to lob the next salvo.

[Mojo workin']

knucklehead tuba player like CJH who counts rests for a living

I disagree. Listen to the MET broadcasts. You'll change your mind.

[Kayla]

Sorry to disrupt this little debacle, but I have a quick question. Not really repair again but this thread seems to be pretty active.

Will a regular soak and bathe rid of all the baby powder in a tuba? My cousins thought it would be funny to cake it inside the lead pipe and dump it in the tuba thinking it would blow out.

I know how pesky powder can be, so I was wondering about this.

Thanks in advance for all answers.

[Dan Schultz]

Will a regular soak and bathe rid of all the baby powder in a tuba? My cousins thought it would be funny to cake it inside the lead pipe and dump it in the tuba thinking it would blow out.

Wow! THAT was a dumb stunt! I don't know if current baby powers are talc-based or made from cornstarch. Either way.... it's going to take more than just a soak to get it all out of the horn. You might start with a little soak, but you'll need to get after it with a garden hose and copius amounts of water. Then snake everything out good and hit it with the hose again. You'll probably make a pasty mess once the water is inside the horn, but I suspect normal moisture from playing the horn has already done that.

[Kayla]

Yeah, I haven't done too much to the horn other than cleaning out my mouthpiece which was the worst of it all. I still taste the powder so I imagine it's still somewhere in that big ol' thing.

I'm slightly interested/afraid as to how much they put in there.

[eupher61]

I think some sugar into their gas tank would be appropriate. At least threaten to do it, with a bag of sugar in hand and your cousins at your side.

Let them know that it was dumb. Would they like it if you poured baby powder onto their computer?

[Kayla]

They are pretty lucky I'm a pretty calm person, though my "Hulk" side came out that day.

No worries though, I'm going to clean it out most likely tonight to last me until I send it away to get a tune up.

[Rick Denney]

You can tell your story.

Then others can tell their side of the story as they understand or know it. Just as I've said to you before, I think...

Ain't freedom of speech great!!! It rocks!!!

Not everyone is free to give their opinion. That gentle giant to whom you refer has an employer, and the employer doesn't pay him to entangle his company in a pissing match in which there is no hope of winning. In a pissing match, everyone ends up with piss on their shoes. Suppose it turns out that the complainer wasn't quite as flexible and temperate as he portrays? Does the tech gain anything by posting otherwise? No, that just makes it worse. And everyone expects a professional to be even-tempered. It's hard to be even-tempered when engaging debate with someone who, for all we know, may tell any lie to further his point.

I assure you that I could go into a shop, make an *** of myself, and then tell the story on Tubenet that would convince most people that I'm a complete victim. I could also be completely in the right. But you'll never know. The result demonstrates only language skill. As Jeff MacNelly once wrote in the the old Shoe cartoon, never argue with someone who buys ink by the barrel.

The complainer insists that he's all done and all is good. But then he brings it up every once in a while, which suggests to me that he's still carrying a big chip on his shoulder. All a pissing match would do is increase the size of that chip, and give it importance it may not deserve.

Please understand that maybe it's all as he describes. Maybe not. My recommendation to avoid bringing these things up on Tubenet is that it is impossible for people on Tubenet to actually know the truth. It may be that the complainer has fully persuaded himself of his own rectitude, in which case it isn't even a question of honesty. Even though the truth is elusive and even though the person in commerce has no incentive to engage battle, many who lack discernment may be swayed by the argument with the result that the person in commerce loses business. Maybe fairly, maybe not--but the point is that it is impossible to determine what is fair based on what can be posted on the forum. So, there may be real consequences with no rectification. Freedom of speech demands responsible use, or it will eventually be taken away.

As an aside, when I see one professional slander another professional on a public forum, that utterly undermines everything I read from that person forever more. In the engineering profession, such slanderous language can cost an engineer his license to practice--that's how serious an issue it is among true professionals.

Rick "quite experienced at observing and in some cases arbitrating these issues" Denney