Removing Stuck sousaphone bits

[miz-zoutuba]

"Glancing blow" with a well worn raw hide mallet.

[tubatom91]

an old bass drum or tenor mallet works pretty good on conn bits

[imperialbari]

My method involved lots of careful twisting and turning while uttering vulgar incantations of which I cannot post here.

Schleppy, when did you go that soft?

I would have expected you to run any renegade brass parts, including the instrument if necessary, over with your truck.

My own method is to stick a mouthpiece into one end of the two-bits combo and the other end into the neck. By applying raw hand force a various angles I so far have gotten the bits separated. Letting a few drops of Blue Juice penetrate the stuck area doesn't hurt either.

For those having bits and mouthpieces drop off during drill displays the idea of letting the part getting stuck during the marching season of course is tempting.

I don't march, yet I often had the bits rotate in the neck receiver because I use a large PT-50 mouthpiece with a weight added around the stem. I don't like having to hold the bits and mouthpiece with my left hand, so my remedy is to take thin strips of plumbing tape and put them into the joints. Works well, but the parts shall be disassembled at once after every playing session.

Klaus

[imperialbari]

If you 're using one of the more recent editions of WinBits, you can use System Restore to go back to a time prior to the time that the bits were stuck.

Schleppy, you're right! It's bloke gone soft. Probably swallowed too much software.

K

[Rick Denney]

Well the twist and torque method didnt work, and my director isnt too keen on smacking it with anything fearing dents. Any other methods? like boiling water or freezing it?

No. Your first answer was the correct one, but when you strike it with a small rawhide hammer, you have to aim for the right spot. Where you want to hit it is on the side of the receiver just downstream of the opening. Receivers usually have a machined round surface there, and that's your target. Works equally well on the receiver of the mouthpipe or the receiver of the downstream tuning bit. It will even release a stuck mouthpiece, most of the time. It's much more effective than grabbing and twisting.

Use a small rawhide hammer, back up the receiver behind the strike zone with your other hand, and give the receiver a good, hard tap in that spot. That will almost always make the tapered bit shank pop out. It won't dent anything--that's why you use a small rawhide hammer and words like "tap". I have successfully released dozens of stuck tuning bits with that method, and it has never failed and never caused damage.

Don't hit right on the rim of an open tube. Don't hit on the soft tubing of the mouthpipe downstream from the receiver, or on the tapered part of a loose tuning bit. None of those vulnerable spots are close to the side of the receiver, so there's little risk of hitting anything soft.

Rick "thinking every tuba player should own and know how to use a small rawhide hammer" Denney

[Todd S. Malicoate]

Must not respond....

Too easy.....

Must not......respond........ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[TubaRay]

Must not respond....

Too easy.....

Must not......respond........ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In my estimation, the harder one has to try to sound as if one speaks authoritatively, the farther short one falls.

Unfortunately, Todd, I lack the self-restraint you seem to have.

[eupher61]

If this is of any help to the OP...

I just unstuck a tuning bit from a mouthpiece. I have a rawhide mallet (originally used by my Grandpa for adjusting metal arch supports!) and literally hit ON the end of the bit--the receiver end, obviously--and after 5-6 rigorous taps the mouthpiece loosened.

No damage to anything. Simple, easy, and even a band director can do it. SHOULD do it. Of course, the local repair geek would appreciate the busine$$.

[Dan Schultz]

...Of course, the local repair geek would appreciate the busine$$.

I've never charged to remove stuck mouthpieces/bits.

[eupher61]

yeah, but I'd bet you would if it became a regular thing...

well, maybe not, Dan. But never say never!

[Dan Schultz]

yeah, but I'd bet you would if it became a regular thing...

well, maybe not, Dan. But never say never!

I said that I have never charged to remove stuck mouthpieces or to separate stuck bits. I did NOT say that I WILL NEVER charge.

I had a lady bring her daughter's flute in tonight (yes... on Sunday) that the girl stepped on Friday. Now it's an emergency. These are the people who eventually get to pay dearly for those stuck mouthpieces that I take care of for free.
heh heh.

[sloan]

If you 're using one of the more recent editions of WinBits, you can use System Restore to go back to a time prior to the time that the bits were stuck.

I have the old version - all I get is a fruit basket.

[sloan]

Rick "thinking every tuba player should own and know how to use a small rawhide hammer" Denney

I'm thinking that some people could do the job safely with a 20lb sledge...and others could cause irreparable damage with a small rawhide mallet.

[Rick Denney]

I'm thinking that some people could do the job safely with a 20lb sledge...and others could cause irreparable damage with a small rawhide mallet.

All tools are dangerous. But the small rawhide mallet is probably the least dangerous of any general-purpose tool. I would much rather see one of those in the hands of a novice than a pair of pliers or a screwdriver, both of which can do far worse damage and are more likely to be near to hand.

I would think anyone with enough finger dexterity to play the instrument could learn to safely use a small rawhide mallet for its preferred repairs (mostly unsticking friction-fit parts) with about ten minutes of training, and even the remotest common sense.

Rick "thinking it would take a pretty mighty whack with an appropriately small and light rawhide mallet to, say, bend a valve casing" Denney

[MartyNeilan]

All tools are dangerous.

[Rick Denney]

Well just as an update, we got the bits unstuck, we tried to tapping with a rubber hammer and mallets, nothing seemed to work. The director ended up calling Mastellar Music (its where he bought the sousaphones from) who told him to dip one end into ice cold water while holding the other end firmly in a warm hand. Low and behold it worked. Now all of the sousaphones finally can be put together properly and played correctly.

Glad the problem is solved for you.

For those who find this in a search later on: A rubber mallet won't work. It just won't impart the energy needed to momentarily distort the receiver enough to force the tapered bit out of it.

A rawhide mallet is quite hard, but it is relatively light. So, it will impose lots of G's, but without much mass that can cause damage. The rubber mallet won't impart those G's, and a steel hammer's mass tends not to stop with the task at hand.

If "tapping" didn't work with a hard mallet, then maybe it needed to graduate to "a good smack".

Rick "for posterity" Denney

[TubaCoopa]

Heh. Reminds me of when I tried to get some bits unstuck with a mallet, and my Band Director walked in as I raised the mallet in the air. Perfect timing.

[rocksanddirt]

I have a wide selection of hammers and mallets in the garage. from some small rubber mallets to rock picks.

I've only used hand pressure or a hand tap through a dowell or small piece of wood on mouthpieces. (been lucky and not had many stuck ones).