'Homemade' valve oil

craigpotter · Post by **craigpotter** » Wed Dec 01, 2004 9:40 pm

A friend of mine ran out of valve oil over the summer, and apparently didn't get any recently. Now she wants to practice her mellophone again, but the valves are kinda sticky. She lives in a small town w/o a music store nearby, so she asked me if i knew of anything that could be used as valve oil other than spit. So i figured i'd ask it here cause i had no clue (i always just get more valveoil when i run out!!).
Any ideas?

~C~

Dan Schultz · Post by **Dan Schultz** » Wed Dec 01, 2004 9:54 pm

Unscented pure lamp oil will get you by in a pinch. Clean you valves with dishwashing liquid and water first... and again when you get some real valve oil.

Chuck(G) · Post by **Chuck(G)** » Wed Dec 01, 2004 10:30 pm

TubaTinker wrote:Unscented pure lamp oil will get you by in a pinch. Clean you valves with dishwashing liquid and water first... and again when you get some real valve oil.

I'd add a bit of heavier oil (e.g. sewing machine oil, Marvel oil, etc.) to give some body to the lamp oil. Otherwise, it evaoporates too quickly.

DonShirer · Post by **DonShirer** » Wed Dec 01, 2004 11:06 pm

A post on the old Tubenet recommended 7/8 unscented lamp oil (available at most hardware stores) and 1/8 commercial 3-in-one oil. I tried it out and decided that 1/6 3-in-one oil seemed to last longer between lube jobs.

Dan Schultz · Post by **Dan Schultz** » Wed Dec 01, 2004 11:14 pm

Chuck(G) wrote:
TubaTinker wrote:Unscented pure lamp oil will get you by in a pinch. Clean you valves with dishwashing liquid and water first... and again when you get some real valve oil.
I'd add a bit of heavier oil (e.g. sewing machine oil, Marvel oil, etc.) to give some body to the lamp oil. Otherwise, it evaoporates too quickly.

Righto! I forgot about adding the REAL oil!

Chuck(G) · Post by **Chuck(G)** » Thu Dec 02, 2004 12:12 am

There was a lengthy discussion on the hornlist a couple of months ago concerning valve oil, etc. Here's one tidbit:

http://www.mail-archive.com/horn@music. ... 09361.html

...and sure enough, here are Walter Lawson's recommendations regarding lubrication:

http://home.columbus.rr.com/juliarose/f ... cants.html

Ultrapure lamp oil (really kerosene or paraffin oil that's been filtered a lot) can be had by the gallon retail. Use a good grade of 5 weight white oil as a "thickener" and you should be set for years.

Dan Schultz · Post by **Dan Schultz** » Thu Dec 02, 2004 12:41 am

Chuck(G) wrote:There was a lengthy discussion on the hornlist a couple of months ago concerning valve oil, etc. Here's one tidbit:

http://www.mail-archive.com/horn@music. ... 09361.html

...and sure enough, here are Walter Lawson's recommendations regarding lubrication:

http://home.columbus.rr.com/juliarose/f ... cants.html

Ultrapure lamp oil (really kerosene or paraffin oil that's been filtered a lot) can be had by the gallon retail. Use a good grade of 5 weight white oil as a "thickener" and you should be set for years.

I know the original poster was looking for an alternative to commercial valve oils but I have to say that I prefer some of the great synthetics that are out there. The pistons of my personal horns don't require near the attention they did when I was using organic lubricants.

Chuck(G) · Post by **Chuck(G)** » Thu Dec 02, 2004 1:08 am

TubaTinker wrote:I know the original poster was looking for an alternative to commercial valve oils but I have to say that I prefer some of the great synthetics that are out there. The pistons of my personal horns don't require near the attention they did when I was using organic lubricants.

Sort of OT, but not far.

I've got a couple dozen bottles of synthetic valve oil that I bought in a moment of madness (and being offered a good deal). I used to use them; I liked the "oil every couple of weeks or so" lazy-man's approach.

Worked pretty well, until...

I began to notice the amount of crud generated by my own body that was getting deposited in the valves of my horn. Well, what the heck, if I'm going to be cleaning things up regularly, I might as well oil them too.

I now oil every day, and even run a little oil down the leadpipe after I snake it out every week or so. The regimen keeps me honest and keeps my valves clean because I'm always after them.

Just one guy's perspective on the never-ending topic of oiling. I'm sure that others do fine with synthetics and infrequent oiling, but it doesn't work for me.

I give the synthetic stuff away to friends who think me generous.

ahowle · Post by **ahowle** » Thu Dec 02, 2004 1:26 am

I used lamp oil for years with no problems, it works great. I never thought about thickening it, though... that seems like a good idea.

A cool thing you can do with lamp oil since it's so dispensable is to put it in a cup of some sort (I had some kind of plastic cup thing that had a top that would screw on and off, so that it wouldn't spill and I could carry it around with me) and literally dip the entire valve into the oil. It requires much less effort than the conventional "lubing" technique and probably works better.

TubaTodd82 · Post by **TubaTodd82** » Thu Dec 02, 2004 10:00 pm

Hey Austin, man you don't need nearly that much valve oil. A few drops should be all that you need. Also, holton valve oil works really well on piston valves. It's really very fast, and you don't have to oil nearly as often.

MartyNeilan · Post by **MartyNeilan** » Fri Dec 03, 2004 12:25 am

This is a homemade combination that I think I got from the old Tube Net...

Use Al Cass but add a few drops of DuraLube engine oil treatment to the bottle. The difference is dramatic - the valves are smoother, faster, and you only have to oil every few days, as the pistons have a light coating of oil on them.

However, I found that Hetman synthetic lubes produce even better results and now use them.

Ryan_Beucke · Post by **Ryan_Beucke** » Fri Dec 03, 2004 12:27 am

I don't know if this would be a problem...but she could always just call WWBW or go online and order some valve oil...

craigpotter · Post by **craigpotter** » Fri Dec 03, 2004 7:07 am

Yeah that is what i had told her to do - just order some online, but she was impatient. Needless to say things are ok now - thanks guys

~C~

Dylan King · Post by **Dylan King** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 9:39 pm

I have a three oil system works for me, and can bring back to life older, neglected valves. It is a modification of an oil system Alan Baer taught me many years ago in Long Beach.

Go to your local automotive store and buy the Z-Max engine system. This usually comes in a paclage with transmission fluid and gas treatment as well. Carefully pour either Z-Max oil treatment or if you can find it Z-Max small engine formula. Also buy a bottle of Marvel Mystery Oil. It is colored red. The Z-Max is sythetically formulated to soak into the metal of the pistons, giving them long term protection, and the Mystery Oil works as a deep detergent.

Pour both oils into an empty valve oil container and label them with a sharpie marker. Do this carefully! This stuff can be toxic.

First clean the valves with soap and warm water. Use only 100% cotton.

Pour the Z-Max all over the valves and return them to the horn. Work the valves quickly for a minute or so and then play the horn for another ten or fifteen minutes, being careful not to inhale any air from the inside of the tuba. Let the horn sit overnight.

The next day, treat the horn in the same manner using Marvel Mystery Oil. Work them in for a while and then play the horn for ten or fifteen minutes. The valves will get sludgey and slow but keep playing for a while. It is a good finger workout. Do this for as long as possible, again leaving the horn overnight if you can.

When you can't take the sludge anymore and just have to see the fast results of the project, all you have to do is add your normal thin oil. I use Al Cass. It normally takes two applications before the valves reach full speed, but I think you will be happy with the results.

Good luck.

-DK

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'Homemade' valve oil

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