What's the deal with King bits?

[Trevor Bjorklund]

So that now I've got the right neck (old style - thanks, bloke) and some new bits, got the sousie back with all of her guards and braces re-soldered, pistons aligned, and clean, HOW DO YOU GET KING BITS TO FIT PROPERLY?!?

The bits came with the neck as a package deal. But the first bit doesn't go very far into the neck and the second bit doesn't go very far into the first. I can position them so that everything feels like pretty good playing position but they don't stay tight for long and I am a bit hesitant to really jam anything together. Should I have to? I know for a fact that the Conn neck and bits I had before did not feel nearly as shaky.

Did I just get a bum set or do these need to "break in?"

[NCSUSousa]

If I remember correctly (from college playing), they are not interchangeable.
Bit #1 should fit the neck correctly and Bit #2 should fit into Bit #1 correctly, but they won't work quite right the other way.
I don't think they're labeled.
Every year, we went through the trouble of matching up sets of bits for the Kings while making sure the Conn bits weren't in the mix for those horns. The King bits didn't fit the Conns so we needed the bits to be right for each horn. Conn bits are identical to each other (interchangeable).

[Trevor Bjorklund]

Yeah - they only fit at all in one possible sequence. That's not the problem.

[Dan Schultz]

Is there a chance you received an old-style Conn neck and King bits? If so... neither of those bits will fit into the neck very well.

This gets pretty confusing when ordering parts. What used to be Conn is not more except for use on the 20K.

All other Conn neck and bits are now King.

Even folks who should know their parts don't get this sometimes. Repairmen who spend their days setting up flutes won't know the difference when looking at the Allied catalog.

Can you post an image of what you have?

[tofu]

I think you got bad bits. Could they be bad Chinese copies? I've got vintage King Bits and they fit very securely with each other and the neck. Perhaps the neck is a poor copy as well.

[Trevor Bjorklund]

Okay - here are the bits. The "order" is not the problem, and the connection between the two bits isn't as loose as I described. But the connection between the bit and the neck is just weird, seems like it doesn't go in nearly far enough. Please see pics. It even looks a little, I don't know, bulged or something at the bit's end. Maybe I should just call the music store and ask for a different one...

end-of-bit.gif

[tofu]

Okay - here are the bits. The "order" is not the problem, and the connection between the two bits isn't as loose as I described. But the connection between the bit and the neck is just weird, seems like it doesn't go in nearly far enough. Please see pics. It even looks a little, I don't know, bulged or something at the bit's end. Maybe I should just call the music store and ask for a different one...

end-of-bit.gif

I measured the two sets I use and they both insert 3/4 of inch - from your photo your insertion mark looks to be 1/2". I think that is the problem and either the bits aren't right or the neck isn't (maybe both are off).

[Dan Schultz]

.... I measured the two sets I use and they both insert 3/4 of inch - from your photo your insertion mark looks to be 1/2". I think that is the problem and either the bits aren't right or the neck isn't (maybe both are off).

Ditto. I use King neck and bits on my Holton short-action sousaphone and the insertion depth of the 1st bit is about 3/4".

There's something wrong with the combination of sizes you have. ... Maybe the manufacturing tolerances are at the worst condition.

The choices? You can send the neck and bits back and ask for something that fits better. OR... you can get some lapping compound and 'wring em together' so they fit a little deeper.

Will what you have hurt anything as they are? No... I don't think so.