Bad Valve Compression story

[iiipopes]

+1 What Lee said! Yes, getting the valves rebuilt is the preferred solution. But time and money constraints must also be acknoledged. That means my method of adding mineral oil to conventional valve oil is, well, yes, I have to use the pun, and it's only intended as, wait for it....





















A stopgap.

[royjohn]

Hi Lee,

While I'm not a brass repair tech yet and don't even play one on TV or in my bathroom mirror , I thought I was familiar with all the steps in valve rebuilding. So when your dream valve rebuild included "surfaced to perfectly true on a centerless grinder" I did think it was a dream, as I don't know anybody who has the means to do this. Perhaps Anderson does and you can enlighten me as to what this means vs just using wood blocks as sold by Ferree's to round the valve cylinder. Does this actually work better than the old lapping method with pumice or a suitable diamond grit?

I'd also be interested, and I think others would be, too, in an approximate cost for valve rebuilding. I know there are variables such as how difficult it is to remove the valve casings from the horn, but perhaps you could give some guidance on what folks would spend should they want to ditch their vaseline, motor oil or what have you and get a proper valve job.

TIA for all you do to make this forum a great place to learn. . .

[opus37]

I agree with what Lee said. I had him do that to a 1912 Martin Eb that has historical significance to me. Yes, it is a bit pricy, but every major repair is a "is it worth it" question. With that said, Lee took on my horn and fit it in his schedule. He is very busy so it took about 6 months. I wasn't in a big hurry either. The result was amazing. The horn plays significantly better than before (when I was using thick oil). A lot of things cleared up, it became easier to play and thus more fun. If you like your horn and it makes financial sense to you, I would highly recommend the valve restoration that Lee detailed. Have someone like Lee do it. Taking a tuba apart and putting it back together right is an art. You get what you pay for when you do this type of work.