tuning bits

[Joe Baker]

What do people do short of soldering the whole combo together?

Klaus

Borrow a little of your wife's clear nail polish. Dab just a bit onto each piece, assemble it (fairly quickly) and let it set for a few minutes. Don't use too much, or you'll have a bear of a time breaking the bond when the day comes that you want to change the angle.

Or get plastic electrician's tape (wide, if you can find it) and tape tightly over the joints after assembly and adjustment. It doesn't seem to leave any residue or damage the lacquer, and it'll also help seal any leaks.

One final idea would be to get teflon tape (used by plumbers to seal threads) and wrap a bit around the ends before assembling. I've not tried this, but I'm sure it would work, and would give you a not-so-slippery surface. Unlike the other two alternatives, it would allow you to adjust things without re-doing the whole setup. It has no adhesive, so there's no possibility of residue. But it's pretty fragile and I suspect would have to be re-done fairly often.

[edit] I got to thinking about Dan's response, how his get stuck together. I've had sets that stuck, and other sets that wouldn't hold, and very few that fell in between those extremes. It never occurred to me before that the difference might be the ones that don't hold bottoming out in the other bit. Could it be that the inside part of the bit is just a hair too long? Just something to think about. [/edit]
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Joe Baker, who is glad he no longer needs to hold a sousaphone.

[mTaUrBkA]

The problem with purchasing my own neck and bits is that the sousa is too damaged. The part where you insert the neck is all cracked and bent. This horn has more duct tape than brass. The horn is very old, and has been abused by several students from the past. I see kids that don't even play tuba abusing them now.... usually unintentional (spelling?) though. We have some old cases......but the bell screws are snapped off inside the bell so we can't take the bells on and off. And my sousa (the best at the school), the bell is duct taped on because the bell snapped off a few years before I got to the school! It snapped off at a point where the bell doesn't detach too! I dunno how previous players managaed this stuff. But anyways, due to lack of detachable bells, the sousaphones are kept against a wall hanging on bicyle rack things. They get bumped by percussionists ALLLLL the time

We are supposedly getting a new sousaphone next year, so if that doesn't come with bits, I may purchase some. Then again, I was told we were going to have a new sousa this year!

[Dan Schultz]

What do people do short of soldering the whole combo together?

Klaus

[edit] I got to thinking about Dan's response, how his get stuck together. It never occurred to me before that the difference might be the ones that don't hold bottoming out in the other bit. Could it be that the inside part of the bit is just a hair too long? Just something to think about. [/edit]
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Joe Baker, who is glad he no longer needs to hold a sousaphone.

I think you are probably on to something, Joe.... especially in the case of very old bits. I know that Klaus plays Conn's so I took a look at a set of new bits that I have on hand. There's really no place for them to bottom out... but, I've had some that were so worn that they were starting to interfere at the bend. It doesn't take much wear on the diameters to really deepen the engagement. HEY KLAUS!... spring for a new set of bits and see if the problem goes away!

[Joe Baker]

What do people do short of soldering the whole combo together?

Klaus

[edit] I got to thinking about Dan's response, how his get stuck together. It never occurred to me before that the difference might be the ones that don't hold bottoming out in the other bit. Could it be that the inside part of the bit is just a hair too long? Just something to think about. [/edit]
________________________________
Joe Baker, who is glad he no longer needs to hold a sousaphone.

I think you are probably on to something, Joe.... especially in the case of very old bits. I know that Klaus plays Conn's so I took a look at a set of new bits that I have on hand. There's really no place for them to bottom out... but, I've had some that were so worn that they were starting to interfere at the bend. It doesn't take much wear on the diameters to really deepen the engagement. HEY KLAUS!... spring for a new set of bits and see if the problem goes away!

I was thinking of taking off a mm or two from the end, actually...

[Dan Schultz]

I was thinking of taking off a mm or two from the end, actually...

Duh... that would work.

[imperialbari]

4 out of my 5 bits are quite new, from 1990 and 2000 respectively. None of them are overly worn, and they don’t bottom out.

If they had done that, I (like another poster) would have shortened them slightly and then have chamfered/undercut the edges.

The 5th bit is of the same type as the newer ones, but had been exposed to abuse. However I trued the male end, and it appears to work exactly like the others.

The slippery point appears to be between the neck and the first bit. Maybe I should degrease the bore of the neck(-s).

Of course I wouldn’t solder the bits to the necks, but at least it enlived the debate to suggest so.

Klaus

[AndyL]

<<The slippery point appears to be between the neck and the first bit. Maybe I should degrease the bore of the neck(-s). >>

Klaus, I play sousaphone more than the average bear and the only time I ever had a slipping bit I solved the problem with a thorough cleaning of the neck and bits.

I wonder also if there's a difference in the mating firmness of lacquer and silver bits? Mine are silver. I get them close to the position I want and then use a twisting motion to firmly seat them in the desired orientation.

I then leave the bits on the neck until any further change of position is indicated.

[TubaRay]

Two Bits....nuff said.

I always thought that was: Two bits. Four bits. Six bits. A dollar.

[windshieldbug]

Two bits. Four bits. Six bits. A byte.

[manatee]

Something that has not been brought up here is the cost of new bits. The cheapest I have seen is $40.00 for two. Geez. Why?

[iiipopes]

Because they can.

Re: King bits - I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who had to borrow a King sousaphone, only to have intonation problems until I looked and saw that the two bits, stuck together, had been put together backwards. Yes, the King bits do have different tapers, so you need one of each!