Valve alignment tools

[imperialbari]

(Here was a call for a Readers Digest version of TN)

Klaus

[imperialbari]

Oy, you got intellect man! And you a tuba player?

K

[Dean E]

Put this in the DIY category.

Pull the second valve slide and visually align the second valve by replacing corks and felts.

Remove the second valve.

Make an L-shaped tool from a coathanger. Stick it down the second valve casing and feel how close first and third valve travel is by feeling for misalignment in the valve ports. Place felts and corks as needed on the first and third valves. For a four-valve horn, remove the third valve and put the coathanger tool into that casing and adjust the fourth valve alignment.

However, these methods only check up and down movement, but not the rotational, angular position of a piston in its casing. The rotational, angular position is controlled by the slide key and guide, and I believe that a borescope would show whether the key and guide need adjustments, another topic.

Caveat: Used horns may have non-standard, perhaps dimensionally close (if you're lucky), replacements for the valve stems and fingerbuttons. The underside of a fingerbutton has to have proper clearance with the valve cap to permit the assembled valve to make a complete downstroke.

If you are unlucky, and the replacement parts and not close enough, no amount of adjustments by adding or removing felts and corks will give a correct alignment. You have to find correct length valve stems and finger buttons somewhere. Furthermore, a valve may have to be re-threaded to accept a proper length replacement valve stem, once you find it.

[imperialbari]

Hallelujah!

[imperialbari]

I believe that molecular alignment, and magnetic/frequency/gravitational alignment are important considerations as well.

Very important matters, indeed! What about having them applied to your firewall, the outgoing one?

Klaus,

Have you tried having your tubas treated via cryogenics, and then playing while using a Pocket Rocket? I considered trying both, but knew that I was not an accomplished enough player to be able to appreciate the results. Finally, though, I found this ! http://tinyurl.com/4eqvge

If you are not a sufficiently accomplished player, then who?

I am more related with geriatrics than with cryogenics? Were the last ice ages cryogenocides?

And I am fairly convinced that you would not be able to appreciate, if I put my pocket rocket onto your tubas for the dreaded pre-ammonia treatment.

The AcroustiCoils have some visual similarities to some heart valves of bovine origins for human after-market applications. To me the application of the AphroustiCoilitises in brasses is even less fertile than the application of all this bovine manure.

Pfft! This is almost as cryptogenic as politics!

K

[bttmbow]

What kind of 2 X 4 did you use, and how did you get the .90210 bore stabilized?

I WANT ONE!