Piston Finger Button Replacements

[tubatodd]

I recently acquired a silver Besson 995 CC tuba (presently getting professionally cleaned and sorted) and I was wondering what options may be out there for replacing the finger buttons with either a) lighter ones (ie @bloke buttons) or b) fancier ones (ie colored pearls) or c) different (ie no pearls). If I am not mistaken, this Besson 995 has the standard Meinl Weston "big valves." Any sources, you can provide would be most appreciated.

Edit: I found Martin Wilk makes custom buttons. So, he is certainly 1 option.

[bloke]

I recently acquired a silver Besson 995 CC tuba (presently getting professionally cleaned and sorted) and I was wondering what options may be out there for replacing the finger buttons with either a) lighter ones (ie @bloke buttons) or b) fancier ones (ie colored pearls) or c) different (ie no pearls). If I am not mistaken, this Besson 995 has the standard Meinl Weston "big valves." Any sources, you can provide would be most appreciated.

not-heavy and quarter-dollar-sized are the Yamaha buttons.
The "professional" ones feature real m.o.p., thus nicer-looking than the plain-topped or fake-pearl-topped.

The thread of the Yamaha buttons are in-between the typical euphonium M4 x .7 size and the common USA SAE size 8-32.
Since those models are labeled "Besson", I could imagine a possibility (??) of them having made an exception and using the SAE threading.

That having been said, the Yamaha threads are M4 x .75 and - with patience - can be slowly/carefully "coaxed" into either stem thread...

OR (if willing to commit) it's really easy to re-tap stem threads, and Chinese taps (eBay) are inexpensive.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/310561146700 (Prior to the epic shutdown money-printing - just as with everything else - these were priced at half this amount.)

[tubatodd]

I recently acquired a silver Besson 995 CC tuba (presently getting professionally cleaned and sorted) and I was wondering what options may be out there for replacing the finger buttons with either a) lighter ones (ie @bloke buttons) or b) fancier ones (ie colored pearls) or c) different (ie no pearls). If I am not mistaken, this Besson 995 has the standard Meinl Weston "big valves." Any sources, you can provide would be most appreciated.

not-heavy and quarter-dollar-sized are the Yamaha buttons.
The "professional" ones feature real m.o.p., thus nicer-looking than the plain-topped or fake-pearl-topped.

The thread of the Yamaha buttons are in-between the typical euphonium M4 x .7 size and the common USA SAE size 8-32.
Since those models are labeled "Besson", I could imagine a possibility (??) of them having made an exception and using the SAE threading.

That having been said, the Yamaha threads are M4 x .75 and - with patience - can be slowly/carefully "coaxed" into either stem thread...

OR (if willing to commit) it's really easy to re-tap stem threads, and Chinese taps (eBay) are inexpensive.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/310561146700 (Prior to the epic shutdown money-printing - just as with everything else - these were priced at half this amount.)

Thank you for the information. Are you still selling Bloke buttons? I noticed Keith Packman has a set of Bloke Buttons on his Besson 995.

[bloke]

I recently acquired a silver Besson 995 CC tuba (presently getting professionally cleaned and sorted) and I was wondering what options may be out there for replacing the finger buttons with either a) lighter ones (ie @bloke buttons) or b) fancier ones (ie colored pearls) or c) different (ie no pearls). If I am not mistaken, this Besson 995 has the standard Meinl Weston "big valves." Any sources, you can provide would be most appreciated.

not-heavy and quarter-dollar-sized are the Yamaha buttons.
The "professional" ones feature real m.o.p., thus nicer-looking than the plain-topped or fake-pearl-topped.

The thread of the Yamaha buttons are in-between the typical euphonium M4 x .7 size and the common USA SAE size 8-32.
Since those models are labeled "Besson", I could imagine a possibility (??) of them having made an exception and using the SAE threading.

That having been said, the Yamaha threads are M4 x .75 and - with patience - can be slowly/carefully "coaxed" into either stem thread...

OR (if willing to commit) it's really easy to re-tap stem threads, and Chinese taps (eBay) are inexpensive.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/310561146700 (Prior to the epic shutdown money-printing - just as with everything else - these were priced at half this amount.)

Thank you for the information. Are you still selling Bloke buttons? I noticed Keith Packman has a set of Bloke Buttons on his Besson 995.

I don't have the type of cutters that can repeatedly cut standless steel, and I also don't own a programmable lathe. Those who could do them for me really aren't interested in cranking out fewer than a thousand of them (250 sets). To make them of brass, the design is too thin and - likely, if brass - the threads would break off (re: repeated bending).

I've seen anodized aluminum buttons offered. I never trust titanium anodizing over soft metals, particularly as I've seen those anodized aluminum cone-shaped F-attachment valves quickly surrender their anodized coatings, and then the typical brass-aluminum contact corrosion begins to occur (as we are well familiar, with trumpet valve stems).

[tubaing]

If we were reasonably certain that the buttons are the same size and design, I might be willing to trade the ones on my 983... I bought this from Joe a few years ago, here's a link to the pics.

viewtopic.php?t=1729

They replaced the MOP with an epoxy thing it seems