Freeing slides

[bloke]

I'm even old enough to remember the Erick Brand penetrating oil stuff...

...if someone REALLY wants to compare how various ones compare on the "Stinkter Scale"

[Nworbekim]

I'm even old enough to remember the Erick Brand penetrating oil stuff...

...is someone REALLY wants to compare how various ones compare on the "Stinkter Scale"

yah, i've been thinking about the odor and not sure i want to put that stuff in the horn... i'll get by with it like it is for the time being. it's really not all that bad... noone hears me play it but me... you're welcome i hear it and can adjust or ignore... i just hate it not being right. my OCD talking at me.

i've been working learning CC patterns and it's fun but quite a mind bender.

[bloke]

"Picking up B-flat reading ability - from where I left it in the 12th grade" - is humbling.

bloke "The hinge-pitch - with ANY tuba key - seems to be C#. It's always - seemingly - the LAST one that the human mind embraces."

[the elephant]

After my AeroKroil runs out, I'll buy it in gallons and use a squeeze bottle.

I have decided that I am going to start using liquids in special spray cans or oilers as bulk liquids are, as you pointed out, much cheaper. My main sin is brake cleaner or carb cleaner, which I use (stupidly) on a lot of stuff. Non-residue brake cleaner has trichloroethane (Solvent 111 — which at work we called "chlorothene", probably incorrectly) and is the best parts degreaser in the world if you don't mind an early death. I also want a parts washer so I can run solvents through a filter and recover/reuse them. But then you get into the endless list of "I Want" items, like a media blasting booth, a powder coating setup, an English Wheel, etc. It never really ends. But using solvents and cleaners in liquid form in pump-sprayers or whatever is becoming very attractive to me as I see how much spray cans waste, how much they cost, and how quickly they become empty.

[the elephant]

… rust-penetrants…

Why do you keep bringing up rust? We are talking about non-ferrous metals, here. As I said in reply to you earlier, I only mentioned rust to Unk, in response to his choice of Kroil.

No one is talking about rust unless I failed to read about it in this thread about stuck slides. I keep thinking you are responding to me, personally in this regard.

And Kroil works on stuck slides, as we keep telling you.

[the elephant]

I'm even old enough to remember the Erick Brand penetrating oil stuff...

Most of us are. And I mentioned it, but not by name. It is 50/50 acetone and ATF. It works better than anything else except for some of these fancy, new fluids, like Seafoam's Deep Creep, which may be very highly regarded, but still has not done much for me any better than Kroil or the 50/50 mix (when I am out of other stuff and have to mix my own).

[Rick Denney]

By the way, Kroil, like most penetrants, is acidic, and will attack lime deposits. I'm thinking a pH of maybe 4ish, though (like, say, vinegar) at a low molar concentration.

Lime deposits are a key culprit in lots of industries, including piping where there is hard water.

What works on rust generally works on lime.

Don't buy it if you don't want to.

Rick "certainly better than PB Blaster in spray cans that are empty in about 22 seconds" Denney

[Rick Denney]

I'm even old enough to remember the Erick Brand penetrating oil stuff...

Most of us are. And I mentioned it, but not by name. It is 50/50 acetone and ATF. It works better than anything else except for some of these fancy, new fluids, like Seafoam's Deep Creep, which may be very highly regarded, but still has not done much for me any better than Kroil or the 50/50 mix (when I am out of other stuff and have to mix my own).

Acetone is an organic solvent that will attack finishes, so best to be careful around painted stuff. It's a great prep for painting, though, and I keep a can here.

I have used that traditional mix as a penetrant, but, yes, Kroil is a lot more pleasant.

Rick "doubting that Ferree's does anything more than buy an existing product and slap the Erik Brand label on it" Denney

[Nworbekim]

"Picking up B-flat reading ability - from where I left it in the 12th grade" - is humbling.

bloke "The hinge-pitch - with ANY tuba key - seems to be C#. It's always - seemingly - the LAST one that the human mind embraces."

I

I started in a CC book but later I realized that most of what I play is written in flat keys so I switched to a BBb book. I think this is a great exercise for my old brain.

[bloke]

‘ always humorous to have someone - who doesn’t get it - tell me that I’m not getting it.
=========
For those who get it:
(ie. GENERAL remarks)
- Most every liquid formulation that people use to free stuck band instrument slides wasn’t originally designed for that purpose.
- No matter how much any of us might rave about any product in particular, it’s still really easy to tear up an instrument, trying to remove a really stuck slide without employing enough sensitivity and patience.
—————————
I don’t spend a lot of time looking through the Ferree’s website, but I’ve never seen anything there from the old Erick Brand stuff - other than that old repair manual; speaking of which, that’s probably another really great way to tear up a band instrument - is to do it according to some words printed in some instruction manual.

This is my picture from this year's annual. I'm attending college to become a brain surgeon...and - in remedial English 001- they learned me about "general" statements, such as "General Custer was really something, huh?"

[Nworbekim]

I finally gottem! I kept tugging... I didn't know how much to pull. I kept adding a little more muscle and finally one came loose. After that the rest were easy for some reason...

The I went to the festivo which hasn't been played for a long time and the slides were OK but the valves were stuck. I poured water down the lead pipe and let it set for a while and they came loose.

I haven't had nerve to look at the 2280 yet... It hasn't been played for a long long time.

When you're not playing an instrument for long periods do you pull out the slides and valves and store them?

I've been rotating through the tubas regularly but I'm favoring the 186 because of the rotors and the jp because of the size. My king is almost an orphan. I like the rotors better.

[bisontuba]

Slide-yanking is dangerous, (often) not effective, and (often) results in bad damage, including damage to non-replaceable parts.

Depending on how well braced, CAREFUL/SENSITIVE sideways slide TWISTING can be an effective way to bust loose lime and/or hardened old slide grease. As even a SLIGHT amount of rotation of both pairs of tubes is often enough to bust them loose.

"Slide pliers" are not as bad as slide "yanking", but can also result in additional damage.

REMOVING (un-soldering) the slide bow and ROTATING (carefully) each of the two tubes free INDIVIDUALLY is - sometimes - what must be done.
I used this technique on my recently-purchased Miraphone 98, whereby the bottom located #4 slide was severely stuck.
(Even that method - on that particular slide - BARELY worked, and - had I been less sensitive - I could EASILY have trashed this $2X,XXX instrument.)
Followed up by polishing and re-lacquering, this results in a damage-free repair.

Many, though, dislike the idea of taking it to a repair person, and - well - some repair people are "hacks", and yank on slides.

Do I occasionally engage in somewhat risky slide-removal techniques? YES...but I can FIX what I might screw up.

Finally, many VERY strong people do not have particularly-strong hands/wrists, with (mostly) their upper arms being strong, yet their hands being not-so-strong. I've not seen workout gyms with hand-strengthening equipment in place.

Hi-
Got a very stuck slide out of an Over The Shoulder Tenor by using the "CAREFUL/SENSITIVE sideways slide TWISTING to bust loose lime and/or hardened old slide grease. As even a SLIGHT amount of rotation of both pairs of tubes is often enough to bust them loose."
I felt a slight pop, and a big pull, and out the slide came ....
Thank you Joe!!
Mark

[kingrob76]

My understanding is if you gift them a sock they will be free. Never tried it, personally....

[bloke]

Mon May 02, 2022 8:33 am