Basic Instrument Repair for the Band Director
Handout from the OMEA 2012 Conference Session by Lindy Wunn
This will help you become acquainted with basic emergency repairs and more importantly, what to do and what not to do. These ideas an methods will help you through a concert or contest but will not be a PERMANENT solution. All repairs you perform should be referred to a professional repair technician. The products we will be informing you about are the best available and the easiest to use in my opinion.
First rule: Super glue is evil!!!
Reed Instruments:
Pad Replacement: Use self adhering pads. Use a small screwdriver to remove old pad and glue, find and install proper size pad, level with pad slick or any flat item such as a ruler etc.
Bent Keys: Refer to a technician.
Joint and Key Corks: Use self adhering cork strips and key corks. Area must be as clean as possible before installing new cork. Scrape area with a screwdriver to remove old cork. Painters tape and waxed floss works well for joint corks also.
Pivot Screw and Rods: Tighten with a mini screwdriver. If it binds then back off 1/4 turn and test again. If screw is missing then a paper clip inserted in the hole will temporarily hold the key. If you ask for a replacement, brand is very important.
Flute Head Corks: Cork needs to be removed from head joint out of the bottom. You may use a drum stick to push it out from the top of the head joint. Make sure top plate is tight against the cork, tighten as much as possible, or put in warm water. Wrap with painters tape to make tight temporarily, do not leave in very long. Make sure that the line on the end of the flute rod is in the middle of the lip plate for starting tuning point.
Flute Pads: Stack pads can only be replaced by a technician, refer. Trill and C key you may use adhesive clarinet pad.
Flute Tendon Joints: If hard to assemble, clean the ends and inside the collars. The cleaner the better. Do not apply grease of any kind.
Saxophone Neck Cork: Scrape and clean off old cork. Wrap it with the preformed and adhesive backed synthetic cork. If no cork substitute is available wrap with painters tape until the mouthpiece is snug.
Saxophone Octave Pads: Use self adhering clarinet or w/key pads. Check octave mechanism function afterwards.
Brass Instruments:
Replacing Water Key Corks: Same as clarinet pads, use black w/key corks. Be sure to remove all the old cork if still in.
Pulling Mouthpieces: Only use a Bobcat puller. Sometimes a light tap with the wood or rawhide mallet, or drumstick to the lead pipe will help. Also heat from a hair dryer will sometimes help in addition to the puller. If this doesn’t work, send it in. Never ever use pliers for any reason.
Pulling Slides: A ‘light’ tap with the rawhide mallet sometimes helps. Otherwise send in, DO NOT TRY TO PULL YOURSELF AND DO NOT USE ROPE OR OTHER. ***Moving slides at least once a year will prevent most stuck slides.***
Broken Braces: Secure with painters tape or wire ties, send in immediately. Do not use glue of any kind. Refer to rule one.
French Horn Valves: Re-tie with instructions and string. Worry less about aligning the spatulas perfectly and just about getting the valve working for the moment.
Valves: SEND IN. DO NOT TRY ANYTHING.
Valve Alignment: Almost all (90%) of valves must have the valve number facing toward the mouthpiece; usually the guide will allow it only this way.
Yamaha Guides: The plastic valve guide on tubas and baritone/euphoniums MUST be in the little hole on the top of the valve! Loosen the stem enough to move the guide, turn the guide to check and make sure it is in the LITTLE hole on the top of the valve, tighten stem.
Basic Tools: Small screwdriver, Drum key, Razor blade or Xacto knife, Bobcat mouthpiece puller, Rawhide mallet
Supplies: ‘Valentino; self stick clarinet pads, joint corks, key corks, and w/key corks; Valve oil; 40-45lb squidding line or yellow Yamaha French horn cord; painters tape; waxed dental floss; Gaffers tape; wire ties; rubber bands.
Instrument does not play! Ask: Was it dropped??? Of course the answer is always NO!
Check the woodwind mouthpiece for chips on the face or table. Look at reed to see condition.
Clarinet and flutes check for bent keys, missing pads. On clarinets with each individual joint, plug on end with your hand and blow into the other end after covering all tone holes and keys. Find out which joint is leaking. Flutes, check tightness of rods and screws, especially the left index finger key rod, and tighten if necessary.
Saxophones a little tougher, but look for apparent bent keys and missing pads. Refer to a technician.
Trumpets, baritones, tubes check to make sure all the valves are in the right order and are sliding into the proper slot. Still not playing, pull each slide and blow into it to make sure that there is nothing inside of them. Look into bell to see if anything has “fallen” in.
Missing w/key corks are a big cause of bad sounding instruments.
Holes in lead pipe and slides are also common factors to a bad playing horn.
Trombone slides: Dents are a common problem. When putting inner slide back into outer the slide gets bent. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FIX ANYTHING!!! Refer to a technician.
***Do not try anything that you feel uncomfortable with, especially stuck slides as results can be very costly to someone, but very profitable to repair shops.***
