Posted by Jay Bertolet on January 01, 2000 at 11:22:50:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Brass tech in Dallas Area posted by Joe Baker on December 31, 1999 at 01:06:57:
I had this same idea because, as you can probably tell, I'm pretty fussy about convenience when it comes to maintaining my tubas. The technicians I spoke with all steered me away from this design because they thought the stress on such a setup would eventually mess up the retaining screw. Also, such a setup would necessitate the rod be mounted EXACTLY right and solder jobs are not so easy to get that exact. The design that I've seen most involves a ball joint type connection between the slide and the rod. This allows some play in the exact angle at which the rod attaches to the slide. It also eliminates the possibility of slippage. And the down side is that it is more difficult to detach. Mine is very similar to a valve linkage where the rod end screws into the ball joint end. This is very secure and reasonably convenient. Be sure you use enough posts along the length of the rod to hold it in place. Mine has three total and it was pretty tricky stuff to get them all lined up exactly right! If the posts are lined up correctly, you avoid the real nightmare of pushing the slide with the rod at the wrong angle. If the posts are out of alignment, the rod's vector of force in pushing the slide won't be parallel to the slide's motion and you'll experience binding and uneven wear on the slide. All in all, I decided this operation was better left to the professionals! Good luck.