Posted by Rick Denney on December 05, 2001 at 12:50:27:
In Reply to: Loose valves? posted by James on December 05, 2001 at 12:15:42:
There's a limit to what thick oil can accomplish without being so thick that it keeps you from moving the valves. Rattlingly loose valves seems to be beyond what thick oil can do, but you can try Space Filler or Hetman's Classic if you want. If they still leak (and they probably will), oil them with 30-weight motor oil. That should seal them up enough to test the horn for a few minutes, but you won't be able to play much with oil that thick, and the seal won't last.
The proper fix goes like this. Technicians remove the pistons, and very carefully measure the casing. They then align-bore it to make it straight and round. Then, they measure it again to determine how big the pistons need to be, and they supply the pistons and that information to the plater. The plater plates with copper and then nickel to bring it up to the requested diameter. The technician then hand fits and hones each piston to the casing.
If your local technician can't (or won't) do the hand fitting, then he will send the instrument (or just the valve body) to a shop that can do it all.
Boring the casing of a top-action euphonium requires removing the valve section from the instrument, which takes time and costs money. This may or may not be needed with a front-action instrument.
The going rate is $125 to $150 per valve, plus the cost of any required disassembly and reassembly, and in addition to the cost of shipping the instrument around if it is necessary.
Rick "who would make sure the instrument is worth it" Denney