Posted by Gary Swart on July 10, 2002 at 09:13:09:
In Reply to: Cooking oil posted by Odd Question on July 09, 2002 at 21:14:10:
Maybe it's not the oil. I'd go through the cleaning processes previously described. be certain the valve and cylinder truly clean. I had a tuba that required a complete valve and cylinder cleaning about every 3 or 4 months. No amount of oil would fix it, I just had to disassemble and wash the valves in hot water, then swab the cylinders with a terry cloth towel. I didn't use anything on the towel, but you could. You might also use a round brass brush, like for a shotgun. If the cleaning process doesn't cure the problem, then you will have to look elsewhere for the solution. You could have a slightly out of round valve or cylinder. Do try all of the ideas for cleaning the valve and the cylinder, but if that doesn't do it, have the valve and cylinder checked for roundness. If the valve is at fault, it can be relapped to true. I doubt that in the minute amount that would have to be removed there would be any need to replate the valve. If the problem is in the cylinder, a light honeing should take care of that. In either case, it is unlikely that there is more than just a very small spot or area that is at fault, so the amount of material that would be removed would be (a) localized to that area, and (b) be very, very minimial. The playing characteristics would not be affected. If an extreme amount had to be removed from either the valve or cylinder, then the valve would have to be replated and lapped to fit the cylinder again.