Posted by Rick Denney on June 17, 2002 at 08:27:10:
In Reply to: Re: "miniball" posted by Doug Whitten on June 15, 2002 at 12:52:29:
The trick to making plastic ball-ends work is getting good ones. I use the adjustible ones from Du-Bro (see link below). The standard cheapie ball-ends for tuba linkages use smaller balls and softer plastic.
This discussion has been repeated many times on Tubenet. Do a search on "du-bro" and "dubro" and you'll see most of the relevant threads. Also, search on "linkage".
Sometimes these ball-ends have to be carved to avoid interference with the stop arm, and sometimes you have to bend the rod to avoid interference. Once you work through these issues, though, you won't ever have to do it again. I've had these on my Miraphone for 15 years without replacement (see picture). I've also used these on a number of tubas owned by friends, several of which are used in professional situations. None have ever had to be replaced yet, and they have been in service for at least ten years.
Rick "who thinks with the low cost of these, you can screw up on the first try and still save hugely" Denney