pair of St. Pete tubas...

[bloke]

mangled linkage, epic dents, creased slide tubes...
managed to get both of them rockin' and lookin' without un-soldering anything... (bloke's secret "anneal parts of the tuba - even two-layer parts - somehow without anything coming un-soldered or falling off" technique)

...Hey, but these weren't quick. The pair used up the whole damn day (but I quoted for a whole damn day PLUS, fetching/delivering, writing up the quote, and waiting - count 'em - 45 days to get paid).

Can you say, "technische überprüfung"?

bloke "The repair industry is so fascinating."

[tofu]

.

[bloke]

A ton of schools around here bought them. More recently, there are some piston models, and I'm having to deal with the issues that those have.
I'm really not griping about Ukrainian tubas. Young scholars can tear up anything, and they tear these up too. I've repaired enough of them in bad enough shape to where I've learned some tricks and shortcuts.

The rotor assemblies are actually pretty well made and rarely end up needing repair, but if I needed an .830" bore rotor, I think I just buy it from Christian and Eva at Miraphone.

I don't think they're particularly thin; at least they don't feel like it when I'm having to make them back into tubas. They are sold by one store in North Carolina, and always have been.

Bringing school stuff back from the dead isn't a challenge anymore, other than seeing how much of it I can do while sitting down, vs. standing up, and seeing how fast I can get it done so I can go back to doing things that are a little bit easier...like marching baritones... which fix easy schmeezy, no matter how bad they're torn up.

[gocsick]

My son's school has a host of St. Petes. The weak point seem to be the upper bow getting seriously dented from students taking them down and putting them up on racks.

[bloke]

My son's school has a host of St. Petes. The weak point seem to be the upper bow getting seriously dented from students taking them down and putting them up on racks.

Beside the thought-to-be-inaccessible (yet bloke) sides of the bottom bows being smashed in, the SMALLER upper bows (both of these) were smashed in - along with the UNDERSIDES of the LARGER upper bows...As with yours, I suspect some past homespun wall-mounted storage method.

[tubatodd]

@bloke pictures or it didn't happen.

[bloke]

@bloke pictures or it didn't happen.

I'm not very good about "before" and after pictures, but everyone knows what before pictures are going to look like, because everyone has seen smashed up tubas. I might take a picture or two of the pair when spent the last 20 or 30 minutes on the second one today, but - just like ebay - digital pictures tend to make things look better than they actually are, agreed?

Also, I'm not into polishing other people's tubas "just to be nice". I'm ~repairing~ these, and I put some lamp oil on an old towel to get the spit marks off the outside of the bell, and I will go over the places I annealed to bring the nickel color back, but that's all I'm offering for the prices I quoted.

[arpthark]

Tangentially related question...

Is there a way to remove nickel, say in someone's backyard in a tub?

I have some St. Pete parts coming in that I'd prefer stripped.

Nitric acid?

Alternatively, I wonder what that sort of thing runs these days from Anderson. I may inquire.

[bloke]

Tangentially related question...

Is there a way to remove nickel, say in someone's backyard in a tub?

I have some St. Pete parts coming in that I'd prefer stripped.

Nitric acid?

Alternatively, I wonder what that sort of thing runs these days from Anderson. I may inquire.

The required acid is dangerous, and Anderson does a nice clean job.
If large (like a tuba), take it apart.

[gocsick]

Tangentially related question...

Is there a way to remove nickel, say in someone's backyard in a tub?

I have some St. Pete parts coming in that I'd prefer stripped.

Nitric acid?

Alternatively, I wonder what that sort of thing runs these days from Anderson. I may inquire.

If I had to do it t would be electrolytic-ally. Much safer than strong acids.

Materials Needed: Low voltage DC Power supply, an electrolyte solution (e.g., a mixture of vinegar and salt), a stainless steel cathode


1) Connect the brass item to the anode (positive terminal) and the stainless steel cathode to the negative terminal of a DC power supply.
2) Submerge both in the electrolyte solution, ensuring they do not touch.
3) Run the current (start low, e.g., 3-5 volts) and monitor as the nickel dissolves from the brass and plates on the stainless.
4) Rinse and dry the brass after the process.

You can use a cheap Amazon benchtop DC power supply https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09YSJQWRG/re ... haWwy&th=1

If you are feeling brave - a constant current LED power supply or an old laptop charger with a variac (bg dimmer) to control voltage output could also work.

I should add there are commercial Ni strippers for brass. They work really well the only problem is they need to be heated. They will also attack almost any cheap immersion heater. However if you have a stainless immersion heater and a way of disposing of gallons of toxic solution.... they would be the easiest approach.

[bloke]

@bloke pictures or it didn't happen.

Okay. It's after 10:00 p.m. and the second one is done. Film at 11:00 (A.M.)
I think I'm too tired, but I'm going to see about blowing on a really nice tuba (mine) for a few minutes.
Okay, I'm not saying that those tubas aren't nice, but I just don't know about ~really~ nice... and maybe I just didn't fix them good enough (??)

[bloke]

Having done more than (likely) they expect, I feel so "whatever" about this work.

...but - well - the linkage is no longer mangled nor ripped apart, the rotors no longer rattle, the bells are no longer folded, and the smushes (exterior AND interior bows) are all gone, in addition to no longer any epic slides wonkery...but how long will THIS epic un-fubar-ication last...??

bloke "Notice - though - that - via blokemajik®, neither the bottom bows, top bows, bells, nor any of the interior bows were un-soldered.

[gocsick]

Here's an example of the upper boss damage I was describing before. Today was The Ohio Music Educators Association- Solo and Small Ensemble competition. So I was able to grab a shot.. I should point out that the young lady who had this tuba is extremely careful and a good Steward of the school instruments.. It was like this when she received it.

[bloke]

Yeah, I had to repair exactly the same type of sh!t in the same area on the two that I repaired and returned. I'd be really happy about the work I did, if I had a check already for doing the work, but I don't yet, so that is temporarily preventing me from being happy about the jobs I did on those instruments.

edit: With that SPECIFIC damage, I wonder how the hell it happens...but I tend to wonder if the tubas were hung up on the way via an upwardly-sloping pipe, or 2x4...(??) ...When young scholars unhooked them for band practice...CLUNK-CLUNK-CLUNK !!! (etc.)

[gocsick]

I want to peek into the band instrument storage and figure out what could be causing it.. All the St. Petes, and only the St. Petes,f have that same damage. The Miraphone 186s and the King 2341s (new style) don't.

[bloke]

Repair:

- anneal those areas
- insert a football-shaped dent "ball" (small enough to pass through those dents, but as large as possible - and greased) into that area.
- work those dents out with a 1" thick (thickest which will fit in those spaces) earth magnet
- buff the discoloration off the nickel plating

[marccromme]

- insert a football-shaped dent "ball"

This is the hard part. It's easy to find many sizes of round polished steel balls, but football shaped?
Where do you buy these?

[bloke]

- insert a football-shaped dent "ball"

This is the hard part. It's easy to find many sizes of round polished steel balls, but football shaped?
Where do you buy these?

I've had these tools for so long that I don't even remember where they came from. You can certainly have a friend make one on a metal lathe or ask tech school to make you one or a few actually.