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Yamaha Neo euphonium owner:
"We've bought two sets of new valve guides, and the valves are still sticking."

me:
Is there greenish-brown stuff on the surfaces of the pistons and green rings on the edges of the piston ports?

YNEO:
yes.

me:
OK...bring it. I'll stop what I'm doing (since you live a distance away).

YNEO:
WOW...These valves have NEVER felt this good !!

me:
I know.

I think I know this guy. He lets his valves drop into the casings after oiling them without lining up the tongue in the groove - chewing up the plastic protrusion and bending it skyward. Sometimes so much it pulls away from the metal reinforcement plate.

Actually it could be 5 guys I know.

Next time you see him tell him that Yamaha valve guides are now $22.50 per.

I didn't replace the guides. They were careful with them, it's just that the lime that had built up on the edges of the through ports of the pistons and that green copper oxide stuff that bonded from the casings over to the.monel resulted in a double whammy of craptasticness.

For some reason I seem to continue to find packages of Yamaha guides that I bought years ago - both 100% plastic and the crappy metal sandwich - whereby I'm sure I didn't pay more than a dollar each for them.

When I'm at some school, I don't want to drag their tuba, euphonium, or baritone all the way back to the shop, and a 100% plastic guide is worn down too far, I'll pull out a couple of needle files and a razor blade, reshape the tip of the guide, and cut about 1/3 to 1/2 of the leading front side of the nipple off the bottom of the underside, which allows the guy to slide forward enough for the reshaped tip to articulate the slot. Then I take pliers and a rag and give the valve stem a nice crank.

At this point you probably assumed that I then put some nice new guides in the mail for the band director. Nope. They won't do anything with them other than lose them. That's a waste of time and materials.

bloke wrote: ↑Mon Apr 08, 2024 10:41 pm I didn't replace the guides. They were careful with them, it's just that the lime that had built up on the edges of the through ports of the pistons and that green copper oxide stuff that bonded from the casings over to the.monel resulted in a double whammy of craptasticness.

I think maybe my tongue in cheek response was not clearly tongue in cheek.

On a true note, a local HS band director just picked up a mint YEP 842 for $200 at a government auction. I mean MINT.

Crazy.

Cameron Gates wrote: ↑Tue Apr 09, 2024 7:51 pm

bloke wrote: ↑Mon Apr 08, 2024 10:41 pm I didn't replace the guides. They were careful with them, it's just that the lime that had built up on the edges of the through ports of the pistons and that green copper oxide stuff that bonded from the casings over to the.monel resulted in a double whammy of craptasticness.

I think maybe my tongue in cheek response was not clearly tongue in cheek.

On a true note, a local HS band director just picked up a mint YEP 842 for $200 at a government auction. I mean MINT.

Crazy.

' went back and re-read...' got it.

previously: SWOOSH !!!