\s Clinic

BASIC MAINTENANCE
FOR THE
ROTARY VALVE TUBA
dents should be uncreased with a
mandrel and roller to avoid
weakening the metal more than
necessary. Weakened metal may
result in a loosening of the
garland, the extra ring of metal
attached to the edge of the bell,
causing rattles during performance.
Loose braces can also cause rattles and damage if the tuba is
mishandled. Inspect the braces
periodically to be sure they are
strong; loose braces should be
fixed by a repairman.

BY JOHN J. SWAIN

ince the 1960s rotaryvalve tubas have become

more and more the
norm, all but replacing pistonvalve tubas. Rotary valves require a different type of maintenance and while some repairs
call for a trained repairman,
there are many ways a player can
maintain and repair his own instruments.

Dents
Almost all dents, particularly
bell dents, need to be removed
& qualified repairman. Bell

Laquer wear
Significant wear can occur near
the thumb ring and on top of
the first valve slide. Instruments
should be checked periodically
and spot-lacquered when necessary. Spot-lacquering is not particularly attractive, but it can
prevent metal erosion from contact with the player's skin.
Depending on the condition of
the rest of the tuba, a repairman
may be able to make the spotlacquering less obvious. If you
decide to lacquer it yourself, clear
lacquer can be obtained from
Feree's Tools, Inc. (Battle Creek,
Michigan). The lacquer comes in
a spray can. The procedure for
spot-lacquering is as follows:
Remove scratches from the
area to be lacquered with 0000
(very fine) steel wool. (Brasso
may also be used, but it is slightly less effective.) Clean with red

rouge and a soft cloth, unless

Brasso has been used. Red rouge
is a very mild abrasive that
comes in a paste form. It is
available from jewelers. Thoroughly remove the residue using
a soft cloth and lacquer thinner.
Wash with warm soapy water
and rinse. Dry thoroughly. Mask
the area surrounding the spot
with masking tape and spray
with lacquer, using short strokes,
10 to 12 inches from the surface.
Regular cleaning

Tubas should be cleaned once

every six to eight weeks if used
regularly. A bathtub equipped
with a detachable shower hose is
ideal. Place a thick towel on the
bottom of the tub to prevent
scratches. Remove the shower
head from the hose and use the
open hose to run warm water
through the instrument, starting
at the leadpipe. Use a mild
detergent and a bottle brush to
clean all the slides and tubes,
and a trombone snake to clean
the leadpipe, which accumulates
the most residue. Rinse the instrument thoroughly with warm
water and lubricate the slides
and valves as necessary. Slide
grease or petroleum jelly may be
used on tuba slides, but be advised that petroleum jelly tends
to wear faster and needs to be
replaced more often.
Valve maintenance
The valves need not be removed each time the instrument
is cleaned, but they should be
taken out perhaps twice a year
for cleaning, inspection, and
regulation. To remove the valve,
disconnect the arm and remove
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__

Phone
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36

THE INSTRUMENTALIST / JULY 1987

the bottom valve cap. Unscrew

the collar-retaining screw two
turns and tap the retaining screw
gently with a rawhide mallet

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(available at music stores - a

chime mallet will do) to loosen
the bottom retaining plate,
which is pressure-fitted to the
valve casing. Continue unscrew
ing the retaining screw, tapping
lightly every two turns until the
bottom retaining plate on the
valve is loosened, (If you unscrew
the screw most of the way and
then tap the plate out, you may
bend the screw.) Hold your hand
under the retaining plate so that

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April 22 - 23

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it does not fall into the tubing.

Remove the collar retaining
screw and the collar, and push
the valve through the bottom of
the casing. The valve may be
loose enough to fall out on its
own when you remove the screw,
so be careful. Keep each valve
separate they all look the
same.
The valve should be soaked in
a mild solution of ammonia and
water or in a solution of QuickDip, which can be obtained from
Oxford Chemical (Box 80202,
Atlanta, Georgia). This product
was developed to clean the residue from patterned silverware
and is used by some restaurants.

&cfjilfee I
CUSTOM-BUILT

INSTRUMENTS
AND MOUTHPIECES
TRUMPETS
IN Bt>, C, D, Et>, Et>/D, F, G,
EVF/G. 65 Models-TrumpetsCornets.

PICCOLO TRUMPETS
IN Bb/A, C

TUNING-BELL TRUMPETS
With Detachable Bells
Eliminates the tuning slide
improving intonation and
response. Additional bells
offer varied tone color.

MOUTHPIECES STANDARD AND SIGNATURE

Precision made for Trumpet,
Cornet, French Horn, Trombone, Euphonium and Tuba.

Call or write
for dealer in your area:

SCHILKE MUSIC, INC.

529 So. Wabash Ave.
Chicago, III. 60605
312-922-0736
PLEASE SEND:
D Instrument Catalog
D Mouthpiece Catalog
N

ne

Address
City/State .
| Zip

40

THE INSTRUMENTALIST / JULY 1987

(A restaurant manager may be

able to tell you where it can be
obtained locally.) Both chemical
solutions are toxic, so use rubber
gloves and work in a well-ventilated area. The inside of the
valve casing can be cleaned with
a rag soaked in the same solution. Do not use an abrasive
cleaner or pad, because either
will damage the finely machined
metal surface. Rinse when finished and coat the inside of the
valve casing with rotary valve
oil. Do the same with the valve
before you replace it.
Assemble each valve in reverse
order. Line up the mark on the
retaining plate with the mark on
the valve casing; you will need
the correct placement to check
valve alignment. It is also a good
idea to check the amount of lateral play in the valve. If there is
a fair amount of side-to-side
movement, send the instrument
to a repair shop to correct the
damage caused by wear. Check
to make sure that all the screws
are snug, but do not overtighten
them.
Valve alignment
Corks were used for valve stops
on most of the older instruments,
but cork wears rapidly and today
is often replaced with neoprene.
It is sometimes difficult to get
neoprene, but a length of 1A inch
diameter rubber rope that is used
for holding screens in window
frames works well. It is quite inexpensive and readily available at
window/screen repair shops, so
you need not worry if you destroy a piece in the alignment
process.
To check and adjust proper
valve alignment, remove the bottom valve cap and look at the
marks on the part of the valve
that protrudes through the inside
collar. These marks should be at
90 degrees to one another. There
should also be a single mark on
the inside collar. The lines on
the valve need to be aligned exactly with the line on the retaining plate, depending on whether
the valve is open or depressed.
The cork may need to be replaced or shaved slightly to bring
the marks into proper alignment.

Actuating mechanism
Valve noise is a severe problem
on older rotary-valve tubas.
While some of the noise may be
attributed to the valve stops,
much of the rattle comes from
the actuating mechanism. The
older model rotary-valve instruments have a rather complicated
arm assembly that transfers motion from the spatulas to the
valves, and wear can occur at
any one of four places on the
mechanism. Periodically use a
light oil, such as sewing machine
oil, to lubricate the moving parts
of the linkage, the rod that holds
the spatulas in place, the screw
bushing under the collar on top
of the valve, and the screw
bushing at the point where the
arm is attached to the collar at
the valve. This should help
reduce the noise temporarily.
Some instruments have bushings
that can be replaced. A repairman might be able to tighten the
linkage sufficiently to eliminate
noise, but if he recommends new
linkages because of excessive
wear, it is significantly cheaper to
replace them yourself.
Springs and screws
Check the valve-actuating
springs periodically to be sure
that they are strong enough to
return the valves quickly. If the
valves seem quite sluggish, replace the springs; you can obtain
them at almost any instrument
repair shop. Various strengths
are available, and it may take
some experimentation to find the
action that works the best and is
the most comfortable for the
player. To replace the springs,
unscrew the nut on what is the
bottom of the spatula-retaining
rod if the instrument is in playing position. Carefully remove
the retaining rod and replace the
springs one at a time. Clean and
lubricate the retaining rod with a
light oil, such as sewing machine
oil, before replacing it.
It is a good practice to check
all screws on the instrument at
least once per month. The four
screws that hold the arms to the
collars generally do not work
loose, but the larger round-head

screws that hold the collars in

place often do. If one of these
screws is lost, do not attempt to
replace it with a conventional
screw. It is best to order the
proper screw for the instrument
from a repair shop. Replacing the
screw with one not made for the
instrument will strip the screw
threads in the top of the valve. It
is also important to check the
water key screw and spring at
the same time you check the
other screws.
Replacing rotary valve linkage with
ball and socket
If your repairman recommends
new linkages to eliminate noise
from the actuating mechanism,
you can replace the linkage
yourself with a ball and socket
linkage. You will need a hacksaw, a small file, an electric drill
with a #44 drill bit, and a 3/16"
socket or box/open end wrench.
The materials you will need can
be purchased from a hobby store;
they include a 3/32" threaded
rod, 1/8" o.d. aluminum tubing,
8 Du-Bro 2-56 threaded ball
links, and Goldberg 1/2" landing
gear straps (four needed for
converting string linkage only).
Rotary valve assembly

actuator

moveable joint

rotor stop

Unhook the linkage at the

rotor stop and remove the rod
holding the actuators in place.
Remove the actuators one at a
time and number them. Saw off
the linkage at the moveable
joint.
Proper cut on moveable joint

cut here

Discard the joint and the

S-shaped lever. The spatula and
arm will remain. File the side of
the arm where the joint was
removed to smooth the surface.
42

THE INSTRUMENTALIST / JULY 1987

Actuator with joint removed

-^

-J.

Parts of the arm

^o

arm
aluminum
tubing
file here

Drill a hole in the spatula arm

and attach a ball link. Notice
that the placement of the ball
link will affect the distance that
the spatula will travel and the
amount of pressure needed to
depress the valve, in inverse proportions. Replace the spatula.
Position of drill hole on arm

threaded rod

socket

Snap the sockets into the ball

links on the arm and rotor stop.
Check the adjustment and ease
of movement. The valves should
move freely without binding. The
spatula arm may require bending
to one side to eliminate binding,
especially on string linkage conversions. Avoid bending the arm
more than is necessary because
bending weakens the metal.
Direction of arm adjustment

:-?V>

drill
This is the recommended drill point for the
least amount of travel

Attach a ball link to the rotor

stop.
Rotor stop

ffl

If you are replacing a string

linkage, attach a landing gear
strap under the rotor stop retaining screw as shown below. Attach the ball link to the hole in
the landing gear strap.
Rotor stop with gear strap attached
side

top

(0

)
\ gear strap

Cut the threaded rod to

length. The length of the rod
will affect the height of the
spatulas in the rest (valve open)
position. Attach a nylon socket
to one end of the threaded rod.
Measure and cut a piece of
aluminum tubing and slip it over
the exposed threaded rod. Attach a nylon socket to the other
end of the rod. The aluminum
tubing must fit snugly to avoid
rattles.

The total time for this project

is about one hour and the cost
will be somewhere around $10.
This is a small price to pay for a
quiet, efficient linkage, especially
if the old one was noisy and
troublesome. It is important to
remember that this conversion
should be a last resort because
the procedure cannot be reversed. Make the conversion only if the assembly cannot be
quieted in any other way.
Completed ball and socket assembly

With practice and increased

confidence, you can make many
of the repairs and adjustments
that you would otherwise need a
repairman for. This can save you
time and money, plus give you
the satisfaction of doing the job
yourself.
D
John ] . Swain is Associate Professor of
Music and Assistant Director of Bands
at California State University in Los
Angeles. He is active as a cufcist, performing in recital and with Rising
Winds in Los Angeles.
Assistance with parts of this article and
with photographs was provided by
William Stafford, Instrument Technician at California State University in
Los Angeles.