[Mark Fleming]

My first rebuild was a Buescher CMel. I didn't know how to play. I didn't even know it was a CMel. I didn't have any books or even know of SOTW. So it can be done. I'll list a few things, not in any particular order, that have helped me over the years.

1. While pictures are nice (maybe even essential), video is even better. And talk while you are making your videos.
2. Buy some Ziplock baggies and label them with a Sharpie when you take things apart. You can even number them so that you can reinstall in reverse order. It is frustrating and time consuming to put a group of keys on only to realize that they all have to be removed to put on the next key.
3. Check the body tube for straight and the tone holes for level. This is probably getting towards the limits on a first time DIY, but both can make big differences if the sax is intended to be played.
4. Don't buy a pad kit for a vintage horn. Chances are that several pads won't be right and you'll be screwing around trying to locate what you need. The exception might be pads from Music Medic if they list a set for your sax. The reason is that Music Medic will guarantee fitment and send additional pads free if something doesn't fit. But the better practice would be to measure each with a caliper.
5. I haven't seen this for awhile, but one of the old repair manuals had a picture of a generic saxophone with room to notate pad sizes, spring damage, etc. In addition to your video recording, you can create a list of pads, felts, parts, problems, etc.
6. Don't do this on the kitchen table, unless you don't need to use it for a month. Do it in an area that has a hard clean-swept floor. You will still spend some time on your hands and knees searching for tiny parts that bounced off the work surface, but will have a perfect recovery record.

Mark

 

[Mark Fleming]

I'm surprised that nobody on SOTW has offered you, either free or for a price, a Conn pivot screw. The little Conn grub screws are more difficult to come by. I've needed a screw in the past and posted here under "Wanted." Response came quick and the screw can be taped to a piece of cardboard and mailed in an envelope. Most of the real techs here have junker parts saxophones. I'm not a real tech and have only one extra Martin pivot screw that I'm hoarding.

 

[Mark Fleming]

The cup doesn't matter unless it is really bent. It is the pad that needs to be flat (assuming that the tone hole is flat). Don't make it more difficult than necessary, as you will be the only one that knows you spent three hours trying to make the key cups flat.

 

[Mark Fleming]

Going back to the swedging issue and how to deal with not having all the technician tools, I had a couple of instances where I could take up tiny amounts of movement on the pivot screws using Teflon tape. There are several types of Teflon tape, white, pink, and yellow. White is too soft. Pink works okay. Cut a little strip and roll it into a tiny booger the size of a mustard seed. Using a pin, put that into the end of the rod. The pivot screw is then driven through the post and into the tape, deforming it and taking up the little bit of wiggle without friction. Might need adjusting once a year.

 

[Mark Fleming]

When you have a rolled tone hole that doesn't appear level, and you don't want to level it, you can create a "bent" pad to fit it without using a shim. You will need a needle and the ability to poke it into the side of the pad right where the pad doesn't seal. Put your leak light in place and have plenty of shellac on the pad. Heat the cup, close the pad, and use the needle to pull the pad down right where you see the light. You might need to let up on the cup and tap it a little. Hold everything in place while the shellac cools. What you have done is effectively warp the pad to fit the uneven tone hole. Ignore those who worry about whether there is now a bubble of air behind the pad. Yes, there is. Just like every other pad. It is the ability of the surface to seal, not what's behind the pad.