Doublesided tape might get you through your lesson if you can determine the original orientation of the pad in the cup. There are other things which may do it too, but be carefull you don't do something which might cost $$ to undo or to repair.

 

Put the pad back in. Then CAREFULLY use a butane lighter or alcohol burner to slightly heat the metal cup. Immediately seat the pad (careful not to burn your finger on the heated brass.

Pads are held by shellac. The heat will melt the old shellac and hold the pad in, if there's enough left from before.

In any case, be sure and take your horn in to a reputable repairman for assessment ASAP.

 

Put the pad back in. Then CAREFULLY use a butane lighter or alcohol burner to slightly heat the metal cup. Immediately seat the pad (careful not to burn your finger on the heated brass.

Pads are held by shellac. The heat will melt the old shellac and hold the pad in, if there's enough left from before.

In any case, be sure and take your horn in to a reputable repairman for assessment ASAP.

Colorization by Carl H.

This was what I was referring to in my post. You could leave burn marks or melted lacquer if you aren't carefull.

 

Put the pad back in and try a blowdryer on the back of the keycup to heat the shellac. Wedge the key in the closed position. It may still leak or even fall out again but you may get through your classes. Still, get to the tech asap.

Good luck

 

Colorization by Carl H.

This was what I was referring to in my post. You could leave burn marks or melted lacquer if you aren't carefull.

Oh, and by the way be CAREFUL

:wave: Thanks Carl.

Maybe the hairdryer is better...

 

Even with the hairdryer one has to be careful. Don't concentrate the heat at the pearls.

The most important advice is the trip to the tech though!

 

The most important advice is the trip to the tech though!

What he said!

 

What he said!

What they said!

 

I would would opt for the tape approach.
Or Blu-tac (http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=73042).
Or chewing gum.

For a start, many pads are NOT held in by shellac or any other form of hot melt glue, especially if they have fallen out!
Misguided use of contact glue is quite common.

A novice using any form of heat runs a high risk of causing more trouble. It is through EXPERIENCE, including the botch-ups, that we know the limits of the risks we can take.

 

many, many years ago on one of my first sax repads the D pad fell out - shellac attached to the back of the pad. This after several weeks of it being played. So if the pad doees have shellac you could heat it ... but best to use (as a temporary fix) elmers glue or doublesided tape.

but i think the reoccurring theme everyone has said is to get it to a tech. The tech should be able to replace the pad fairly quickly, maybe even while you wait.

 

Borrow a horn for your lesson

or just work on theory with your teacher for the week and get back to your regularly scheduled programing next week

Unless you know what you're doin, take the horn to your tech and have them fix it!!!

 

One word:

"Rubber Cement"

Well, that's two words but you get the idea.

It lets the pad seat and will sometimes last for years. When I replaced the pads on my old Bundy School horn, the pads appeared to have been installed using some form of rubber cement from the factory. :shock:

 

Thanks for the ideas, everyone. Some of them sound a little scary. I'm going to play it safe and see what I can do with double-sided tape, and take it to the shop ASAP in any case. I think that's what the sax is trying to tell me.

-Tom

 

One word:

"Rubber Cement"

Well, that's two words but you get the idea.

It lets the pad seat and will sometimes last for years. When I replaced the pads on my old Bundy School horn, the pads appeared to have been installed using some form of rubber cement from the factory. :shock:

Rubber glue = contact cement. That's why I wrote "Misguided use of contact glue is quite common."

Pads installed with rubber glue are typically poorly aligned with tone holes, and leak. Then a technician spends significant time trying to re-align the pads using heat methods. It simply does not work. Eventually in frustration, the technician removes a pad and discovers the reason - rubber glue, usually in conjunction with other problems like substandard, irregular thickness pads. The technician has wasted a lot of time. Solution is to replace the pads, which may not even be economically viable. Who eventually pays for this nonsense?

Rubber glue COULD be viable, IF the the key cup is flat inside, not dished, AND its surface is regular, AND the pads are of high quality with consistent thickness around the pad, AND the pivots are without significant play, AND the tone holes are flat, AND the key cups have been very accurately aligned with the tone hole edges, so that there are no leaks, AND the rubber glue is used in such a way that it does not fail.

A technician this meticulous is unlikely to use rubber glue!

As an emergency, yes, but as with any emergency measure, get the tech to replace the pad, or deal with it properly. Otherwise the repercussions may well cost you later.

 

Rubber glue = contact cement. That's why I wrote "Misguided use of contact glue is quite common."

You are missing the point. When a pad falls out, most folks don't have a shellac stick, blowtorch, and the ready skill not to burn the lacquer during the process. But rubber cement is something that you can get almost anywhere. Plus, a good thick coat seems to float the pad pretty well. Especially when your only source of real "pad glue" is in a far off city. Sure, this is a temporary type of repair that should be followed up with a trip to the repair shop. But it sure does work well in a pinch or when a repair shop is more than a hundred miles away.

And of course, the best solution is to play a horn with snap-in pads like I do.

 

It seems we agree when I wrote "As an emergency, yes, but as with any emergency measure, get the tech to replace the pad, or deal with it properly. Otherwise the repercussions may well cost you later."

Hmm. THICK rubber glue? If rubber glue is used as a contact cement, then positioning a pad well without taking the key off will be a challenge, and you get only one chance. Used thickly, not as a contact cement, it will take a long time to set because it relies on evaporation of the solvent, which will be very slow behind a pad. It will not stick much at all until the solvent evaporates. Until then, the pad is unstable, which I do not see as ideal for an emergency. So I still stick to the Blue-tac or chewing gum. These offer instant (adequate) adhesion and reasonable stability if used thinly.

However, different horses for different courses.

 

In an emergency blue tac and chewing gum are my choice, if I dont have a heat source available. I agree with Gordon re the contact cement especially as in order for contact cement to work at its best the thinniest of layers on both surfaces is required. pad cups are usually concave and therefore do not in my opinion make an ideal situation for using contact cement.

I have seen blue tac on many clarinets and the odd sax and they are easy to remove.