[Wonder woman]

In the past few weeks I have been considering becoming a repair tech. I have read the thread entitled "Becoming a Repair Tech", I have attended a few seminars about woodwind repair, and I have successfully overhauled a soprano clarinet. (and I still haven't been dissuaded!) Fixing that clarinet was like therapy for me, it really helps to satisify the neat, organized, perfectionist side of my personality that sometimes seaps through and stifles my creative performing side.
Since I'm a currently a band director, I also like being able to save money and time on at least some of the simple repairs of the students' instruments. I would love to be able to confidently work on my own instrument (I've only ever done minor repairs like replacing corks and felts, or getting rid of leaks). Putting an instrument back into a child's hands is an amazing feeling.

On that note, I have a few questions that I would love some input about.

Who is your top repair person (need not be only saxophone)?
What is the top repair book in your opinion?
What are the top 2 or 3 traits that you look for in a repair person?
What is the most asked for repair? (saxophone or woodwind)
Repair techs-what is the tool(s) you couldn't live without?
Is it possible to find junker instruments for under $100 (I'm looking for a guinea pig/practice dummy)?
Would a local repair shop ever take on an intern (I would certainly do unpaid if need be, because I understand the importance of practice)?

Any comments are greatly appreciated!

 

[jbtsax]

Hi wonder woman. With a name like that you can't fail as a teacher or a repair tech. I am a retired band teacher who now does repair full time. When I was teaching I dabbled in repairs fixing my own saxophones and doing minor classroom repairs for my students.

The Complete Woodwind Repair Manual by Reg Thorp is by far the best book.
Your neat, organized, perfectionist traits are perfect for repair. Add some creativity and mechanical ability and you've got it made.
Getting started tools include good set of screw drivers, pad iron, torch, spring hook, feeler gauge, leak light.
I learned the trade as an intern in a repair shop with a tech with 27 years experience. Many music store repair shops need extra help in the summer which is ideal if you are a teacher. You may have to start out by just cleaning and stocking cases for rentals, but from there you can work up to doing most kinds of woodwind repairs.

Good luck. In retrospect, I wish that I had gotten some formal repair training much sooner in my career. I would be much farther along than I am today.

Thrift stores and pawn shops are good places to look for instruments that need repair.

John

 

[simso]

Hi wonder woman, Im only new to this game as well, you can start out with almost no tools if your doing your own stuff or instruments for friends. Once you go commercial, tool requirements just keep popping up, from little things like flute joint expanders $300 to a decent dent ball set $300, to custom instrument mandrels $50-$250 per instrument to straighten bent bodies. There are some people out there that have the bare basics and farm everything else out, this doesnt make sense to me, youve got to be able to do it yourself, otherwise your loosing money.
An example, I had my first warranty return the other day for a flute, it wasnt playing right they said, I recieved it and yes it wasnt playing right, a couple of mini leaks near the tenons, now did this happen after I finished re: heavy handed joint assembly or did I overlook it ect. To fix this problem in the future, Ive now bought a mag machine $500 just to be able to validate an exact measurement of how much sealing capacity it has. Little things like this adds up the costs when you go commercial.
Most of the stuff I see coming from music shops ect is stuff that they cant do themselves.
But that being said it is thoroughly enjoying and satisfying making something work again

 

[abadcliche]

Top repair book: The Reg Thorpe book available from NAPBIRT, absolutely.

Top 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 Traits: Perfectionism bordering on OCD, very good spatial reasoning, and the more ephemeral "good with their hands" or "handy", ability to figure things out, ability to play at least fairly well on all instruments they repair (although some people will disagree with this last one)

Most asked for repair: They are all different! Mostly I see saxophones, and mostly for removing leaks- whether they are there from old pads, a bad padjob, gunk on the pads, the horn was dropped...

Tools I can't live without: Any of the ones I have used! I have not had the bad luck of buying a tool I haven't liked, and once I use a tool once for its specific purpose, I have a hard time imagining not having that specific tool for that specific purpose. If you are asking what tools to get to start out, just budget to buy tools every month and get them as you need them (which depends on what you are doing) and can afford them.

Junker instruments: Absolutely. eBay is good for that, SOTW has a few cheapies every once in a while, and you can always strike up a relationship with a repairman who has a few junkers he would be willing to give you, or lend you while you fixed it for free. I myself just gave away a few totally shredded P.O.S. horns to an art teacher in Manhattan who wanted to use instrument parts for a class project.

Internship/Apprenticeship: Your mileage will vary. I have just hired an apprentice and while he is paid, he must be there 40 hours a week, do everything I say whether it is repairing something or mopping the floor or getting the shop lunch, and I had him interview without pay for a full week, AND I expect him to slowly build a shop at home and repair on his own time as well. There are also guys out there who won't hire apprentices as they fear the eventual competition, or they may say they don't have time, etc. It will really depend on who you ask.

Good luck!

 

[hornfixer]

In the past few weeks I have been considering becoming a repair tech.

Welcome.
What is your location.

 

[clarnibass]

Who is your top repair person (need not be only saxophone)?

Not sure I understand... you mean like an idol? Anyway, there are some very helpful repairers right here on this forum!

What is the top repair book in your opinion?

The one by Reg Thorp is probably the best. I think Allied also sell it, and Napbirt. I have one by Saska which is also pretty good but has less information (but some things the Thorp book doesn't have). But I probably learned just as much from this forum as those books, and even more than that by trying stuff.

What are the top 2 or 3 traits that you look for in a repair person?

Honest, modest, and does a good job. I've been called "too pedantic" as a recommendation.... don't know if that's a good thing or not!

What is the most asked for repair? (saxophone or woodwind)

Whatever it is that doesn't work

Repair techs-what is the tool(s) you couldn't live without?

I can live without any repair tool, but for repairs I'd like to have all the ones I have and many more. For a start screwdrivers and some pliers. At least one repairer says after this his most important tool is a dental micro motor. The more I work the more I believe him

Is it possible to find junker instruments for under $100 (I'm looking for a guinea pig/practice dummy)?

Bundy clarinets are not bad at all are on eBay all the time for around $50 or even less. Many others too.

Would a local repair shop ever take on an intern (I would certainly do unpaid if need be, because I understand the importance of practice)?

Don't know where you are. Never happens here, but I heard in other countries it happens all the time.

 

[simso]

A good starting point is exactly as youve asked by a junker clarinet, dont just try and get it working, use it as a starting point completley repad and recork it, you will get your money back when you resell it on ebay, strip of every cork and every pad and start from scratch, rebuild it and test it against a tuner, adjust all your cork heights to get it close to being in tune, your goal is to have a smooth playing instrument that makes almost no sound from the key selection and movement as you play. Yes I know electronic tuners are not great but they certainly will show you what differences occur by changing corks ect. Remember this is for you to learn from so taking short cuts now will not gain you anything in the long run. Better to understand now whilst there is no pressure, once youve done this then yeh grab some more clunkers and just fix them to work again.

 

[Gordon (NZ)]

"Would a local repair shop ever take on an intern (I would certainly do unpaid if need be, because I understand the importance of practice)?"

"unpaid if need be". I have learnt that an "intern" does not earn his keep for a very long time, probably years for a good one. So, off the top of my head:

If I enjoy the company of the person, and such person has suitable aptitudes and enthusiasm (see second post at http://www.saxontheweb.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=68574), and he/she is prepared to be at my home/workplace only at the eratic times that suit us both, and put up with my forthright personality and off-beat lifestyle, and accept that when my kids are here they are top priority, and bring his/her own instruments to work on, and pay for the materials used, and pay costs for damage to equipment other than normal wear and tear, then I am prepared to let that person use my gear, and guide that person, for an hourly fee (that represents the costs of having/running the plant x the proportion of use of it made by the intern), providing such person quits the arrangement amicably as soon as it no longer feels suitable for one or the other of us, which could be after hours, days or years.

The arrangement would have to be organised so that it was some sort of hobby endeavour, because there is no way I would want the costs and hassle of compliance re tax, accident compensation, holiday pay, etc.

Bear in mind that perhaps 1/3 - 1/2 of turnover is swallowed up in overheads, so I guess the charge would have to be 1/3 - 1/2 my charge-out rate!
Of course you would have to be in my country to take up that offer.

This is semi-serious. It could be an interesting discussion starter as to whether it is a fair and reasonable proposition or not. Would anybody take it up if they happened to be residing close?

 

[Wonder woman]

Thanks for all of the encouraging words so far

My location is U.S. (New York State), so unfortunately I wouldn't be able to take up any jobs in New Zealand...

When I said "top repairperson" in my first post, what I meant is who is the person that you look up to as a repairperson? Or who is the most well-known repair tech that you know? (I'm trying to build a kind of "repairman lineage").

I'm really interested in becoming a repair tech, but I am hoping to balance being a repair tech with A) a private studio, B) a collegiate studio, or C) a public school band director position.
Ideally I'd really love to be a collegiate professor who is also a respectable sax tech. (I'm only 22, so there's plenty of time to realize my dream )

Don't get me wrong here, I don't mean to say that being a tech is something that can just be done on the side. I've already begun to experience the time and dedication that it takes to be a repair person. I understand that being a good tech takes tons of practice and that I'll basically have to sing for my supper for the first x number of years before I can really consider myself even an average repair person.

But my first love is teaching and playing the saxophone, so I wouldn't want to sacrifice those.

Is it possible to do both and maintain my sanity?

 

[hornfixer]

Is it possible to do both and maintain my sanity?

Shoulden't be a problem, I do it all the time...and I am not even super man.

 

[clarnibass]

But my first love is teaching and playing the saxophone, so I wouldn't want to sacrifice those.

Same here (only with clarients!).

Is it possible to do both and maintain my sanity?

no.... I'd say it's necessary to do both to maintain sanity! Although I'm doing both, and I don't think I can find anyone who is willing to say I'm totally sane....

 

[JerryJamz2]

My location is U.S. (New York State)

Where here in NY? I'd like to offer you an invitation to visit my shop upon your convenience.

 

[JazzDaddy]

Any repair shops need an apprentice in East Brussels (Belgium) commuting area? Like a week or two and/or holidays/weekends/saturdays. No pride, just want to be around repairs, learn, see, get exposed to how repairs are done. Older "late bloomer" that likes woodwinds very much. Free labor, minimalist interruptions (I know how to be respectful of other's main income......). When is your busy time, let me help you out.

 

[Kenny Garrick]

In the UK the really good repairers have been through three years of full time study to become repairers, they are capable of restoring and manufacturing replacement parts understand metals and how to work with them and loads of other stuff too. I don't wish to be rude to you or underestimate your abilities but would you trust an unqualified dentist to fix your mouth because they were successful at refitting a filling that came out.
If you like repairing instruments then you should go for it but please before you do learn to do it from either a proffesional or from an apprenticeship working alongside a qualified tech.
Check out the before and after shots under repairs on Dean Pellings website for an idea of what you might be needed to do.
http://www.deanpelling.co.uk/

Good luck

Ken