[SaxmanTy1]

Hey guys... I have a small question. You know the Bb - G#/Ab adjuster screws? Well kids ALWASY find a way to get the corks under those to fall off. Now to replace it, I just cut a circle in a sheet of cork (with the appropriate thickness) and glue it on there. That works fine. But when you buy some of these horns brand new, instead of cork, they have small short tubes of rubber or cork that fits up in there perfectly. I really hope I'm describing this well. Anyway, i can't find a tube of cork or rubber that short or thin ANYWHERE!! And when you order from Allied, Selmer, or Yamaha, all that you can get is the entire screw replaced. You can't buy just the rubber or the cork. And for certain horns like cheap conns all the way to Mark VIs I'd like to have the right stuff. I certainly can keep doing what I've been doing and just glue cork onto the screws, but do any of you guys know where to maybe get the replacement rubber/cork that will fit up into the screw the proper way? Hmmm....

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[JerryJamz2]

For a DIY solution;

Measure the diameter of the hole in the bottom of the adjustment screw, go to Lowes or Home Depot and find a buna "O" ring of the same diameter. Cut a section of the proper length from it and super glue it in. Adjust as needed. Much better than cork.

 

[Carl H.]

For a DIY solution;

Measure the diameter of the hole in the bottom of the adjustment screw, go to Lowes or Home Depot and find a buna "O" ring of the same diameter. Cut a section of the proper length from it and super glue it in. Adjust as needed. Much better than cork.

I think some hardware stores, like ace or true value, have O-ring kits. They have the material in straight lengths of different sizes. They cut them to length and chemically weld the ends together to fabricate o-rings of almost any size. You might try to purchase a length of this material and avoid the circular shape of the standard o-ring.

 

[tictactux]

Easier solution: sacrifice a mouthpiece cushion. Its under side is already prepared to stick somewhere; now take you S.O.'s curved nail scissors (shhh!), cut a circle and hey! presto, you have a very good silencer.
(now guess what's under the adjustment screws in my avatar image...)

 

[JerryJamz2]

Ben,

The scanario we are talking about there is a cavity or "hollowed out" portion on the underside of the 1/4" adjustment screw, where the bumper needs to be attached, to fill the void, and protrude from it enough to silence properly. On non-hollow ended adjustment screws on saxophones, your suggestion would work.

 

[JerryJamz2]

I think some hardware stores, like ace or true value, have O-ring kits. They have the material in straight lengths of different sizes. They cut them to length and chemically weld the ends together to fabricate o-rings of almost any size. You might try to purchase a length of this material and avoid the circular shape of the standard o-ring.

Carl,

Yes an $7.95 "O" ring kit can be purchased cheaply at Harbor Freight, but he only needs one to do the job for 10 saxophones. I'm giving the .30 cent solution. THe circular shape of the "O" ring is not an issue and can be trimmed perfectly with a new razor blade.

(PS - Ask Shelly T. to tell you about Eric Satterlee's no cork/no felt setups!!)

 

[tictactux]

The scanario we are talking about there is a cavity or "hollowed out" portion on the underside of the 1/4" adjustment screw, where the bumper needs to be attached, to fill the void, and protrude from it enough to silence properly.

Thanks, learned something new. For some reason, I was thinking about the clarinet's G#/Ab screw. In the 1/4" case, the mutilated O-ring makes good sense indeed.

 

[Gordon (NZ)]

There is a lot of metal 'flexing' involved in this linkage, and yet it is a vital linkage for the closing of pads (F# & G#) to enable low notes to sound well.

The slight play in all the pivots involved also detracts from a precise transfer of motion in this linkage.

The last thing we need is to add more unreliability - 'squishiness' - into this linkage. If an elastomer (rubbery stuff) is used in the linkage, especially of such small cross sectional area, this is exactly what you are doing. I will always get rid of rubber-like materials under these screws before I attempt to do a good, reliable adjustment of this area of a sax.

And natural cork is far too 'squishy'.

By far the best material I have found is what Yamaha and Yanagisawa have been using for decades, and which Selmer unfortunately has not managed to keep up with. It is a high quality composite cork you can get in many thicknesses from most of our suppliers (except Ferrees, who sell some awful stuff), including Musicmedic.

Get a sheet that is thick enough, and simply use a hole punch, or cork borer, to punch out a plug of the desired diameter. Glue in with superglue.

I always increase reliability of this linkage adjustment by doming the outside end of the plug. (I actually use a cup burr in a dental handpiece)

 

[Carl H.]

Just sent Shelly an email. I asked about this no/no setup.

 

[JerryJamz2]

Agreed Gordon, but my post was intended for the DIY person.

 

[JerryJamz2]

Just sent Shelly an email. I asked about this no/no setup.

Interesting concept, but my jury is still out on the whole no/no setup. btw - She's in Albuquerque NM for the International Flute Organization convention until at least Monday. She travels with laptop though..

 

[jbtsax]

Interesting concept, but my jury is still out on the whole no/no setup. btw - She's in Albuquerque NM for the International Flute Organization convention until at least Monday. She travels with laptop though..

I'm in the same jury. Drilling holes in Mark VI saxophones anywhere gives me pause. That's a slippery slope as far as I'm concerned---next thing you know, it's a lamp. :twisted:

 

[Gordon (NZ)]

Agreed Gordon, but my post was intended for the DIY person.

I think a DIYer who cannot punch out s cylinder from some Techcork, would be better to use a length of kebab stick, in preference to any squishy material, that just causes a whole heap of problems; problems taken to their limit in the nylon-screws-with-a-plug-of-squishy-rubber of certain student saxes.

 

[JerryJamz2]

I'm in the same jury. Drilling holes in Mark VI saxophones anywhere gives me pause. That's a slippery slope as far as I'm concerned---next thing you know, it's a lamp. :twisted:

John,

Did you also get his clinic CD on this transformation? I did. Being you and I are probably amongst the few who have seen the finished product and understand this concept, I'm not sure I worry about drilling a few small depth 1/32" dia. holes in very meaty key feet if it achieves a superior result. It would be cosmetically reversable (unless the originally drilling was botched) by refilling the holes if you wanted to, which are not exteriorly visable anyways. The conversions required to install the buna rubber also on the adjustable bell-key guard bumpers looks like a pain in the butt, but do-able.

I won't do it to my Mk VI yet, but I have an early VII I might convert just to have other players test and see if it sells. Donald Sinta and others rave about it, per his claim :shock:

 

[jbtsax]

I just reviewed the CD to refresh my memory. I use teflon a great deal in my sax repair even on student instruments and I like Eric's ideas for the use of this material (except for putting teflon tubing over a key's hinge tube for no other reason than it looks "cool".) Teflon on teflon seems to be quieter than teflon against metal, but it is still noisier than felt.

My reservation with Eric's work is the hole in the foot of the key and the neoprene tube for the cushioning material against the body. If a good quality contact cement is used to adhere the material of choice on the key feet, how often does one of these "key foot corks" come off anyway? Even if it does, the instrument is still playable, and it can be replaced in a matter of minutes. I can't justify drilling a hole in a key foot so the material will stay 100 years instead of just 25 when it will need a repad anyway. But that's just me.

John

 

[Gordon (NZ)]

I just reviewed the CD to refresh my memory. I use teflon a great deal in my sax repair even on student instruments and I like Eric's ideas for the use of this material (except for putting teflon tubing over a key's hinge tube for no other reason than it looks "cool".) Teflon on teflon seems to be quieter than teflon against metal, but it is still noisier than felt.

In a linkage such as G# lever-to-key, where requirements are non-squishiness, quietness, and low friction, I use teflon with Kraus' dense, wynthetic flet laminated beneath it. Great!

... I can't justify drilling a hole in a key foot so the material will stay 100 years instead of just 25 when it will need a repad anyway. But that's just me.

I just use Evostik Impact adhesive. So superior!

John [/quote]