I think it's worth mentioning that what's OK for someone working from their home on their own instruments and even on a few instruments for friends is _not_ necessarily the same as what's OK for someone who hangs out their shingle as a professional.
I have little experience repairing horns but quite a bit repairing another mostly metal object, the bicycle. There are many things I've done for myself, even with the advice and approval of my local bike shop, that they themselves wouldn't do for a customer - various and sundry reasons, but my main point is that the two situations are different, even if we're talking about the same horn. As but one example, something that's simpler, less expensive, and works 90% of the time may be just fine for a home repair person, but 10% may be a less than acceptable failure rate for a professional repair shop. I'm not saying that's the case here, just picking out one theoretical example. Just my opinion. -S- > -----Original Message----- > From: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > du] On Behalf Of Baucom.Fred > Sent: Wednesday, September 28, 2005 10:16 AM > To: The Horn List > Subject: RE: [Hornlist] horn broken - This is awful advice > > Wow! That was quite a post! However, I totally disagree > with the thrust and the tone of this post, as I have had > nothing but good experiences with brass technicians. Without > exception they have been helpful, competent, and honorable. > As with any profession, there will be variances in expertise, > but in 35 years of playing I've never felt that I had been > sold something that I did not need. > > Fred > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Tuesday, September 27, 2005 11:21 PM > To: horn@music.memphis.edu > Subject: Re: [Hornlist] horn broken - This is awful advice > > I assume the people on the list have some small level of > intelligence and won't attempt advise beyond their abilities. > You know as well as I do that using Brasso to eliminate a > small drag in a valve is practiced by the best of repairmen. > That's how I learned to do it in the first place. I'm > appalled that so many players avoid learning the basic > maintenance on a fairly robust piece of equipment they have > to rely on. > I would be willing to bet that, although you made the sale on > the very expensive repair you suggest, that you would use > some form of fine abrasive to make sure the valve didn't > still hang up. You'd look pretty silly if the customer > returned with the same complaint the next day. I have done a > lot of this kind of work with great success, but I have a big > advantage over you in that I have a day job, so I can afford > to tell the truth to the customer. I go out of my way to do > jobs that 'professionals' have priced beyond the value of the > instrument or beyond the m eans of a poor musician. My > experience, and I suspect your's can't be that different, is > the basis of some very expensive estimates is the result of > leaks, easily fixed once they're located, but you can't > charge enough for just fixing a leak. Have you ever found a > horn that didn't need a valve job? > > If you go back and read my post carefully, you'll notice that > I gave very clear instructions about how to determine whether > the Brasso is the appropriate first recourse. If the hang up > is in the rotor and casing, selling a complete rebuild of the > mechanical linkage is purely a scam to run up the bill. > > I have no doubt that the work you do is exquisite, and with a > reputation to maintain and a living to make, you are going to > be inclined to propose doing as much work as possible to be > absolutely sure the problem is fixed. Determining the exact > cause of a problem can be very time consuming. How much can > you get away charging to determine something doesn't need > repair? It's so much safer, and far more lucrative, to cover > every possible base, and you really don't have to figure out > what's really wrong. > > By now you've probably figured out why I've had to learn to > do my own work. No competent pro wants to deal with my attitude. > > -----Original Message----- > From: Stuart A. de Haro <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: horn@music.memphis.edu > Sent: Tue, 27 Sep 2005 14:23:53 -0700 (PDT) > Subject: Re: [Hornlist] horn broken - This is awful advice > > > original message: > date: Tue, 27 Sep 2005 00:53:29 -0400 > from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > subject: Re: [Hornlist] horn broken - Watch for finger > > "Disassemble the rotor and then turn it by hand very gently > (just the rotor in the casing and get a feel for the nature > of the binding with the rotor free to rotate all the way > round. Often a slight catch, that can lock the rotor, is > caused by a crystalline deposit in just the wrong spot. More > serious is a sprung casing a bit out of round. I'll assume > the valves are cleaned with HCl. At this point, I would > scrub all the sharp corners of the rotor and casing with > Brasso and an old tooth brush. Add a little more fresh > Brasso to lubricate the rotor and casing and rotate the rotor > until you again feel the slight hitch. > Work the rotor through the hitch until it is turning > smoothly. With a sprung casing, the rotor might not want to > turn all the way round and a valve rebuild is needed. > However, the Brasso might get you that little extra freedom > over the 90 degrees the rotor actually turns. It doesn't > have to rotate all the way round." > > > Bill, et al. > > With all due respect, this is really bad advice. I am appalled > that you would tell someone who probably has no repair experience at > all to put an abrasive on their valve, even one as mild as Brasso. > What are you thinking? Absent from your post, BTW, is the need (and > method) to clean the Horn to get said abrasive out of the casing and > off of the valve. > If any of the people on this list care about your > instruments, you > should definitely not try this. You should never polish > valves, EVER. > You will be removing metal. If you take your Horn to a tech and they > tell you they're going to polish your valves, take your Horn back from > them and leave. It is only going to make your problems worse and more > numerous. > > Sincerely, > Stuart de Haro, > Brass Repairman > > Stuart A. de Haro, > Custom Horns, Leadpipes, Brass Repair and Modification > (217) 377-1462 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://www.deharohorns.com > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com > _______________________________________________ > post: horn@music.memphis.edu > unsubscribe or set options at > http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/billbamberg%40aol.com > _______________________________________________ > post: horn@music.memphis.edu > unsubscribe or set options at > http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/fred.baucom%40f > tb.ca.gov > > > _______________________________________________ > post: horn@music.memphis.edu > unsubscribe or set options at > http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/steve%40fridays > computer.com > _______________________________________________ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
