It's interesting that the schedule of repair surcharges is in no way
related to actual damage, only to the perceived audacity of the
attempt. I find that very few people are the incompetent idiots you
portray. I've been teaching people how to take rotors apart for
cleaning for many years. Almost anyone can do a good job and the truly
incompetent invariably recognize their own weakness. The key to success
is to have the right tool at hand. The right screw driver and some
cleaning brushes can disassemble most dirty, sticky rotors in minutes.
If it won't free up, it will allow determining how serious the problem
is and put you on to a repairman trying to run up the bill by telling
horror stories.
On the other hand, as long as the horn is going into the shop, take
the opportunity to get all the routine work done at the same time so
the repairman can put the horn into a condition that will be stable for
time to come.
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: horn@music.memphis.edu
Sent: Mon, 17 Jul 2006 4:14 PM
Subject: [Hornlist] RE: Pliers? NO NO NO
As you can see from my somewhat overexcited title, one should restrain
oneself from using pliers for any purpose, real or imagined, anywhere
on a
french horn. If you (think you) have to use pliers to move the valve,
it has
probably frozen up with corrosion and there's nothing you'll be able
to do at
home to make it work well enough. Soap? - nope, kerosene?- no dice,
valve oil?
- forget it, soaking? - useless, pliers? - permanent irrevocable
damage. Take
it to someone who will do it right and for much less than it will cost
to repair
the damage you'll do to it at home.
In my shop the easiest (thus cheapest) repairs are the ones that
nobody else
has tried to fix. Customer tried to fix it - add 100% to undo customer
damage.
Bad repairman fixed it wrong way - add 150% to undo. Dad fixed it with
vise and
power tools - Would cost way to much to ever get it right again.
- Steve Mumford
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