Re: [Hornlist] Blue Juice for valves
On 9-Sep-08, at 8:11 PM, Valerie WELLS wrote: I know horn players who use unconventional lubricants on their slides: Bardahl, STP, gun grease, all purpose grease from the hardware store. All of them have horns that perform very well. I've used castor oil for decades. Kjellrun Kjellrun K. Hestekin School of Music Memorial University St. John's, NL Canada A1C 5S7 ph: (709) 737 - 8466 fax 709 737 2666 e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
[Hornlist] Blue Juice for valves
My titallating Blue Juice story: I bought a Yamaha 667 last fall w/ great valves. There was a bottle of Blue Juice included. Hmmm... so I tried the Blue Juice on my Holton's valves & they got faster over the next few weeks (as did my technique). I sold the Yamaha & kept the Blue Juice to use on my Holton. Earlier this year at Walmart, I bought a bottle of Ultra Pure Lamp Oil that was BLUE, exactly the same color as the Blue Juice. I remembered people posting last year about using Walmart Lamp Oil in their horns. I thought they were nuts because I remembered the old lamp oil I'd purchased 15 years ago that smelled so strongly of kerosene it made me dizzy. I didn't think any lamp oils would be safe. BUT, the new blue lamp oil is different; it's odorless, so I decided to try it. My horn valves work great & I'm still alive, and I believe my brain's still in tact. (Correct me if I'm wrong!) Since the Ultra Pure Lamp oil from Walmart looks, feels, smells and lubricates just like Blue Juice and costs just pennies on the dollar by comparison, that's all I use now. I can't say with any authority that Blue Juice & Ultra Pure Lamp oil are the same oil, but I can say from my own experience for the last 8 months, that both oils seem to "behave" & lubricate exactly the same way. When my valves do periodically get a bit sluggish, I clean out any accummulated slide grease w/ a liberal flush of the blue lamp oil poured directly into the horn's auxillary F slide. I use Hetman slide grease. I did use the pink Selmer slide grease for a while, but it quickly melted & migrated. The gooey Hetman stuff last longer & stay's put, so I'm sticking to Hetman (no pun intended). The Hetman slide grease, BTW, is pure lanolin, sheep grease, which can be purchased by the pound from compounding pharmacies. I haven't decided if I want to order a pound yet, because over a long period of time, lanolin solidifies, especially wherever it's exposed to oxygen. In fact, all oils & greases will eventually gel or solidify over time, especially if exposed to air and/or extremes in temperature. I know horn players who use unconventional lubricants on their slides: Bardahl, STP, gun grease, all purpose grease from the hardware store. All of them have horns that perform very well. Valerie, with the non-authoritative, not-so-last word on horn lubrication___ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
Re: [Hornlist] Blue Juice for Valves?
From: "Steve Freides" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> OK, you think, to try Blue Juice, which is what my trumpet-playing son uses for valve oil, on the valves of my French Horn? Not for slide grease, just for the valves. Yes. Almost anything derived from petroleum will be better than nothing, but you can also use silicone caulk or peanut butter. Your question isn't a stupid question, but it is a little thoughtless. In effect you are asking hundreds of people to type up maintenence regimens for horn valves. Many list members are experienced and expert, and may provide good information if they take the time, but you will also encounter crazy fringe advice (e.g. silicone caulk or peanut butter) and well-meaning zealots. (I switched to Screaming Green Monkey Oil and not only did it repair the dents in my bell, my car also gets 20% better gas mileage whenever the horn is in the trunk!) If you think a little, there are numerous sites around the web, findable with Google, that give professional advice about rotor care. Osmun has this good one: http://www.osmun.com/reference/Rot_Maint.htm but there are any number of others. Some high school kid may give you good advice based on his experience, but best to stick to the advice from the serious professional horn shops. After finding and reading several such sites, composed by respected and reliable professionals, you should realize that optimal maintenance of a rotary valve requires at least two and perhaps three different kinds of oils. (None of these are slide grease.) But in a pinch, almost any light petroleum-derived hydrocarbon is better than nothing. So if you're marooned on a desert island with your horn and only one kind of oil, such as Blue Juice, that is no reason to miss the opportunity for concentrated practice. But otherwise you will want multiple oils in your kit. ___ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
[Hornlist] Blue Juice for Valves?
OK, you think, to try Blue Juice, which is what my trumpet-playing son uses for valve oil, on the valves of my French Horn? Not for slide grease, just for the valves. Thanks in advance. -S- ___ post: horn@music.memphis.edu unsubscribe or set options at http://music2.memphis.edu/mailman/options/horn/archive%40jab.org
