• Summer Repairs
• Over-Stock Blowout – Evans 14” Snare-Side Head
• Strange but Real – War Tubas
• Repair Tip –  What I Would Put In A Band Director Repair Kit
• Repair Tool of the Week  – Jett Sett

 

Summer Repairs

Summer Repair time is right around the corner. It’s hard to believe, but we (Salisbury Music) only have about 7 weeks from the end of school until summer band camps start, so, here’s some hints to make the process go smoother:

 

1. The earlier the better
2. Be specific on what type of work you want done
3. If certain instruments are needed sooner, let us know that
4. Instruments you aren’t currently can be brought in before school ends

 

Over-Stock Blowout

Evans S14H20 Snare Head

Retail Price = $18.95

Normal BD Price = $15.16

OVER-STOCK PRICE = $11.50

While Supplies Last

 

Strange But Real – War Tubas

Japanese War Tubas – Actually a type of Acoustic Locator for detecting aircraft before the invention of Radar. (I don’t have a dent ball that big)

 

Repair Tip –  What I Would Put In A Band Director Repair Kit

In my opinion, most band director repair kits have a lot of what you don’t need, and not much of what you do need. Here’s what I would put in a BD Repair Kit:

1. assorted screwdrivers – slotted & Phillips
2. mouthpiece puller – fairy costly, but indispensible IMHO
3. plain ordinary glue sticks – can be melted with lighter or torch, to put back pads that have fallen out
4. white Teflon tape – for tenons, neck corks, flute head corks
5. good quality black electrical tape – for broken/unsoldered braces, covering tone holes, leaking water keys, etc.
6. spring hook – for putting springs back in position (I can get this for you)
7. rubber bands
8. small cable ties – for attaching key guards that are missing screws(better than paper clips)
9. pipe cleaners – can be used for attaching key guards, as well as cleaning our hinge tubing before re-oiling
10. key oil – with needle applicator
11. lighter – although flame dances around a lot
12. pencil torch – be EXTREMELY careful if you go this route. VERY HOT  – will melt plastic in a hurry, singe corks, surrounding pads, etc.
13. reed & brass mouthpiece brushes
14. valve cleaning rod – looks like a flute cleaning rod, just shorter with a loop at the end
15. flute cleaning rod
16. rags, etc. (I also cut paper towels into 6 pieces, which give me a 4"x6" mini towel)
17. pliers – whatever you use make sure they have smooth jaws
18. clear finger nail polish – for screws that keep backing out

 

Repair Tool of the Week – Jett Sett

Jett Sett is a heat-malleable ceramic plastic. So, what does that mean? Basically I can heat up Jett Sett in hot water, form it into whatever shape I wish, then after use, it can be re-heated and used again and again. At room temperature, Jett Sett is hard as a rock, but heated up in hot water, Jett Sett has the consistency of modeling clay.

In the pictures below, I’m using Jett Sett to make a mold of the inside of a stuck tuning slide. After the Jett Sett hardens, I can then use a hammer to safely hammer the slide out. The mold provides equal support around the radius of the slide, preventing any damage to the slide itself.  (Just a note, there’s a few things I’ve done to the slide to help loosen the corrosion prior to hammering out)

This is very cool stuff!