Band Instrument Repair Program News Special

Our BIR program was featured on KSTP channel 5 news On The Road With Jason Davis. He shows what we do in class and how the instructors interact with us. Check out the video by using this link

http://southeastmn.edu/news/blog.aspx?id=2244&blogid=148

Second Semester: Week 1

The beginning of second semester means that we switched back to the brass side. The focus of this semester is getting us ready for bench tests and continuing our learning. We will be learning about rotor valves and trombone hand slides. I received a cornet bell to do a bench test on. I had to solder a patch, take out a bell fold, stem dents and bow dents. We also made two new tools which are explained under the tool tab. French horns were passed out for us to play. We practiced as a class and made some interesting noises. The french horn is going to be fun to play!

Bench test cornet not buffed

Test patch soldered and buffed

Brace added for support when working on the bow

Before the dents were added

My methods french horn I get to play!

Week 17

This week was a work week. I was working on finishing body work and padding on my project flute. I continued to pad and once I finished the body I put it in the pad oven to put a seat in the pads. While the body was in the oven I finished padding the foot joint. The flute went in the pad oven for 15 minutes with the pad clamps in place. Then I took it out of the oven and the clamps remained on for an hour. Once the hour was up I removed the clamps and let it sit for another hour so the seat would have time to relax and then I could check for any leaks that were still present. After the padding was done I had to finish up my tenon fitting. The head joint was back into round but it did not slide in the socket evenly. I also had to expand the lower tenon because the footjoint was loose. Once the body work and padding was done I corked the keys, fixed regulation, created venting and removed lost motion. These were the last steps I had to complete before turning in my project.

Week 16

Flute padding was the focus this week. Flute padding is different than clarinet padding because the majority of pads are not floating on glue. They are placed in the pad cup and are shimmed with paper or mylar shims to make it seal to the tone hole.  Flute pads are made of woven felt, a cardboard back and a skin covering over the top. When padding, install the key to check the pad cup for levelness. If it isn't level to the tone hole flex the cup level to the tone hole first so that you only have to shim for inaccuracies in the pad. Shims are all different thicknesses ranging from 0.001" to 0.010". Shims are used to build up an area of the pad that is not touching the tone hole. To figure out where to put shims I used a feeler gauge of 0.001" thickness to check around the tone hole for drag. Where there was not any drag was a spot I needed to add a shim under the pad. Padding takes time, patience and practice.

Full and partial shims that are used to make the pad level with the tone hole

Week 15

After Thanksgiving we started working on flutes! We started by learning the regulation sequence followed by the venting and lost motion on a flute. There are more regulations on a flute than a clarinet, but they are easier to fix because the keys have regulation (adjustment) screws. Lost motion and venting are regulated by a foot cork touching the body. When working on regulation, lost motion and venting the first step is to establish the venting on the F key by adjusting the foot cork because this key controls venting for the lower stack and half of the upper stack. We also learned about pinned keys. Knock pins should be tapered and are in the B-flat key, D key (depending on the model), E key, F key, and trill keys. Pins should be removed on a clean, oil, and adjustment to make sure there is no rust in the key and to replace the old oil. Once they are removed the keys may be cleaned thoroughly and pins may need to be replaced depending on the situation. I replaced all of the pins on my project flute so that it would be easier for the next technician to work on.

Flute pin remover

Old pin in the D# trill lever

Pin replacement kit

Kit comes with reamers, new steel pins and a drill bit

Replacing the old pin with new steel

Other pinned keys where the pins were replaced

Close up of the D# trill lever. The pin still needs to be ground down

Week 14

This was a short week because of Thanksgiving break. But we did a lathe project to replicate a tuba valve stem. First my bench partner and I took measurements of the piece we were replicating. After that we used the tap and die and drill charts to figure out the correct size tool to use for this project. The stock material for this project was a 0.250 inch piece of brass rod. First I faced and de-burred both ends of the rod. Then I turned down one side of the rod for the male threads. On the last pass of the tool bit for turning I put the relief and shoulder to square off that end. Once it was the right length I used a 10-32 die to make the threads. Then I switched ends and faced the part to the correct length. When it was the correct length I drilled the hole for the inner threads. Then I tapped it with an 8-32 size tap. Once the threads were in I drilled the counterbore with a #18 drill. The counter bore allowed for the threads on the valve cap to fit in the stem because they are tapered near the base of the cap. After the ends were de-burred the piece was finished.

My worksheet with all of my calculations. Also the stem I was
replicating

Turning the end for the male threads

Using the 10-32 die to make the threads

Drilling the hole for the inner threads

Week 13

This was my last week on clarinets. I had to finish my project clarinet and even had time for an extra project that I did not think I would have time for. In order to finish my project clarinet I had to learn how to cork a tenon. To cork a tenon I used a #4 natural cork. I marked the cork according to width of the tenon and trimmed the piece. The strip that I cut I beveled one end so that the seam would be more cohesive. To soften the cork so that it is more pliable I hit it with my delrin hammer. This softened it and made it curve. To install the cork contact cement is used. When installing the cork a cosmetic thing to take into consideration is have the seam at the back of the clarinet by the thumb rest or opposite of the logo. This makes the cork aesthetically appealing. Once the cork is in place it is time to sand it so that the tenons will fit together. After the cork is sanded to the proper fit it is time to seal the cork. To seal it paraffin wax is rubbed on the tenon and then heated up to create a seal. This procedure is done twice. (Make sure when heating the tenon that you do not burn the cork, it is very easy to do) After the paraffin wax is melted the tenon cork is finished.

Old tenon cork

Cleaned tenon and ready for corking

Strip of cork cut for the tenon

Bevel on the end of the cork

Bump created where the cork overlaps

Sanding the cork to the correct size so the tenons will fit together

Sealing the cork with paraffin wax