Advanced Saxophone Repair Topic: Pivot Receiver Bushing and Post Washer

[@jameshowe8996]

You have one of the best instructional sites. I hope you can make a long term go of it and good luck to you and your site

[@jameshowe8996]

Thanks!

[@Buasop]

You're a rock star Matt!

[@DS-sh2tw]

You are the best of best repairman.

[@LehAn4a]

Thank you for your advice, Matthew !

[@1dotele]

nice work Matt

[@alssupersadgarden]

please matt, where is o ur christmas video?? please keep em coming. How do you do your soldering? do you braze? Or how do you make a rod and threads if you need to ? anything would be great!

[@goodboyringo9716]

Nice job, that would be a custom fit repair.

Great video Matt. Its refreshing to see someone emphasis all the detail that goes into mechanically restoring a saxophone into great playing condition. Thanks!

[@nunyabusiness761]

I have a concert tomorrow and my saxophone is making a rattle noise

Great to find you. Thanks to show your kwnoledge. Where can I find the conical reamer?

[@StohrerMusic]

The place I got mine no longer sells them (Kraus Music) but you can make them with a basic lathe and mill, starting with drill rod and heat treating the end product.

@@StohrerMusic Hi, thanks for the answer and for all the information you share with us :)

[@Lehsax]

Matt,thank you!!!!

[@gastersans9510]

When it was bought nine years ago, from the factory, my Alto had some plastic wrap as adjustment material inside some bars

[@jimtaylor519]

excellent!

[@meljazz]

Can you show us how you lathed the little shim in a future video??

[@ricardojose5730]

HELLO SIR CAN I ASK YOU ABOUT MY SAX? THE KEY OF G# WAS NOT FIT PROPERLY WHAT SHOULD I DO?

[@topocalma5886]

Clearly adjusting the pivot screws perfectly as you describe will remove lateral and longitudional (i.e. axial) play/movement. However, in case there has been axial movement the key rod must have worn short (or the post must have bend outward) and a gap between key rod and post will remain. Despite not there being no more movement, the gap will be more susceptible to dirt etc. What do you do about that? Use washers?

[@StohrerMusic]

+Topocalma You can (and should) lengthen solid rods just the same as you can hinge rods, with swedging. Its a bit harder and you need more mechanical advantage, but thats all. First though, you need to make sure that the body is straight, that the posts are in the correct position (sometimes people will move posts instead of fixing a body bend, and when you fix the body bend, your posts need moved back to original position), and that they are at the correct angle. If the horn has not been beat up, it is unlikely that you will find a large gap as that is not a wear point (the wear point is the inside where the pivot contacts). If there is a large gap, you've either got a horn that has seen damage (including relacquering where somebody buffed the post or rod face down a bunch) or was built on a bad day at the factory- and either condition is fixable by someone with the right tools and the experience to make the right decisions.

[@loctite222ms]

Ferree's actually has a tool to lengthen solid rods. It's a set or roller that works with the latest version of their neck tenon expander. Work well provided you have enough room to use it. Would work fine on a high E key for example.

[@topocalma5886]

Hi Matt, you speak about how the pivot screws are countersunk in the post by deepening the bore in order to adjust for wear in the rod. Is it never done by simply using a loger pivot screw? It seems it would so much less invasive if adequate pivot screws where available....

[@StohrerMusic]

+Topocalma It would be nice if there was something like that (indeed I've thought about making some myself) but consider: - usually you are taking off a few thousands of an inch when countersinking a pivot screw post, and making bushings as shown above is typically the result of a bad repair - the pivot receivers in the keys are typically also worn, and need reamed out a tiny bit to have a snug fit again - the exact amount of wear in the receiver and exact fit from the factory is different on every key on every horn, and the chances of a premade pivot screw fixing every issue exactly right is approaching zero, with at least some of the regular key fitting methods still needed, which is why... - reaming the receiver and countersinking the post for exact fit is how they do it at the factory. Unless you want to be like modern Selmers and Borganis and have the little spring-loaded jimmy in there, which has its own problems.

[@phooesnax]

Very interesting! What kind of lathe do you run?

[@StohrerMusic]

I currently have a Taig and love it. Before that, I had an Austrian-made Maximat, which was a wonderful lathe but too much of a pain to move around. I'll wait to get a bigger lathe until I own a house.

[@phooesnax]

Thanks....South Bend 10k here with taper attachment and quick change

[@StohrerMusic]

phooesnax I'd love one of those eventually. Hard to find one around here because its known as a great gunsmithing lathe.

[@phooesnax]

funny seem to pop up here all the time. In DE PA area. Seems like there is 5 or more on CL all of the time. Mine was my dad's

[@StohrerMusic]

phooesnax I have a feeling when I look for my forever lathe, I'll be taking a truck up to the NE to pick it up.

[@acidreign0911]

wish you were local

[@meljazz]

Can't you just buy a small brass tube to fit?

[@StohrerMusic]

well you can either stock a hundred different sizes of tubes and solid rods and usually have an imperfect fit or just make it to fit each time. much cheaper, more precise, and more flexible to make it.

[@meljazz]

+Matt Stohrer I see, said the blind man!! Thanks Matt

[@EddieHaskelll]

So, in essence, you "ream it a new one."

[@michaelmcdermott7349]

You scare me... skills I do not have and I need tools. I need a class and some cheap learning horns.

[@StohrerMusic]

+Michael McDermott If you aren't doing it for a living, the tools and skills necessary to do this job will be more expensive than the money you'd save by doing it yourself (not to mention a probable difference in quality in the completed job). Some things are best left to professionals, even if you are heavy into DIY. Like resurfacing a cylinder head when you are rebuilding a car engine- nobody does that at home, even if they do almost everything else.

[@jameshowe8996]

Thanks!