|
|
        |
5/17/07: Valve Maintenance Continued from the Previous Page. A light oil is appropriate for the valve surface on most horns. A lighter oil will generally provide faster action, but will evaporate more quickly, and will therefore require more frequent application. I recommend Al Cass Valve Oil for most horns. To oil the surface of the valve (inside of the horn) oil must be dropped down the valve slides with care taken not to let the oil touch the sides, where it can mix with the slide grease and run into the valves causing a sticky mess. The best way to do this is to either use a long needle nose bottle to drop oil down the slide, or to drop the oil into the slide (the side without grease on it) when it is removed from the horn. Then put the slide all the way back into the horn and then turn the horn to run the oil into the valves. The important thing is to avoid the oil mixing with the slide grease. The other places that should be oiled are the bearings of the valves. Because these spots are on the outside of your horn, the oil will evaporate more quickly from these positions. Most people use a slightly thicker oil in these positions to keep it from evaporating as quickly. I recommend SuperSlick Key and Rotor Oil which comes in a nice needle nose bottle, making it very handy at reaching the bottom bearing. The top bearing is underneath the valve cap and can be accessed by unscrewing the valve cap. Put just enough oil on the top to coat the part that you see moving when you press the valve levers. The bottom bearing is a little trickier to access. It is on the opposite end of the valve. The oil should go in the space between the stop plate (the part with the rubber or cork bumpers) and the stop arm (the part that moves between the bumpers). Use just enough drops to coat the surface. If you have a horn with mechanical valve arms instead of string valve arms, you should occasionally put a thicker oil on the linkages to reduce friction, eliminate noise, and prolong the life of these delicate pieces. The SuperSlick Key and Rotor Oil is appropriate for these parts as well. And that’s it! Just a few minutes a day will yield valves that will continue to work just as great as they did when the horn was new. Check back again soon for the next section on horn maintenance. |
|
|