Slide dents: How’s it done?

[Elow]

So, the guy i usually learn stuff from hurt himself and won’t be back for a while. I’m stuck with 3 other techs who i wouldn’t let touch my horns, maybe 1 but he’s a prick. No one will teach me anything, but i want to learn. This job is so boring if i don’t learn anything. There’s a pile of kings and bachs and yamahas that i’ve done all the dent work on but need slide work that i was waiting for the main tech to do because he’s a trombone player and good with slides. I literally have no space in my desk area for any more horns, but i can’t send them out yet because they aren’t finished. So... i want to attempt slide work. Scary. Most have just tiny dings, but some have the good ole bell slammed into the slide dents. Always in the same spot and about the same size. I’m would like to try on one of my horns that is trash before a rental. Any advice would be appreciated. I probably shouldn’t be attempting this, but the other techs aren’t too slide savvy and about a forth of the instruments the need work are trombones. Worse case scenario, i replace the inners/outers.

[ParLawGod]

I am not a repair tech (and won't even play one on the internet, lol), but I really enjoy reading the articles on Dan Oberloh's website.

http://www.oberloh.com/SPL/PART2.HTM

Just figured I'd post these in case you've never seen them.

[elmsandr]

The practical:
-Don't ask us, ask your boss. Tell them that you don't know how to do this yet, but you are willing to work on some to learn. If they want to pay you to learn from one of the jerks, so be it, but at least if they and you mangle a few hundred dollars worth of slides it was a conscious choice. Replacing a set of tubes probably costs a lot more than a couple hours of your labor... make sure people are on board with that as an option before taking parts out of inventory. Spending those hours AND swapping tubes eventually... I would not recommend that without a real good discussion first.

For the repairs:
-I suck at slide work, but for dent work there most of the successful folks I see remove the crook and just rebuild the slide after getting the tubes right. Trying to fix it with the crook still on just gives you another constraint to manage and you don't need more things to work around.
-Make sure to pay attention to reaction forces while pushing dents out. An out of round or now elongated and bent tube can be unplayable in a hurry.
-Don't be surprised when aligning and straightening the slide after repair if you get the slide almost there and *bam* you snap a tube. Happens sometimes. There's a fine line there, and fixing significant damage to the tube can move that line closer than you expect.
-You will make many mistakes, particularly if you are going it alone here. Make sure to learn from them, be present and thoughtful with each action and observe the results carefully. "Let's just see what happens" is only helpful if you are looking at what happens and know what you did to get there.
-From your other posts, you do not seem to lack drive and tenacity... Don't let yourself get sucked in to working a problem longer than it is worth. Especially if you have not worked through that thoroughly with the bosses. If they are thinking that you can spend a day or two on this, but you spend the first day and a half on the first horn and still have no measurable progress? Know when to ask for help or throw in the towel.

Good luck,
Andy

[bigbandbone]

I was an instrument repairman for 43 years. I was good. The 3 hardest repair jobs for me to get right (meaning no returns for redo's) were Leblanc metal contra bass clarinets, full conservatory oboes, and trombone slides!
You won't learn slides in a day, or week or a month. It takes awhile to be skillful enough to satisfy a pro or serious amature.
Good luck on your journey.

[hornbuilder]

Who owns the instruments you're working on? What level of repair are they expecting? Are they fine with you "practicing" on those instruments? Are they aware that your practice could lead to having to spend more money on replacement parts? Who would pay for those replacement parts if you make them unusable? You? Your Boss? The client?

It does not sound as though your learning environment is exactly conducive to you learning correct techniques, nor to you learning how to do quality work. Have you considered going to school, such as Red Wing, to actually learn the craft correctly? Red Wing has a 9 month course that will put you in a much better position to enter the work force as an effective tech who knows what you're doing.

Trombone slides are really very simple if you know what you're doing, but it is possible to destroy one very quickly if that is not the case.