Conn 88h .525 slide tenon/slide receiver fit issue

[btone]

I obtained a recent manufacture .525 Conn slide to use on my 1978 Abilene Artist Symphony 88h. It plays fine but the slide tenon is larger than the original, and as a result will not fit in deep enough into the slide receiver for the collar to screw on. I don't mind using a friction fit but when I played it on a gig the fit didn't remain secure as easily as it seemed to in the practice room. I had to tighten it repeatedly and it concerned me that I might damage something turning it on, because I could never get it to stay . Does this seem to be an issue any of you have heard of when fitting more recent Conn 88h slides on 1960s or '70s Conns? Is there a fix which would not make the slide unsuitable for newer instruments? Are the the earlier type slide tenons available, and interchangeable with the later ones?

[hyperbolica]

I have a 68 88h and a 59 8h, and they both fit every 88h or sloppy slide ive ever put on. They don't fit 79/78h slides. I don't know what kind of slide you have, but its not an 88h alide. Even Conn bass trombone slides fit 88h. There are also 50h and 52h slides. Are you sure it's not a Bach slide or a custom job?

[btone]

Thank you for your reply. The slide was sold to me as a .525 slide made for the 88h. It looked newish, had great action, had the proper 3 lead pipes, came in a Conn slide case, and gave me no reason to doubt it. It will make a friction fit and plays fine, but the friction fit is not reliable enough for a big band job. The 88h was made in 1978, and was purchased from the original owner several years ago . It is in very good condition with no signs of hard use or excessive wear, and is a very satisfactory player. it has its excellent condition original .547 slide which fits and works perfectly, but seems to have a little smaller or shorter tenon. From what you're telling me, it sounds like I may have an atypical tenon on the medium bore slide and could probably just replace it, and a stock modern tenon should work fine with the Artist Symphony horn? And that should not make the slide unsuitable for any other 88h?

[Doug Elliott]

I would try to find another 88H to try it on.

If the .525 slide tenon is truly too big, it could be carefully and evenly sanded down by hand to a better fit. But don't do it unless you're sure that's the problem.

[btone]

Thanks Doug, that sounds like good advice. It will probably be simpler to have someone fit it for me than to have them replace it. Hyperbolica reminded me that the Conn basses and the 88h used the same slide tenon so I'm going to try it on my 1965 72h first, in the absence of access to another 88h, and then I'll try it on an Elkhart and a second generation 88H before I do anything.

[tbonesullivan]

Did they change the tenon at all when they went to the Gen II Conn 88H horns?

[hyperbolica]

Did they change the tenon at all when they went to the Gen II Conn 88H horns?

No, i don't think so. I had a gen2 8h, and it came with the optional sl2525. Same slides fit all the way along. Something odd is afoot.

[mbarbier]

I just want to echo the other voices of trying it on other Conn bell sections to see what's up. I use a sl2525 (which that sounds like what youve got) and have two vintage conn bases and a really old 8h. They're all swappable with each other so it sounds kinda odd that the 525 doesn't fit.

I had the receiver on the bell section of a Benge swapped to take a Conn slide (and the Benge slide modded to fit Conn). Swapping out the receiver on the bell section is a much more simple swap for a tech to make.

[Doug Elliott]

It's very possible that a previous owner had a tenon installed to fit a different bell.

[silverslideman]

I have a couple of friction-fit instruments. I sometimes find they assemble fine out of the case, but then start to slip some time into a playing session. Somebody suggested it’s heat expansion, the receiver expanding a tad more than the tenon.