TromboneChat

Anybody know where to get a Holton Counterweight or the screws for it/something of the similar size? I have a Holton Collegiate Tenor from 66-67. Counterweight screws came off the horn after a marching event and it's a bit too front heavy for my liking. Could I just find a counterweight from a completely different horn and put it on?

Replacement screws easier to find and cheaper!

Ah, any idea where to find them? Are most of the screw the same size, or brand specific sizing?

For fastener hardware, I've found True Value Hardware stores to be the most reliable. They typically have a fairly large fasteners (and other small parts) departments that have both SAE and metric. But it varies from store to store. So sometimes you have to make a couple of attempts.

Votaw tool may have exactly what you need, but you'll need to call them to be sure. And don't eliminate Amazon -- once you figure out what thread you need. You might have to buy 50 of them, but that will be a lot cheaper than buying a new counterweight. For a counterweight, take a look at the generic ones at Hickey's.

Ace Hardware, depending upon the store, can be a good source of fasteners, too.

But definitely not Home Depot. Even if you know exactly what size you need, you'll never be able to find it. In their drawers of screws, nothing is ever in the right place and they probably don't have it anyway.
"Ace is the place... "

Doug Elliott wrote: ↑Thu Jul 18, 2024 11:04 pm But definitely not Home Depot. Even if you know exactly what size you need, you'll never be able to find it. In their drawers of screws, nothing is ever in the right place and they probably don't have it anyway.
"Ace is the place... "

Amen. I don't even try. Lowe's is slightly better but same problem. Both have the hanging bags but also drawers of the specialty stuff. In theory it should be in a drawer but more often it's not.

If you need big stuff, 1/4 inch and up, Agri Supply or whatever version is near you is by far the cheapest. They have big bins, well sorted, and you pay by the pound.

timothy42b wrote: ↑Fri Jul 19, 2024 6:07 am In theory it should be in a drawer but more often it's not.

Often it IS in a drawer. SOME drawer. Just not the one it's supposed to be in. But that's Lowe's general approach to merchandising -- well, coupled with what appears to be a policy of randomly moving stuff to different locations so that virtually no one knows where anything is, and so they go on the Lowe's site to find it for you, but the site information is wrong. If they can't find the one guy who knows where it was moved to, you're out of luck.

You used to be able to walk into Fastenal and buy a couple of screws or bolts. But I haven't tried that since COVID hit. I don't know if they do any "retail" business any more or if they'll even let you in the door.

Does anyone have the Holton counterweight and also the ability to measuring its screw? That would help out Kneesks.

I don't have enough thread gauges to measure all of the possibilities. I keep meaning to get some more, but as a practical matter it doesn't make any difference since you've got to go to the store anyway and make sure that what you get fits.

If you get stuck and can't find another alternative, you can just buy a drill/tap combo (Lowes has a bunch of these, or you can get them on Amazon), re-drill and re-tap the hole to some decently sized screw you CAN get at the hardware store, and you're done. I just get the cheap Irwin ones. Home Depot and Hardware stores have these too. Here's an example: https://www.amazon.com/Hanson-1765535-D ... C96&sr=8-8

Of course, you'll probably want a tap handle to hold the tap. But tapping brass is a breeze.

Kneesks wrote: ↑Thu Jul 18, 2024 12:20 pm Could I just find a counterweight from a completely different horn and put it on?

Probably. Did you lose the counterweight AND the screws? Or just the screws?

Hickey's sells a generic counterweight as well as brand specific ones:

https://www.hickeys.com/search/products/sku079240.php

dbwhitaker wrote: ↑Fri Jul 19, 2024 9:28 am

Kneesks wrote: ↑Thu Jul 18, 2024 12:20 pm Could I just find a counterweight from a completely different horn and put it on?

Probably. Did you lose the counterweight AND the screws? Or just the screws?

Hickey's sells a generic counterweight as well as brand specific ones:

https://www.hickeys.com/search/products/sku079240.php

Just the Screws, i still have the counterweight

ghmerrill wrote: ↑Fri Jul 19, 2024 8:36 am

timothy42b wrote: ↑Fri Jul 19, 2024 6:07 am In theory it should be in a drawer but more often it's not.

Often it IS in a drawer. SOME drawer. Just not the one it's supposed to be in. But that's Lowe's general approach to merchandising --

Can't blame Lowe's for all of it though. Customers try a fit, nope, toss it back in some random bin, try another fit, toss it back too, etc. If I need eight 1/4 - 20 nuts, I test all of them. Inevitably the bin contains about 75% 1/4, and 25% random sizes.

timothy42b wrote: ↑Sat Jul 20, 2024 9:27 am If I need eight 1/4 - 20 nuts, I test all of them. Inevitably the bin contains about 75% 1/4, and 25% random sizes.

Yeah, that's a general problem with individually available small parts. I do the same kind of checking that you do -- wherever I'm getting washers, bolts, screws, nuts, etc. But in the case of Lowes, you can go there looking for ANYTHING (from masonry supplies, to household cleaners, to circuit breakers, to garden hose nozzles, ...) and the chance that its location has been moved since you went there two weeks ago is pretty high. Oddly (?), places like Tractor Supply and Agri Supply (and even Home Depot) don't seem to have that problem. And in those places there's also a very high probability that a random employee you ask will actually know the location of what you're looking for -- instead of using the quick-draw of his cell phone and then 15 minutes of doing the searching on it that you already did. In my local Lowes, I think I've recently encountered only two people who seem to know where stuff is. Well, at least it's close to me, although I've taken to driving to Home Depot further away because they have more of the stuff and overall it's less waste of my time, even including the extra half hour for the round trip.