Couple things, Matt: 1. As Dominique mentioned below, people (instrument repair techs) are just lazy or simply "overlook" such an obvious thing. 2. Not everyone is as (dare I say it?) anal about post, rods, pivot screws, etc. being CLEAN and removing the old gunk. They only worry about the outwardly visible things: "Oh, look at those nice, new pads and corks"! 3. As you, I find quite a bit of my work is either correcting other people's shoddy work or simply going that extra mile to make sure I don't see the same horn come back to me after it has left my bench. That alone is my biggest motivator......something returned to me that I missed or ignored. Thanks again for the informative vids and a very Merry Christmas to you and yours!
I fix saxophones for a living and I do the same thing, albeit with slightly lass OCD but, yeah, about the same thing. I tend to see a lot of student-level saxophones, not the jewels you seem to be lucky enough to work on, and I tend to spend a bit less time on those. Economics. I do really enjoy OCD videos though because they permit me to appreciate what I should be doing, even when it's just tedious as hell. I'm a fan of perfection, even though, sometimes, I just have to say, Ok, that's good enough for this horn and this budget.
Hey Matt, what are your feelings on using fine steel wool to clean the rod in the bench motor? Then you could even get the threads clean all with one go rather than needing to break out the dremel tool. I thought maybe you might not like steel wool because it leaves behind flakes of material but, so does a dremel wheel. Just curious! Great work as usual.
I think for me, the mess has a lot to do with it. Also, threads just tear up steel wool and you end up having it get caught and whip around half the time. That may be a "me" issue though, and if you can deal with it without having issues and the results are similar, I see no reason why not to do it that way. Just doesn't work for me!
I'm pretty sure when you said "polish the rod" you added just a little inflection in your tone and we all know what you meant. ps. I wish I could afford to have you overhaul my 1937 Martin Handcraft
Hey Matt, my name is Ron and I repair saxophones for a living in the Netherlands :) Great job man, very inspiring. Just two questions. What do you charge your clients for an overhaul? Does this thorough cleaning affect the condition/playability of the instrument dramatically?
Dramatically, no. It affects the long term health of the keywork, the longevity of the overhaul, and the slick and fast feeling under the fingers of completely clean keywork is subtle but once noticed it is hard to go back. My overhauls are based on an hourly rate (which is on my website), so it depends on how long it takes, which is different for each horn. Flat rate jobs were killing me, and I think they incentivize corner cutting (and make you miserable if you don't), so I stopped.
@@StohrerMusic I'm going to give it a try Matt. Right now there is an old Mark VI on my bench which is quite dirty. I might even have to replace some old rods that are worn out completely. Anyway thanks again for the tip! All the best from Holland.
The results will tell you whether that is too fine a grit or not. I find that different brands and different abrasive materials act quite differently, so you may need to experiment until you get the ideal results, which in my opinion is removal of hardened/varnished old oil, smoothing of any scratches or minor blemishes on the rods (major ones mean replace the rod), and a smooth, shiny finish that looks flatter than it started.
Great video. I’m not a repairer, but I do oil my sax mechanism, however, regarding cleaning, I can’t get Naptha here in the UK, so what can I use as an alternative ? (Or is there a different name for Naptha?)
Looks like you can get it from Behlen. Also zippo lighter fluid/ronsonal is fairly close- naptha plus some additives. I've heard of people using that without issue, but I have no direct experience.
Sometimes I think pros get a little too anal about some stuff, especially when they turn around and use it as a cudgel against others in the profession. But WOW, those rods are simply mind bogglingly filthy. That is something that even brand new DIY pad jockeys would think to attend to. I'm curious about the quality of rest of the overhaul.
Whoa whoa whoa Dominique you can't just come out and SAY it 😂 Honestly though I do think even some people with good intentions/work ethic just don't know how clean it can truly get or how to do it, maybe, so I figured this video might be a good thing to put out there. Hope you are doing well!
@@StohrerMusic yeah I think that's true (also the lazy thing.) I'm good. First year of my own independent shop went much better than I was expecting. Keep well, man.
Tiene mucho valor todo el conocimiento que compartes en este canal, espero que que la vida (y TH-cam) te recompense por ello. Gracias
Matt has overhauled one of my late 62 soprano i used to have.
He s one top technician!
Love your videos,and work!
From Canada
My regards
Mario
Glad to see you’re wearing gloves. It’s so easy to misunderstand what chemicals can do to us.
I also clean rods, posts and keys completely every time I pull the keys off a horn that I am repairing. It seems like the least I can do. Great video.
Couple things, Matt:
1. As Dominique mentioned below, people (instrument repair techs) are just lazy or simply "overlook" such an obvious thing.
2. Not everyone is as (dare I say it?) anal about post, rods, pivot screws, etc. being CLEAN and removing the old gunk. They only worry about the outwardly visible things: "Oh, look at those nice, new pads and corks"!
3. As you, I find quite a bit of my work is either correcting other people's shoddy work or simply going that extra mile to make sure I don't see the same horn come back to me after it has left my bench. That alone is my biggest motivator......something returned to me that I missed or ignored.
Thanks again for the informative vids and a very Merry Christmas to you and yours!
I fix saxophones for a living and I do the same thing, albeit with slightly lass OCD but, yeah, about the same thing. I tend to see a lot of student-level saxophones, not the jewels you seem to be lucky enough to work on, and I tend to spend a bit less time on those. Economics. I do really enjoy OCD videos though because they permit me to appreciate what I should be doing, even when it's just tedious as hell. I'm a fan of perfection, even though, sometimes, I just have to say, Ok, that's good enough for this horn and this budget.
Good one,thanks!
Hey Matt, what are your feelings on using fine steel wool to clean the rod in the bench motor? Then you could even get the threads clean all with one go rather than needing to break out the dremel tool.
I thought maybe you might not like steel wool because it leaves behind flakes of material but, so does a dremel wheel. Just curious! Great work as usual.
I think for me, the mess has a lot to do with it. Also, threads just tear up steel wool and you end up having it get caught and whip around half the time. That may be a "me" issue though, and if you can deal with it without having issues and the results are similar, I see no reason why not to do it that way. Just doesn't work for me!
@@StohrerMusic Thanks! What you said makes sense to me.
I'm pretty sure when you said "polish the rod" you added just a little inflection in your tone and we all know what you meant.
ps. I wish I could afford to have you overhaul my 1937 Martin Handcraft
Hey Matt, my name is Ron and I repair saxophones for a living in the Netherlands :)
Great job man, very inspiring. Just two questions. What do you charge your clients for an overhaul?
Does this thorough cleaning affect the condition/playability of the instrument dramatically?
Dramatically, no. It affects the long term health of the keywork, the longevity of the overhaul, and the slick and fast feeling under the fingers of completely clean keywork is subtle but once noticed it is hard to go back.
My overhauls are based on an hourly rate (which is on my website), so it depends on how long it takes, which is different for each horn. Flat rate jobs were killing me, and I think they incentivize corner cutting (and make you miserable if you don't), so I stopped.
@@StohrerMusic I'm going to give it a try Matt. Right now there is an old Mark VI on my bench which is quite dirty. I might even have to replace some old rods that are worn out completely.
Anyway thanks again for the tip! All the best from Holland.
@@ronpluijm Absolutely! Thanks for watching.
Hi Matt. Does that make sense to polish rods with 3000 grid sandpaper?
The results will tell you whether that is too fine a grit or not. I find that different brands and different abrasive materials act quite differently, so you may need to experiment until you get the ideal results, which in my opinion is removal of hardened/varnished old oil, smoothing of any scratches or minor blemishes on the rods (major ones mean replace the rod), and a smooth, shiny finish that looks flatter than it started.
Im first, great, Nice job Matt!
Great video. I’m not a repairer, but I do oil my sax mechanism, however, regarding cleaning, I can’t get Naptha here in the UK, so what can I use as an alternative ? (Or is there a different name for Naptha?)
Looks like you can get it from Behlen. Also zippo lighter fluid/ronsonal is fairly close- naptha plus some additives. I've heard of people using that without issue, but I have no direct experience.
@@StohrerMusic thanks for the info
You can also use "Zippo Lighter fluid" as a more expensive option :)
@@StohrerMusic is rubbing alchohol usable?
Naptha is similar to "mineral spirits", the solvent leaves a thin, oily film on the surface
How much do you cost to over haul
Sometimes I think pros get a little too anal about some stuff, especially when they turn around and use it as a cudgel against others in the profession. But WOW, those rods are simply mind bogglingly filthy. That is something that even brand new DIY pad jockeys would think to attend to. I'm curious about the quality of rest of the overhaul.
Self-taught, huh? Me, too.
It happens ,Matt, because people are lazy.
Whoa whoa whoa Dominique you can't just come out and SAY it 😂
Honestly though I do think even some people with good intentions/work ethic just don't know how clean it can truly get or how to do it, maybe, so I figured this video might be a good thing to put out there.
Hope you are doing well!
@@StohrerMusic yeah I think that's true (also the lazy thing.) I'm good. First year of my own independent shop went much better than I was expecting. Keep well, man.
Was it really an overhaul if they didn't properly clean the hinge rods? Sounds to me more like it was a repad instead of an overhaul.
In your neck of the woods, a "repad" does not include cleaning?
@@StohrerMusic I suspect it comes down to the shop and the technician doing the work.
That's why you develop a good relationship with your tech 😉
Damn, these videos are sobering. I've got to take better care of my horns.