Repairs and Customisations

Our repair facility caters for most brass instruments. We have repaired trumpets, horns, trombones, as well as euphonium and tuba. In addition we can repair bassoon bocals and have even made a few of those! Here are some examples of what we can offer:

Valve work

We have separate rooms for polishing, cleaning and metalwork which allows our attention to valves to be as dust free as possible. Our valve service usually includes an ultrasonic cleaning of the rotors and slides, and we don’t use acid. Stubborn limescale build-up is removed selectively using a gentle brush.

Dent work

For acoustical reasons dents should be removed if they impinge on more than 1/3 of the tube diameter (or less if they are on the leadpipe) but for aesthetic reasons it is best to remove them as they occur.

Solder work

Most instruments are made with soldered connections containing lead. We prefer to use lead-free solder for most of our work, but can match the leaded solders when necessary. We can also make new braces if the originals have broken.

Cleaning

One of the most important maintenance jobs is ensuring the tubes are clean on the inside. Several customers have found their instruments to be transformed after the removal of a substance that bore a strong resemblance to toothpaste from the mouthpipe! This is why using a snake brush to clean out the mouthpipe once a month or so is recommended. Once the valves are removed it is easier to clean the harder to reach sections of the instrument.

Customisations

Various improvements can be made to instruments by making changes to certain parts. These can range from fitting a hand rest or an adjustable finger hook to make an instrument easier to hold, to replacing a section of tube such as a leadpipe or tuning slide bow. We have supplied custom made tuning shanks for sackbuts and trumpets, newly made lead pipes for various French horns, and manufactured new tuning slides with improved curves.