Noisy Thayer Valve and Slow Slide

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JosephWright
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Jul 17, 2018 11:29 pm

Noisy Thayer Valve and Slow Slide

Post by JosephWright »

Hey all,

Been years since I’ve been to TTF and I was sad to see it down. Glad the community is still alive and kicking!

I have a few problems with my horn, it is a Bach 42TG with a vintage 42 slide. It sounds great and I love the tone I get, but my slide is sluggish and my Thayer Valve is both slow and VERY loud. It sat in a case for 3 years and wasn’t oiled or cleaned before storage, I cleaned everything myself and had the shop give it an acid bath, but the valve feels like it’s seen better days. I have taken the horn to a reputable shop and while the technician was able to take the large dent from air travel out of the Bell, he said he aligned the slide but it feels no different, if anything slower. I did not have him touch the valve as he hasn’t worked on them before.

I’m not sure where to take my horn, or what I can do about my valve, but I’ve read online the lifespan of Thayer Valves can be low if not properly maintained. I’d love to have my valve and slide running perfectly again, but I’m wondering if I should sell the horn and upgrade. I’ll be going back to university this fall and studying with a great teacher, so the last thing I want is for my gear to get in the way. I’m located in Detroit, so if you know of a great technician who can help with at least my slide, I’d be very appreciated and at the very least buy you a beer if we meet in person.

Thanks so much for reading and hope I can get my horn back into tip top condition.
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Mv2541
Posts: 557
Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2018 10:07 am
Location: New Jersey

Re: Noisy Thayer Valve and Slow Slide

Post by Mv2541 »

I am definitely not a repair tech but I have several axial horns now whose valves were not great when I got them. Have you taken apart the valve and oiled everything with appropriate stuff? I use Hetman #1 on the valve itself, 7 on the TS and 15 on the ball berings. There's a video on YouTube where Ben Griffin explains you should oil an axial valve every day; for me once a day down each end keeps mine happy. Every once in a while I'll pull it all apart to make sure everyrhings cool inside.

Also check all the screws of the linkages are tight and all the moving parts are oiled. I would bet that's where the noise comes from.
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