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Thread: May need to change slide grease

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
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    West Palm Beach, FL
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    May need to change slide grease

    Yesterday while I was warming up, I noticed my tone with 1-2 fingering for concert 'G' on the staff was stuffy sounding compared to 3rd valve (I normally use 3rd valve on my M5050 as it's better in tune). During warmups when the horn is cold, I use various fingerings. Then I noticed any note with first valve didn't sound just right. To make a long story short, I found a big glop of grease in the 1st valve path above the slide leg. After removing this glop of grease, the horn sounded fine again. Today I cleaned out the entire horn with the QHR (Quick Horn Rinse with sudser). Instead of Dawn dish washing detergent, this time I used Lestoil. Lestoil is a great soap concentrate for cutting grease and I use it around the house quite a bit. Being diluted using the QHR it worked well (of course careful to rinse thoroughly). Wow! - what a bunch of old grease I got out my horn.

    About six months ago I switched to Hetman-8 heavy grease from using Heman-7. Since no. 8 is thicker it lasted longer and slides stayed in place. Not sure if it's the grease itself causing the problem or the way I've been applying it. About 12 years ago an excellent brass-repair tech at "Brass n' Reed" in Daytona Beach showed me how he greases slides. He'd run a bead along the male leg of the slide then insert and twist - back and forth until it spread out evenly inside the female leg... repeating the process until you didn't hear any metal to metal sounds. This way worked for me for years when I used other greases. But maybe Hetman-8 globs up too much? Not sure. After cleaning out my 5050, I cleaned out my Yamaha 641 (which had the older grease in it still) and didn't get near as much grease and gunk out of that horn. I needed to clean the 641 anyway as I want to store it completely dry until my grandson is ready for it.

    Anyone else have any trouble with the heavy grease?

    I think for now I'll just go back to the older grease and see how it goes.
    Last edited by RickF; 01-02-2014 at 12:22 PM.
    Rick Floyd
    Miraphone 5050 - Warburton BJ / RF mpc
    YEP-641S (recently sold)
    Doug Elliott - 102 rim; I-cup; I-9 shank


    "Always play with a good tone, never louder than lovely, never softer than supported." - author unknown.
    Symphonic Band of the Palm Beaches
    El Cumbanchero (Raphael Hernandez, arr. Naohiro Iwai)
    Chorale and Shaker Dance
    (John Zdechlik)

  2. #2
    Hi Rick,

    I haven't had the issue you describe. I mix silicone trombone slide cream with KY Jelly for my own slide grease. Its pretty thin and does a great job. I put it on pretty thin but apply it as you mention that you do. Not sure its the best but I like it better than other grease that I've bought that I find to be too thick. Happy New Year. David

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    West Palm Beach, FL
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    3,853
    Thanks David,

    Hmm? just because I used 'male' and 'female' in my post above, you really didn't need to mention KY jelly.
    Rick Floyd
    Miraphone 5050 - Warburton BJ / RF mpc
    YEP-641S (recently sold)
    Doug Elliott - 102 rim; I-cup; I-9 shank


    "Always play with a good tone, never louder than lovely, never softer than supported." - author unknown.
    Symphonic Band of the Palm Beaches
    El Cumbanchero (Raphael Hernandez, arr. Naohiro Iwai)
    Chorale and Shaker Dance
    (John Zdechlik)

  4. #4
    Rick--

    I've been using Hetman 8 consistently for several years now for all slides except 2nd (I use Ultra for that!), and usually apply it in a thicker layer than I suspect you're using (I've tried the procedure you described, but I like to cover the whole slide before inserting it). I often see a small glob of grease inside the female slide when I pull the slide out for cleaning, but I haven't noticed any change in the sound (that doesn't mean there hasn't been one; my hearing isn't getting any better!). Just one data point.
    Frank Manola

    Pan American Eb, Meinl Weston 20, Wessex "Solo" EEb, King 2341 tubas
    Besson New Standard, TE 1150 compensating euphs
    Park Street Brass
    Old South UMC Brass & Organ, Reading MA
    Wakefield Retired Men's Club Band
    Windjammers Unlimited

  5. #5
    8 is the "grease" rather than the 7 and 7P and former 9 products which are billed as "gel", right? I started using the hetman gels specifically because the slide grease that I had been using does tend to bunch up in slide ends like that. Even if you apply it carefully, for slides that you are constantly adjusting, either for tuning or to empty water, it does tend to accumulate.

    I also really like the product Spacefiller TS. It seems to last longer than any of the Hetman tuning slide products.

  6. #6
    point is, hetman 8 isn't part of the same product family as 7 and 7P AKA 7.5. If you like Hetman 7 and want a thicker version of that, go to 7P or 7.5 -- not to 8.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    West Palm Beach, FL
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    3,853
    Thanks Barry. The Hetman's site itself doesn't list the 7.5 or 7P (P for plus I think). But I see it's listed at The Horn Guys.
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Hetman Slide gel.jpg  
    Rick Floyd
    Miraphone 5050 - Warburton BJ / RF mpc
    YEP-641S (recently sold)
    Doug Elliott - 102 rim; I-cup; I-9 shank


    "Always play with a good tone, never louder than lovely, never softer than supported." - author unknown.
    Symphonic Band of the Palm Beaches
    El Cumbanchero (Raphael Hernandez, arr. Naohiro Iwai)
    Chorale and Shaker Dance
    (John Zdechlik)

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