How to get a cleaning snake's brush out of a mouthpiece reciever

[Tuba_Dude]

Today I was cleaning my euphonium
, and for some stupid reason I used a cleaning snake to clean my mouthpiece reciever. The brush fell off, and now it's stuck. What should I do? (I reposted this here because it make more sense)

[RickF]

I just replied to your other thread in 'misc'. If you have a pair of hemostats or forceps, which are very narrow long nose pliers of sort, could you reach the broken off bursh?



If not I would take out your 1st valve and carefully push the brush through into the empty valve casing with a long piece of stiff nylon like a cable tie.


I just hope there's no metal in that brush that could scratch the valve casing.

[davewerden]

My first question is...WHERE is it stuck exactly? Is it "halfway" through the leadpipe? Or could it be stuck in the first valve or beyond?

[Tuba_Dude]

It's around halfway through the lead pipe, Also thanks for the nilon cable tie idea

[davewerden]

Take out the 1st valve before doing anything else, and remove the top and bottom caps from the first valve.

Try putting a good amount of liquid dish soap down the mouthpiece end of the pipe, then put your mouthpiece in a blow hard and suddenly. The soap will help lubricate the brush's movement and may help create an air seal to some extent so your blowing can do some good.

If that does not work, can you find some plastic tubing that will fit in the mouthpiece end? You might be able to push it out with that. Still use the soap to lubricate it movement.

[tokuno]

Home Depot sells inexpensive 3/8" OD tubing (both vinyl & polyethylene) in the plumbing department (for hooking up refrigerator ice maker lines & etc.,). I use the clear vinyl version to make tuba bell liners so I can rest my horns on their bells without scraping them up.
I just checked, and it slides right into my euphonium (large shank) mouthpipe. It's stiff and would easily shove the brush out.