Thanks for the video. I just purchased a very old silver plated Conn stencil( I believe).i have been comparing it to other examples I've seen. I'm impressed with the craftsmanship of it. For being over a hundred years old it has stood up to the time remarkably well. I knew exactly zero about saxophones when I purchased it. I'm looking forward to watching the rest of your videos while I restore this
I use this wicking technique to remove and replace corroded solder in electrical connections. I've not tried it with multistrand wire but copper braid is sold in rolls for this purpose.
The braided wick is used for small elecronics, so it is going to have a rosin flux on it. I assume you use a water soluable acid flux. Preparing both surfaces helps a lot before soldering. Clean with soap, alcohol, or polishing rag. Flux the target, and heat it up, which should remove most of the oxidation. If you have trouble, you can add a low melt point solder to the existing solder, and it will help soften the alloy and lower the melting point. There are specialty low melt solders available. Flux burns off pretty easy, so best not to apply heat directly to the wire. You will benefit from using a fine wire, and coating it with flux, Once the target is molten, drop the unheated fluxed wick in there, and it will flow instantly. Wire with low thermal mass is better. Try copper wool. It is very fine, but serves as a nice wick. The less heat and time you work, the easier it is, and less damage too.
Good added advice. I'm about to solder a replacement floor peg mount onto a bass clarinet bell so I'm looking for tips. I'm supposing I'll need to clamp it in place to hold it in the correct spot until the solder cools.
Just before you removed the torch you could here it go into the hollow. Thanks for the cool tip. I’m trying to fix my son’s sax. I had no idea it was so similar to silversmithing. I’m on it. I just need to make sure I get the right solder. Can I use my silver solder, or should I use solder for stained glass? I have both. Or what do you recommend? Thank you. John
kongyu yack I have several torches I use at different times. Blazer es1000 butane, Smith air/acetylene with various tips (this is the one you see in the video, I think I was using a #0 or #1 tip), Smith "little torch" oxygen/propane with various tips
Hi Matt! I recently had Kayden bring you a Martin Handcraft with some leaking soldered toneholes. I've been watching your videos for a while and was wondering how one goes about mending a leaking tonehole. If you already have a video about it, I'd love to watch it, and if you have a chance to make a demonstration video, I'd love to watch that! Thanks!
That is not a complex process- remove it, clean it, resolder it. But it is very difficult to do right, and I would not recommend doing it yourself AT ALL. You will likely make a mess at least, but probably also cause lots of neighboring soldered toneholes and posts to develop leaks or move or fall off.
+Matt Stohrer Oh I don't trust myself to do anything repair wise at all. I'm just interested in saxophone repair and maybe interning with a repairman one day. I'm headed off to UNC in a month, so I'm considering a whole lot of options in the music industry.
gotcha. well eventually hopefully have something about that- could be years though. this is a long term project for me! check out the open source saxophone project for more resources.
Stick with the wire trick!! Suckers are okay on "small" work, not so great when you have clump of solder to be wicked out of a joint such as is the case for Matt.
Thanks for the video. I just purchased a very old silver plated Conn stencil( I believe).i have been comparing it to other examples I've seen. I'm impressed with the craftsmanship of it. For being over a hundred years old it has stood up to the time remarkably well. I knew exactly zero about saxophones when I purchased it. I'm looking forward to watching the rest of your videos while I restore this
Matt that is some genius! Thank you so much for sharing!
I use this wicking technique to remove and replace corroded solder in electrical connections. I've not tried it with multistrand wire but copper braid is sold in rolls for this purpose.
The braided wick is used for small elecronics, so it is going to have a rosin flux on it. I assume you use a water soluable acid flux.
Preparing both surfaces helps a lot before soldering. Clean with soap, alcohol, or polishing rag. Flux the target, and heat it up, which should remove most of the oxidation. If you have trouble, you can add a low melt point solder to the existing solder, and it will help soften the alloy and lower the melting point. There are specialty low melt solders available.
Flux burns off pretty easy, so best not to apply heat directly to the wire. You will benefit from using a fine wire, and coating it with flux, Once the target is molten, drop the unheated fluxed wick in there, and it will flow instantly. Wire with low thermal mass is better. Try copper wool. It is very fine, but serves as a nice wick.
The less heat and time you work, the easier it is, and less damage too.
Good added advice. I'm about to solder a replacement floor peg mount onto a bass clarinet bell so I'm looking for tips. I'm supposing I'll need to clamp it in place to hold it in the correct spot until the solder cools.
Boa tarde, sobre o fluxo ácido, teria como fabricar ele em casa? poderia me ajudar
That's so neat! Thanks for sharing
This is common sense and very clever, thank you,
Just before you removed the torch you could here it go into the hollow. Thanks for the cool tip. I’m trying to fix my son’s sax. I had no idea it was so similar to silversmithing. I’m on it. I just need to make sure I get the right solder. Can I use my silver solder, or should I use solder for stained glass? I have both. Or what do you recommend? Thank you. John
Boa tarde, sobre o fluxo ácido, teria como fabricar ele em casa? poderia me ajudar
Hi Matt do you use silver solder or lead based solder ?
you should wear a glove on that left hand Matt, that wire gets pretty hot! I used to do that often in my Electronic repair job!
I was going to say that as well. One hates to be surprised when you've just about got the job done.
hello, matt, can you tell me your soldering equiment /setup, please
kongyu yack I have several torches I use at different times. Blazer es1000 butane, Smith air/acetylene with various tips (this is the one you see in the video, I think I was using a #0 or #1 tip), Smith "little torch" oxygen/propane with various tips
Hi Matt! I recently had Kayden bring you a Martin Handcraft with some leaking soldered toneholes. I've been watching your videos for a while and was wondering how one goes about mending a leaking tonehole. If you already have a video about it, I'd love to watch it, and if you have a chance to make a demonstration video, I'd love to watch that!
Thanks!
That is not a complex process- remove it, clean it, resolder it. But it is very difficult to do right, and I would not recommend doing it yourself AT ALL. You will likely make a mess at least, but probably also cause lots of neighboring soldered toneholes and posts to develop leaks or move or fall off.
+Matt Stohrer Oh I don't trust myself to do anything repair wise at all. I'm just interested in saxophone repair and maybe interning with a repairman one day. I'm headed off to UNC in a month, so I'm considering a whole lot of options in the music industry.
gotcha. well eventually hopefully have something about that- could be years though. this is a long term project for me! check out the open source saxophone project for more resources.
I wonder if a desoldering pump (aka "solder sucker") would work as well. They're typically used for desoldering electronic components.
Stick with the wire trick!! Suckers are okay on "small" work, not so great when you have clump of solder to be wicked out of a joint such as is the case for Matt.
glad you might rely on Patreon. i plan to use it often when said site becomes more user-friendly.
What kind of torch do you use? The flame is really consistent.
Josh Merbitz Smith air/acetylene