TromboneChat

I have a new to me Yamaha 620, my very first foray into the F-Attachment world. The 620 is equipped with a garden variety rotary valve, about which I know very little. I've oiled it twice in the two weeks since I got it. My owner's packet showed how to oil it, (as has Youtube), but not how often to oil it. I have no idea whether I am over oiling it or under oiling it. It worked fine and dandy prior to oiling and it works the same after oiling (fine and dandy). I don't mind oiling once a week or so, but I don't want to gum the thing up either.

- Do you oil on a schedule or when you feel or hear something that signifies a change of some type has occurred?

- if on a schedule, what would be a recommended schedule if, for example, the horn were played an hour a day? Oil daily? Weekly? Monthly? Yearly? After a bath?

(which raises another question... based on an hour of play a day, do you wash the bell section and valve once every two weeks? once a month? whenever you happen to remember?)

I don't expect a definitive answer as much as a sampling of what works for a diverse group of experienced players that have... umm... experience.

I oil mine probably once a month, and I only do it if I notice a clank or sluggishness. I send oil down the slide connection and work the valve to make sure it gets spread around. With a double trigger I might have to send oil down the tuning slide opening to get to the valve most effectively. I take it apart maybe once every couple of years. I maybe clean the bell section with water once a year. The slide is different. I clean that maybe weekly, and relube probably daily.

I use oil, when the valves get scratchy. Maybe once a month? Every two months?

Drip a tiny bit into the tuning slide, then push it back in again. So the tuning slide cream does't get washed into the valves gumming them up. If you pour it down the slide receiver there's a chance that most of the oil runs down the slide gumming it up.
And don't forget the spindles and the linkage! Oiling the spindles is more important than oiling the surface of the valves, because the rotors usually should have no contact with casing that could cause abrasion.

I never wash / bath the bell section. I am too lazy to remove the leather grips... And I don't feel the need to do so. Every now and then I remove the water stains from the water dripping out of the bell. A horn can be cared to death...

The slide is another thing: Careful cleaning and reapplying slide cream / oil is done weekly.

I oil mine. I think. Do it every now and then when it is clanking more than I think it should. Much easier than Thayers or other fancy valves that need a lot more careful oiling and consistency. I have an ancient couple of horns that I think were oiled some time in the last 30 years, but the valves there both worked well enough to play in front of paying customers.

Rotors can be very forgiving. Once a week or every two weeks will probably put you in top 5-10% of owners in terms of care.

Cheers,
Andy

I don't get real excited about maintaining my valves on my bass trombone (or any rotary valve, truth be told). But I do oil them regularly (probably ever 2-3 weeks). This includes oiling the shafts/spindles (including taking the bottom cap off and doing that with the usual tuning slide pulling routine) and putting drops down the tubing to lube the rotor and valve.

Unlike my valved instruments, I don't wash the trombone valve section very frequently -- but once every few months. I actually LIKE to do it because it's SO much easier and quicker than cleaning a tuba.

Frequency of such maintenance may depend to some degree on what valve oils you're using since some wash off a lot faster than others just with the condensation going through them.

I oil the valve surface and spindle whenever I feel scratchiness, or at most once a month.

However, the points many people neglect to oil are the joints of mechanical linkage and also spring spindle. They can make huge difference, especially if they have not been oiled or cleaned for a long time.

Rotors you can be pretty lazy... But you should oil the inside of the rotors anywhere from once a week to every day depending on use and climate. If you've got a horn with worn out rotors you basically need to oil them every time you take it out of the case.

You can oil the linkage, stop arm and other parts a bit less. I usually only do that once week, though I know I should do it daily.

You actually don't "need" to oil rotors even that much! But you should, to prevent premature wear on your valves.

I have a friend who has owned his Yamaha bass for 6 years and he has never oiled his valves... I have no idea how he even plays the thing the valves are so dry!!! Thankfully there's no plating you have to worry about wearing out on rotors like on Thayers or pistons but still...

Fancy valves you have to oil them daily or every time you take them out of the case. TruBores and Greenhoes you can be a little lazy with them though since both designs are essentially super rotors (have a solid core inside a casing)... but not as lazy since the tolerances are tighter.