TrumpetMaster - View Single Post

Tootsall · 07-15-2005, 09:53 AM

TB88, I'll take a shot at this. My eldest daughter has owned and played a french horn for the last 10 years or so and is now teaching music.

Rotary valves have exceptionally tight clearances. The rotor and the housing it sits in have a very slight taper so that it is extremely difficult for dirt, etc. to get in there. You can go for years by only adding the requisit drop of oil every month or two or three. When it comes time to take them apart and fix them, generally they will require a full rebuild and that's not something for an amateur to attempt. Best to leave them alone and let the pros handle it.

The strings are amazingly durable. My recommendation is for you to get a digital camera and take a picture (or ten pictures) BEFORE you take them apart. That way you'll know exactly how they go back. There are resources on the 'net on this subject c/w diagrams. The thing that will probably wear out the fastest are the rubber bumpers or "stops" on the valves. Those will dry out and that almost-silent "bump" you feel when they hit the stops will turn into a "clunk" and then a "clank". You want to replace them before they get to that stage. They just slide out and back in.

The one part of a French horn that is probably the most critical and delicate is the leadpipe. Red rot is VERY common in the leadpipes. Because the pipe is quite a bit smaller diameter (and longer) than on a trumpet it is more difficult to dry it out. REKA have a cleaning kit for French Horns that is pretty good: Leigh uses their trumpet model of the kit for his horns. You can buy the REKA at a couple of the online retailers (forget which at the moment... ww&bw?)

A french horn is VERY soft compared to a trumpet: I don't know if they use a higher copper content or if they anneal a lot more. I do know that you can dent the bell or bell throat just by looking at them. (OK, a slight exageration... but only "slight")

Good luck with the horn.. it's a wiley beast but there's a lot of "good stuff" you can play on it. Heck, you will even get invited to sit in with woodwinds!!!

07-15-2005, 09:53 AM	#2 (permalink)
Tootsall Fortissimo User Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Yee HAW! Posts: 4,641	TB88, I'll take a shot at this. My eldest daughter has owned and played a french horn for the last 10 years or so and is now teaching music. Rotary valves have exceptionally tight clearances. The rotor and the housing it sits in have a very slight taper so that it is extremely difficult for dirt, etc. to get in there. You can go for years by only adding the requisit drop of oil every month or two or three. When it comes time to take them apart and fix them, generally they will require a full rebuild and that's not something for an amateur to attempt. Best to leave them alone and let the pros handle it. The strings are amazingly durable. My recommendation is for you to get a digital camera and take a picture (or ten pictures) BEFORE you take them apart. That way you'll know exactly how they go back. There are resources on the 'net on this subject c/w diagrams. The thing that will probably wear out the fastest are the rubber bumpers or "stops" on the valves. Those will dry out and that almost-silent "bump" you feel when they hit the stops will turn into a "clunk" and then a "clank". You want to replace them before they get to that stage. They just slide out and back in. The one part of a French horn that is probably the most critical and delicate is the leadpipe. Red rot is VERY common in the leadpipes. Because the pipe is quite a bit smaller diameter (and longer) than on a trumpet it is more difficult to dry it out. REKA have a cleaning kit for French Horns that is pretty good: Leigh uses their trumpet model of the kit for his horns. You can buy the REKA at a couple of the online retailers (forget which at the moment... ww&bw?) A french horn is VERY soft compared to a trumpet: I don't know if they use a higher copper content or if they anneal a lot more. I do know that you can dent the bell or bell throat just by looking at them. (OK, a slight exageration... but only "slight") Good luck with the horn.. it's a wiley beast but there's a lot of "good stuff" you can play on it. Heck, you will even get invited to sit in with woodwinds!!!