| Sometimes it helps to put oil into the valves through the valve slides. I pull one slide out for each valve. I squirt some oil in, and while holding it in such a manner that the oil stays in the horn, I tilt it back and forth to run the oil through the valve cluster while working the rotors back and forth. French horn valves frequently get corrosion on them when the are allowed to sit over the summer. If the oiling doesn't help, they will probably need to be disassembled and cleaned. This is best left to a competent repair person. It can be done at home, but some people find the task of reassembling and stringing the valves to be a daunting task. If you do take them apart, the corrosion can be cleaned off with a cloth and some Brasso. Make sure you clean the brasso off the valve before you reassemble it.
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"Music is a fire in your belly that has to come out of your mouth, so you'd better put a horn in the way before someone gets hurt" (paraphrase of Bleeding Gums Murphy) |