Saxophone Repair Topic: How To Put Shellac On Pads 

go for it! my kids (6 and 8) learned to make shellac sticks this year.

This could be a breakthrough. Can you give us an update on how it's holding up?

Leather, felt disc, cardstock/paper backing

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-cqPTYp3gkws.html

That is incredibly generous of you, James. Thank you very much!

I prefer glue pellets. kraus specifically. tackier and more substantial. I feel like hot glue is just a sticky mess

+Mauricio Viana From the description of this video: "As always, there is more than one way to do this right- almost as many ways to do it right as there are to do it wrong, in fact, so this may or may not work for you and you might do it differently and get results that are just fine. This is just how I do it as of the time that I made this video."

+Matt Stohrer thank you for the response and thank for these awesome videos!

yes, almost definitely.

I use shellac, but high quality hot glue has a place. It is important to note that the hot glue that you would get at a hobby store is not high enough quality for this purpose, and will give substandard results. I have another video on exactly what kind of hot glue can be used for saxophone repair, if you choose to use hot glue.

Don't think so, it's exactly as you'd imagine it. I do have a long article about pad installation and seating which these videos were created to support. ossp.stohrermusic.com/how-to-install-and-seat-saxophone-pads/

Depends on where you are, what exactly you do, if you hire help, if you also have a store, and your tolerance for bullshit. The range is from "barely scraping by" to "fairly wealthy". Average is lower middle class. I make more than you would working in a shop where you are pair hourly. I also make more than some independent shops that are not busy all the time. But you can make more doing band instrument repair as a business owner with a couple of hired hands than you can doing what I do, for instance. And you can make more still by adding a store that does good business alongside the repair shop. You can make the same or more than that if you have a good reputation and sell and repair a large quantity quality instruments, new and used/vintage. And you can make a *lot* of money if you build a reputation and then import garbage with your name on it to sell at a huge markup to people who don't know any better. I've never understood that though- if you want to make a lot of money while being not entirely honest there are a lot of much easier and more lucrative paths than instrument repair. Again though, average is lower middle class level of income. The way I personally feel about it (and why I got into this business) was it was a way to make a living where I got to do something that I liked, that I felt mattered at least a little bit, and I could believe in it. If I wanted to make more money (something that would arguably improve my life a lot) I probably should have done something else, but my priority is my personal affinity for feeling like I am doing something that isn't bullshit. The fact that my car is old, that I have to fix things around the house myself, that my clothes are old... worth it, at least to me now at my age of forty-one. I have begun to think about getting old though, and I am not sure I will feel great about my decisions when my hands stop working so well. We will see.

@@StohrerMusic Thank you for your feedback and the informative content! I forgot to take in the idea of possibly not being able to retire in the end, but it's still up for grabs since I have no idea what I'm going to pursue. It only sparked to me since the major company that repairs in my district moved an hour away, so I thought I'd learn how to repair all sorts of instruments and start up my own business. You know, supply and demand.

@@geosekiro324 For you and other people who are considering something like this, I suggest doing it as a hobby, and buying old instruments to fix and then sell. Pay your bills with a regular job. If your instrument repair hobby goes very well, you'll be able to build up enough of an inventory to turn it into a job. I don't repair instruments myself, but there are a lot of situations where this strategy works best (paying bills from a regular job). You can also supplement your income very easily, by delivering pizza part time during the dinner rush, etc. If you want something, you have to CHOOSE to make it happen, and that means finding a way around any thing that is stopping you.

In certain situations: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RA0KmB7Xf-w.html

@@RobBob555 this video is just about the shellac, as the title says. www.stohrermusic.com/2015/12/how-to-install-and-seat-saxophone-pads/

In another video he says he gets these Pisoni pads (model B58) from Feree's Tools in Battle Creek, Michigan

Honestly, it's exactly the same thing, except you don't eat them.

Definitely not

Don't order a large one :)

I'm not sure, but I think you could substitute a heavy stainless steel putty knife.

Alot. I just paid $1600 NZ for a tenor o/h

Christo Reeds Well ,that is what you think my friend!

Nobody except me....

What do you use then instead? Hot glue? I still use shellac, its the easiest and the best!

Oh yes they do, woodwind brasswind Leeds UK do, great job too..... 🎷👍

from my experience the best repairmen i had workin on my horns all used shellac