Smith Brass Services

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An independent brass technician combining experience of performance, teaching pedagogy and a knowledge of all things brass to set you and your instrument up to succeed.

It’s the end of an era! After 7 years, it’s time to say goodbye to the workshop. It has surged its purpose but is time t...
21/01/2026

It’s the end of an era! After 7 years, it’s time to say goodbye to the workshop. It has surged its purpose but is time to be replaced by brick and mortar. Don’t worry, the same great service is still available at the same location (all be it a bit of a building site, just in temporary set up. The new workshop will be a bit bigger with improved workflows and facilities.

Three high Schilke Trumpets (Eb, G & Picc) in for precision valve alignments. Some of the numbers were very close, whils...
10/12/2025

Three high Schilke Trumpets (Eb, G & Picc) in for precision valve alignments. Some of the numbers were very close, whilst others were unbelievably far out.

These now slot much better, have lost there funny intonation quirks and sound massive!

I always hate it when I find other people’s bodge repair. It shows they don’t take the time or care to fix the instrumen...
09/12/2025

I always hate it when I find other people’s bodge repair. It shows they don’t take the time or care to fix the instrument correctly.

Having said that, doing this repair was very tricky. The leadpipe to bell brace had snapped and had some soft solder in the gap. As the name suggests? This is rather soft and can easily break. So it had to be removed and silver soldered (hard soldered) but getting the angle right was tricky unless you have the right tools. In this case, fire resistant clay

This trombone had been in and out the workshop with a sticky valve. After careful inspection and measuring discovered th...
04/12/2025

This trombone had been in and out the workshop with a sticky valve. After careful inspection and measuring discovered that the rotor casing wasn’t quite round. It turns out, the instrument was moving around within the case and one of the tubes coming off the valve was getting bashed around and deforming the valve casing. As a temporary solution, a bottle of slide l**e did the trick perfectly to stop damage.

02/12/2025

This trigger was fitted many years ago and since it’s fitting has never functioned correctly. Once the right thickness of grease was applied, the slide was butterly smooth with no issues. Sometimes it can be as simple as using the right lubricant

Something a bit different, in for a service and external polish, a microtone (quarter tone trumpet)
02/12/2025

Something a bit different, in for a service and external polish, a microtone (quarter tone trumpet)

This Bach 37 wanted a leadpipe replacing with a 43, however the braces don’t always quite align properly but we have a s...
27/11/2025

This Bach 37 wanted a leadpipe replacing with a 43, however the braces don’t always quite align properly but we have a special tool for that, that fits the inner curve almost perfectly

Tubas do take some abuse! My dent removal method uses strong magnets and some big balls of steel. This method means dent...
25/11/2025

Tubas do take some abuse! My dent removal method uses strong magnets and some big balls of steel. This method means dents can be removed without dismantling the instrument. Not every dent can be removed with this method but is is much faster and cheaper than the other options.

When this Besson Soverign cornet came in with a crack in the brass between the 1st and 2nd valves, it not only need a pa...
20/11/2025

When this Besson Soverign cornet came in with a crack in the brass between the 1st and 2nd valves, it not only need a patch to seal the hole but to also re-enforce the thinning metal

When all you can see is tissue down the leadpipe and think it’s really stuck only to discover it was actually a pencil!
18/11/2025

When all you can see is tissue down the leadpipe and think it’s really stuck only to discover it was actually a pencil!

One of the most frequent questions I’m asked is what lubricants should I use?In response to this, a new blog post has be...
13/11/2025

One of the most frequent questions I’m asked is what lubricants should I use?

In response to this, a new blog post has been released: How Thick Are You?!

Looking at how your choice of oil can impact the compression and finction of your instrument. View it at www.smithbrass.services/blog

It’s been a busy summer with plenty of school instruments being prepared for new starters in September. Plenty of intere...
12/11/2025

It’s been a busy summer with plenty of school instruments being prepared for new starters in September. Plenty of interesting post to come!

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