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Here's Martin's recommendation:

Use thick oil first, work it in, then use your regular oil. Repeat every 2-3 weeks. The idea is, the thicker stuff will fill those gaps where the casing is worn.

I will try this for a few months and see what I think. Here's the thing... It really seems like a band-aid fix. It sounds annoying to do all that, but I will do my due diligence and try it.

The way I see it, plating and lapping would be the true and best fix. Then I'd be in this thing at LEAST another thousand bucks, but I'd have what I really want...

Or, I can sell the valves (which haven't been lapped in or used really at all), and just roll with the originals and live. Time will tell on this one, guys. I'll pick it up on Monday.

Okay, probably the final post about this thing for a while.

MAW Valves - Too much hassle to get them to work right. Sold them. Used the $$$ to pay for a good cleaning and replacement parts.

The leadpipe, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd upper crooks had a bunch of red rot spots. Is anything through? No. Would any of those spots have opened up any time soon? Probably not. Did I want to replace the parts anyway because I know it would bother me? You bet.

The leadpipe was BY FAR the most expensive part I've ordered yet. It was almost as expensive as the freaking bottom bow for my Willson F tuba at a whopping $400 shipped with tariffs (ugh). When I got the 6450 pipe, that was about $100 less. Inflation, tariffs, and, likely, an upcharge for a special order part are what did it. My total bill for those parts and some other 6450 things was $878. Yikes!!

Anyway, I'm thrilled I was even able to get the pipe for the 2141. I was expecting a "no" from MW, but they've been great! The crooks - Well, they're the same as they've always been, so, very glad they're in.

Final plans for this guy:

Replace leadpipe and 3 crooks, might strip lacquer. As I continue to mess with my horns, I appreciate and enjoy raw brass more and more. My 2165 looks great too. Patina has been coming along very nicely.

Pick over bottom bow dents

Extend 2nd pull ring (like Eastman, Nirschl, et al)

Modernize 5th thumb lever (more on that later)

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