Valve bone/Flugabone parts compatibility

[jorymil]

Does anyone know if the valves/caps/springs used for Olds/Reynolds/King flugabones are the same as used by their respective valve 'bone brethren? I have an Olds valve bone, so if I get a flugabone down the road, would be nice to be able to borrow from one or the other in a pinch.

[Dennis]

Valve caps, maybe. Springs, probably, and almost certainly if the valves are bottom sprung.

My understanding is that valves are lapped into their valve casing. If that's correct, it is unlikely that you could exchange valves between valve blocks.

[jorymil]

Interesting! I didn't know that. I'm very new to piston valves: I only recently cleaned my horn for the first time, but it teaches you a lot about how they work. Still working on being able to play all my major and minor scales fluently like I do on the slide horn.

Olds valves are definitely bottom-sprung, FWIW.

[JohnL]

Does anyone know if the valves/caps/springs used for Olds/Reynolds/King flugabones are the same as used by their respective valve 'bone brethren?

The Olds/Reynolds compact marching trombones use the same valve block as their regular valve trombones, but (as mentioned by Dennis), piston valves are normally lapped in, so you can't count on being able to swap pistons. You might get lucky, you might not.

The King Flugabone is an entirely different instrument; no parts interchangeability with the Olds/Reynolds family.

[jorymil]

Thanks for the extra insight, John. I knew the King valves would not be a match for my Olds, but was curious if the 1130 valves matched the 2b/3b valve section.

As for my Olds, it sounds like the conversion between flugabone and valve piston would be a one-way thing requiring relapping if even possible.