Archives > Maintenance & Repair 101

Lockjaw Larry's compressed felt valve

(1/2) > >>

Ed McCullough:
His compressed felt valve took care of a situation that no other valve took care of.

Gnarly He Man:
Well then he should make more of them!

brorat:
OK, Larry.  Looks like a great side hustle!
I'd be willing to consider a purchase if you have them available!
????$$$???

Age:
I always thought the old Hohner 64 leather valves were kinda cool. :) (till they turned black and shriveled up. ;))

Lockjaw Larry:
Friends, I have never asked money for my hobbies and am willing to freely share for personal use.  The raw materials are inexpensive.  The time I devote to making valves is in my free time, thus it’s free.  Feel free to contact me with your needs and I’ll see if I can accommodate.

I make 3 and 4 mil thick special plastic valves with a surface tension reducer covering on one side.  The 4 mil works best for me because it is a little stiffer than the 3 mil.  I slice them 1/8” on my wife’s fabric rotary slicer.  Each valve is trimmed to length during installation.

I make thin ultra suede valves using a method suggested by Walley and modified by myself for “ water proofing”.  They are also 1/8” and are cut to length during installation.  These seem to slightly muffle the tone, which I like a lot.  I do not recall ever having issues with any of these and have played in my cold studio without sticking issues.  YRMV

I have also hand cut both kinds to less than 1/8” using my understanding wife’s rotary cutter.  It’s more fiddley but not difficult to slice to desired width.

I haven’t bothered trying to make two layer valves but may give it a go some day just for giggles.

I am not in competition with anyone and thus far have only shared a few to some friends. 

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

Go to full version