Slide Lubrication

Ed Dumas

A concept that is usually taught in auto mechanics or metal shop is when there is metal rubbing on metal, there must be some kind of lubrication product to keep the two metals functioning properly. Failure to lubricate metal moving on metal can result in excessive friction which creates wear during movement. At times when the metals are not moving, they can become fused if there is no lubrication between them. The same principles apply to musical instruments made of metal.

There are several types of lubrication needed for brass instruments including oiling valves and greasing slides. The article “Why Do Trumpet Valves Jam?” contains a good description of how to properly oil piston valves. Note that old oil needs to be removed before applying fresh valve oil, and there are some specifics there worth reviewing if you have not seen the article.

There are two kinds of slides on brass instruments that require lubrication that I will mention here. The first type is the “slow slide” such as tuning slides and valve slides on trumpet, euphoniums, tubas and so on. The second type is the “fast slides” such as the trombone main slide, but also includes the trumpet third valve trigger slide and a few others. These two types of slides need completely different approaches, but both need some player consistency to work properly.

Let’s deal first with the “slow slides” such as tuning slides and valve slides of brass instruments. These slides need to have “Tuning Slide Grease” applied infrequently to keep them moving. The feel of how these slides should move is that of a slow steady movement somewhat regardless of how much pressure is applied. The speed of this slide is somewhat unimportant, but should just be consistent, even if you push on it harder. There should not be changes in the speed of the slide as it moves, nor should it require great effort to move.

The classic telltale sign that it is time to re-apply some grease is when you push or pull and the slide does not move. You decide to push a little more and then a little more. All of sudden the slide “pops” and moves a dramatic distance and then seems to get lodged in again. This is a warning sign that students need to be aware of. Not putting on some fresh grease ASAP will mean that very soon the slide will refuse to move and now the instrument must go into a repairman to get professional help. Do yourself and your students a favour and educate your students about this warning sign, as it will save you and them some money and anguish later.

Just as with oiling the valves in a brass instrument, adding new grease should not be done until the old grease is removed, at least as much as possible. When students remove a slow slide from an instrument, there are two surfaces to consider. These are the outer surface of the inner tube and the inner surface of the outer tube. These two surfaces rub together, and this is where the grease is applied. At the least, students can use a rag to wipe off the old grease which will be on the outer surface of the inner tube.

As I mentioned in the blog posting “Why Trumpet Valves Jam,” this rag should not be the one that is shipped with the instrument from the factory. This factory “rag” is usually a buffing cloth used for removing the fingerprints from the outer finish of brass instruments. Students should find a rag just for oil and grease purposes, and it should be made of non-stretchy cotton, such as a piece of old bed sheet or the back of an old men’s cotton dress shirt. Use this rag to wipe off any old grease from the slides.

When adding grease, students should use a finger to spread the grease around the surface of the slide as evenly as possible. Then insert the tubes of the slide one at a time, the top tube first, then the bottom tube. With only one tube inserted move the slide in and out several times while rotating the slide back and forth as much as possible. This will help spread the grease to all areas of the slides’ metal surfaces. Do this for each pair of inner & outer tubes, one at a time before inserting both tubes into the required position. After the slide is put back into position, the last step is to wipe away any excess grease left on the exposed parts of the slide to keep the horn neat and clean.

As an aside, I learned a trick from my post-secondary trumpet teacher of using a pencil mark on my trumpet tuning slide. Once my trumpet was placed “in tune” as close as it could be with a tuner or with the band, take a pencil and place a line on the inner tube of the tuning slide to indicate where this slide should be placed next time it is moved. This is valuable if you use a mute which often sharpens the pitches, and therefore you must pull out to compensate for the mute. But, once the passage is complete and the mute comes back out, you will now know exactly where to move the slide back to with no hesitation.

Doing this little pencil mark trick is also very helpful for trumpets where the case demands that the slide be fully pushed in to fit into the case. The reason that instrument makers sometimes make this demand is to force the trumpet player to move the slide each time the horn is played. This reduces the chances that the slide becomes permanently seized and therefore needs professional help. That is the old “Use it or lose it” axiom once again!

In the next rehearsal, if the situation changes, the pencil mark can be easily removed with a rag, and redrawn for the new correct tuning placement. If you teach this system to your students, remind them that this pencil mark is NOT “written in stone.” Rather, it is “A place to start.” This pencil mark trick is very useful for other brass instruments, flutes and especially saxes on the neck cork as well!

The other option that students can do when lubricating their slides is to bathe the instrument completely before applying new grease. This will help remove the old grease from the inside of the outer sleeve which is not done in the above procedure. If students are very young, it might be better to leave the bathing to a repairman, though older students can complete this task on their own. There are numerous excellent videos on YouTube regarding bathing brass instruments, but I suggest you preview them first to make sure the procedures are safe for students.

The fast (right-hand) slide on the trombone, though, is a different problem that does not require grease but rather an oil-based product. Using grease on this product will make the slide far too slow to be playable. Here the objective is to make the slide completely free of friction as much as possible, rather than making even, steady friction using grease.

There are many different products available that students can use on the trombone main slide. Young students will probably want to use something simple, such as basic slide oil. The one that I often recommend is UltraPure Trombone Slide Oil, as it is a superior synthetic oil with few challenges in use.

The one thing that many students seem to forget, though, about oiling their trombone slide is that they should remove the old oil first. As a general rule in all band instruments, wipe off old, then apply new. When troubles arise later, it is often because students have either not wiped off old slide oil, or they have never bothered to lubricate their slide at all!

To wipe off the old oil, students should carefully separate the inner and outer sleeves of the trombone slide. Use the cotton rag again to wipe both arms of the inner slide several times each. Be very careful not to bend or dent the inner sleeves, as this will certainly then need to go to a repairman. Older students can also wipe off the old oil from the inner surface of the outer sleeves by using a trombone slide reamer and a small piece of rag pulled through the eyelet. Push this reamer in and out several times in each outer sleeve to remove all of the old oil.

When applying the new oil, apply a few drops to each of the “socks” on the inner sleeves. The socks are the end parts of the slide (about 6”) that are very slightly thicker than the rest of the sleeves. These are the parts that contact the inner surfaces enough to keep the distances correct and the slide moving properly. This is where the oil is needed most.

Use the oil bottle dropper to contact the sock directly. Dropping the oil onto the sock will cause the oil to splash onto clothing which will likely stain permanently. Once both socks are covered well in oil, insert the end of each sleeve into its corresponding outer sleeve one at a time. Move the two parts in and out a few times while rotating the sleeve to spread the oil around. Do this with each tube set before finally putting the slide together ready to play. The slide now should be very quick so that if the student accidentally lets go of the slide, the outer slide will drop to the floor on its own. Note – Use the trombone slide lock when not playing to stop the slide from falling off and getting damaged!

I am always amazed at how many first-year trombone players do not oil their slides daily. Failure to do this simple task dooms more trombone players than just about any other reason. In a beginning band class, check this each day for the first month or two. Have the trombone players hold up their horn and let the slide fall to their right hand (not come off the inner sleeves, just drop a foot or so on its own). If the slide will not do this freely on its own, make the trombone player spend some time dealing with this. No sense trying to play when the horn cannot do it! Once the trombone players are in the habit of oiling the slide daily, they will learn SO much better.

Now wiping the oil off the trombone does take a bit longer so players are often reluctant to do it, especially in shorter classes. The players, though, need to understand that if they never wipe off the slide, it will eventually become unplayable. The oil will continue to dry and build up in place so that eventually the slide will move only with such resistance that the players cannot possibly keep up with the band.

If the slide moves so slowly that the player cannot keep up with the band, the player will surely get frustrated and think about quitting! Few players will recognize that the problem is with them because “the trombone doesn’t work.” Teachers, in the beginning, need to keep on top of the trombonists until they develop the habit of considering the slide condition EACH TIME THEY PICK UP THE HORN. Later you can probably check this less frequently.

Here is a schedule that I would recommend for your young trombone players to help with shorter classes and the time it takes to lubricate the slides. In the beginning, the trombone players can apply oil each day without wiping down the slide. Then, instruct them to take the time to wipe the slide’s inner sleeve on the weekend before applying fresh oil. You could check in class once or twice ahead of time that they know how to do this before you assign them to do it at home consistently.

After a month or so of slow practice wiping the inner sleeve weekly at home, have them wipe it in class for you once per week from now on. By now they will have developed the routine and some speed on the task that they should be able to do it weekly in class. Soon after you could have the trombone players wipe the inner sleeve whenever they feel that the slide is getting “gummed up” with too much oil. This could be more than just weekly. Older students, maybe in the second year, could then start using the slide reamer to clean the inner surface of the outer sleeve as well. This too could be done less frequently than daily, maybe weekly or monthly. Remind students that are learning how to use the slide reamer to flip the rag over the tip of the reamer to stop the metal end from scraping the inside of the slide.

Now older trombone players that are used to putting oil on their slides daily may want to go a step further or more. One of my favourite products is called “Slide-O- Mix” which substantially drops the resistance on the slide as compared to slide oil. “Slide-O-Mix Classic” has two bottles of product. One product is applied to the socks, and the other is applied to the upper parts of the slide. Then water from a spray bottle is misted on the upper inner sleeves. The reaction between the two different products and the water on the slide creates a lack of resistance that is unsurpassed and just a pleasure in playing.

Many players, though, are reluctant to use this system due to the additional effort required in maintenance. The slides will need to be wiped out frequently including the outer slide with a reamer. The payoff is huge, though, so many experienced players appreciate the option if it is provided.

There is one final option for students as well. Slide-O-Mix has developed a similar system called “Slide-O-Mix All In One” that combines the two bottles into one product that is used on both parts of the slide, the socks and the upper part of the inner sleeve. Water misting from a spray bottle is still used on the inner sleeve as well. This system might be a good start for students that are no longer beginners but not yet experienced enough to use the Classic system.

At the beginning of this article, I mentioned that the “fast slides” are found on other instruments besides the trombone. Trumpets have a much smaller fast slide on the third valve which must be pushed out substantially to put some notes into tune. But, this third trigger slide cannot stay out, as it will affect other notes that it should not. Hence the slide must be able to move quickly, like a trombone slide.

Flugelhorns sometimes contain these fast slides for the same purpose, and I even know a pro tuba player who has added a fast trigger slide to his instrument! All of these “fast slides” will need some product to keep them functioning at their best.

On student model horns, these “fast slides” (triggers) are often not very fast, regardless of the product used on them. Sometimes repairmen can speed these up with some time spent on them. But even just plenty of use is often enough to speed up a fast slide which is not well enough from the factory. That is assuming, of course, that the student has been adding the correct lubrication product to this trigger slide!

If after using the correct lubrication on the third trigger slide of a trumpet and the student still finds that the trigger is not moving fast enough to be useable, here are some suggestions to help rectify that situation. First, wipe off any old lubrication product and apply fresh product to the trigger to ensure that is as best as it can be. If the slide is still slow, push and hold down the third valve to release the airlock in the tube. Then, move the slide in and out rapidly and repeatedly while checking if the slide is slowly improving. This process will take time more in the range of hours rather than minutes.

Once it feels like the slide is no longer improving, wipe the old oil from both surfaces, and reapply new once again. Check the feel of the slide once again to see if it has improved once again. If it continues to improve, continue to rapidly move the trigger slide in and out while holding down the third valve. Keep repeating this process until the slide is either sufficiently fast to satisfy the player, or the improvement has stopped. If the progress of the trigger slide has stopped and the slide is still not sufficiently fast, the instrument will need to go into a repairman for further progress. Usually, I have found that most student model slides move fast enough for the student once they have run this procedure for a night or two to speed up the trigger.

Students who are interested in improving the speed of their fast slides, or even just in keeping the slow slides serviced well are encouraged to seek out information. There are plenty of sources now across the internet which can provide how-to’s on using these many products. Tapestry Music is a good source, and I am sure that any one of the reps would help you or your students with questions. Tapestry Music also offers private teachers for those that want more direct help.

As in just about everything in music, doing nothing is not a good option.