BIR Overview and Tools
A band instrument repair technician is a problem-solver, mechanic, acoustician, plumber, musician, body worker, innovator, painter, jeweler, tool & die maker, electroplater, counselor, buffer, chemist, designer, carpenter, and machine tool operator all in one. A tech will have to employ brute force at times and a feather touch at other times.
Band instrument repair technicians are typically passionate about excellence, knowing they are key partners with music educators and performers. Technicians love to problem-solve and test the limits of what is possible with each instrument. At Minnesota State College Southeast in Red Wing, we foster your desire to delve into how instruments work and teach you how to achieve maximum instrument performance, in service to the musicians seeking your expertise and talent.
Common tasks technicians perform:
- replacing worn pads and key corks
- soft soldering broken braces & posts
- silver-brazing broken keys
- removing dents
- straightening bent parts and keys
- repairing/adjusting valves and casings
- aligning and fitting moving parts
- regulating and adjusting intricate and complex key mechanisms
- restoring worn parts
Tools
Each student purchases common hand tools, supplies, adhesives and the like, creating a tool kit which will be used throughout his/her career. We provide a letter with a list prior to the start of school.
Most tools and supplies come from specialty vendors, including Allied Supply, Badger State Supply, Votaw Tool, Ferree's Tools, Music-Medic, J.L. Smith, Kraus Music Products, and others. Some tools come from the hardware store and others come from machine tool suppliers.
At Red Wing, our shops are very well equipped with the larger, more expensive tools typically owned by most repair shops, including metal lathes, dent machines and custom tools.
Our own instructors have designed many tools used by technicians around the globe.