Expert: Kenton Scott - 2/14/2009

Question
I have recently found a baritone in my attic which has belonged to my family for a long time. I was looking to sell it. The only problem is two of the keys are stuck, one upright and one pushed in! What can I do? It has been unused for a long peiroid of time.

Hope you can help.
Kind regards
Rhiannan

Answer
Stuck valves are not usually a big problem . . . unless in trying to fix them, they are actually made worse.

In other words, with the right tools and techniques, stuck valves can be made to work again properly with a minimum amount of effort.  But doing them the wrong way can damage or ruin them.  Valves get stuck naturally by only a few relatively benign causes.  Bet you can guess how the really badly damaged valves got that way.

So, it is better to either sell it the way it is, or take it to a repair service.