Barely a Baritone Saxophone
Improper joining of U-tube to body. Plumbers tape!?
Foreign object melted into a solder joint. Nerf darts impede airflow.
Bell removed to correct for plumbers tape seal.
Leak checks are easier on a bari with the bell removed.
Recently I was contacted to look over a baritone saxophone that had spent repeated trips to another repair shop in town. The instrument played poorly, and its’ intonation was off by a quarter step. The first thing I found was that in re-securing both the U-tube and the bell section, plumbers tape was used. Selmers come from the factory with a glue seal overlaid with a heavy clamp. The plumbers tape leaked, and both joints were loose, allowing the two sections to flex. Thinking that I had the problem diagnosed, I took the upper U-tube to the sink to wash out. Normally lots of muck deposits itself in the bottom of the tube. Imagine my surprise when I ran a brush thru it and out came a Nerf dart. A previous tech had resoldered the main brace on the pipe, and melted the dart into the metal. Te body tube had suffered severe damage, which i presume is why all the joints were taken apart. The body tube had some dent work done, but all the keys in the upper stack had play in them – some as much as 1/16″. Swedged the keys, replaced a few pads, properly assembled the horn and enjoyed conducting an extensive playtest.
Inhorn Band Instrument Repair 
I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry. I’m probably going with the laugh.