Hand Slide alignment on a trombone is crucial to the performance and feel of the slide. A properly aligned slide will also produce a better "seal" over the entire length of the tubing. Straight tubing also wears evenly causing the slide to last much longer. With a little practice, the proper alignment and straightening of the hand slide can be done in a very short period of time.

After disassembling the slide, check to see if there is any residue on the stockings (expanded end of the inner slide tubes). It is important that the slide be perfectly clean and free of dirt before proceeding with straightening. A white residue usually indicates dried silicon. This can be removed with "Brasso" or any other commercially available brass or nickel cleaner.It may take some time to remove this residue since it is often times very dense. Polish the rest of the inner slide with any good metal polish which will leave no residue.

You will have to purchase a trombone cleaning rod to adequately clean and polish the outer slide. Once you have acquired a cleaning rod, cut pieces of cotton which are of a length slightly longer than the cleaning rod. Push a piece of the rag through the eyelet at the end of the rod. Make sure that the piece that runs through the eyelet will not easily come out. Draw the rag along the length of the cleaning rod and hold it taunt at the opposite end. Apply "Brasso" or other brass polishing product to the rag at the eyelet end. Insert the rod into the outer slide and work the slide in and out until no resistance can be felt.Be sure to bunch enough material at the eyelet end of the rod so that the material is coming in contact with the inner part of the slide throughout the entire stroke. Be careful not to pull back on the rod without first pulling back on the material. You can get the rag jammed in the outer tubing very easily by pulling on the cleaning rod and wedging the fabric at the end of the rod in the tube. This can be extremely hard to correct! Once again, keep cleaning until no resistance can be felt in the tubing. Once all the cleaning is finished, you can move on to straightening the slide.

To straighten the slide you must first find a light source which you can use too sight down the slide. I prefer using a fluorescent light fixture. By standing at the end of the fixture I can sight down the length of the tubing by holding it up in line with the fluorescent bulb. The reflection from the bulb will reflect a straight line of light along the length of the slide. By observing this reflection I can determine where the bends are in the slide. This can be done with both inner and outer slides. To straighten the slides, place the end of the slide on a table about waist high. Using a clean rag, push gently down on the slide while moving slowly towards the outer end. Where ever there is a "High" spot, straighten the tube by gently applying pressure while moving along the length of the slide.It is important to use only the pressure necessary to remove the bend. If you have any question concerning the proper amount of pressure, take the instrument to a trained technician. It is incredibly easy to destroy a slide by pushing to hard. The same process is used for the outer and inner slides. After you have finished, clean the slides once more as described above. It takes a lot of practice to get good at this one so don't lose hope if you aren't successful the first time out!