GRAFTON Spare Body Tube (Serial Number: 12000) Back to model

The single largest problem facing the Grafton Company was that their horns cracked. Instead of denting like a normal brass saxophone, the Grafton would either crack or shatter upon impact. Grafton addressed this problem by offering spare body tubes. These spare body tubes were almost always stamped with serial number 12000. Thus, if you find a Grafton with serial number 12000, its almost certain that its body tube has been replaced at some point in the past.

Here you see an example of one of these spare body tubes. It would come with of without key guards. Repairmen having experience with Grafton saxophones would always order the tube with key guards. They had learned from experience that transferring key guards from one Grafton to another can be met with varying levels of success. The parts needed to fit perfectly because unlike metal which could be slightly bent into place, plastic parts were far less adaptable.