does any body know how to check for air leaks at home with out taking it to the shop?

get a tube light/florescnet light or however you spell it and put it down in the saxophone, turn off teh lights in teh room, turn on the tube light and close the pads and see if you see light coming out. if so it leaks

What wildband is talking about is a flexible tube light which many repair shops use. If you`re an amateur repairman, and want to fix your saxophone yourself, you can buy repair accessories and equipment from here:

http://musicmedic.com/

Thomas