modifying a mute

[tallcorndavid]

I have an old mute that fits smaller tubas. I disliked it for a long time; it felt very stuffy. Finally I decided to enlarge the opening at the small end. The mute originally had a 3-1/2" wooden disc with a 1-1/4" hole in the center. [Sorry, no "before" photo; I didn't think of it.] I removed as much material as I dared; see photo. Now the opening is nearly 2-1/2" in diameter. The mute plays a lot better now. I suppose this topic has been covered in other posts?

Can anyone guess who made this mute? I've long since forgotten.