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hemituba wrote:I am a band director and have inherited an old trumpet. The bell has been completely ripped off. I wanted to use this as an opportunity to experiment with repair techniques. What would be the best way to reattach the bell? I have a soldering iron but need to know what to use with it. This horn was free and does not belong to the school so there is no risk of loss involved. Repair technicians please enlighten me.

1. You need to straighten all the parts so that they fit together perfectly. That will require removing the residue of solder from the joints, which you can scrape away using a broach.

2. Put the soldering iron down. It won't put enough into into that big heatsink to flow the solder. You need a torch. Hint: A propane torch will actually work, though the flame can't be controlled the way most repair techs would want.

3. You'll need the proper solder. Do not use plumbing solder, which has no lead and tends to have no plastic zone. Get some 60-40 or 70-30, solid-core.

4. You'll need an acid flux, which comes in a bottle with a brush. I have been able to do stuff with acid flux paste for plumbing work, but it makes a terrible mess. You must clean all the flux off after you are done.

5. It requires lots of practice to put the solder where it's needed and not everywhere else. There are tricks here. Try practicing with scraps of brass from the hobby store before pointing the flame at the instrument.

6. Scrape away the excess solder using a sharp broach. The better you are, the less of this you have to do.

7. Buff.

8. http://www.ferreestools.com Get their catalog. Start with the Erik Brand repair manual.

Rick "who went down this road far enough to appreciate what a good tech can do" Denney

hemituba wrote:Thanks for the help Rick. The only problem I have is the ability to strighten the bell. It is ripped off right in the middle of the flare. I did already start the straighten what I could to match all the parts. I will definitely check out the site. Thanks again.

With that kind of damage, you might need a parts horn/s. The bell is usually the part that gets boogered up the worst but you might be able to find another bent horn that has a better bell to use.

It's sort of fun to fix damage like that ... just to see if you can. But... it would be much easier to just replace the bell. What kind of trumpet is it? I have a bunch of student Bach bells and I would be glad to just send you one for the cost of the postage.

bloke wrote:I'm 35 - 50 minutes straight east of you in Fayette County. If you've never met me before or been to my shop before, I'm willing to reattach the bell for you for FREE while-u-watch. You can also have a look at the tail-end of a B&S rotary tuba complete restoration I'm doing.

Send me an email. (Click on the picture of an envelope to the right.)

- Joe

OP: Do this.

/thread

Blokes offer is the best deal you could have ever gotten! There is no better way to learn than by watching a highly-skilled professional, nor no worse way than to try something well beyond your skill level.

goodgigs wrote: . . . . On u-tube are many videos on this subject.
I found four from Bagger State Repair (emergency repair). . . .

AKO BADGER State Repair.

I recommend reading this book, if not available in a local library, then on line: The Band Director's Guide to Instrument Repair, R. F. Meyer, Alfred Pub Co (June 1973).

Please do see Bloke. What a deal!