TubeNet

Does anyone know what type of leather material is best to make a hanguard for a tuba?

you might find something in a shop for motorcycle-accessoires.
Leather in all shapes and colors.

Wim

Use an acidic variant and you will make an unforgettable impression,

Klaus

imperialbari wrote:Use an acidic variant and you will make an unforgettable impression,

Klaus

Noted. I plan on putting a barrier of some type between the leather and the liner. I was thinking something around a 7 oz topgrain (or less) would probably work.

Try this website: http://www.lscoguard.com/index.php" target="_blank

Owners are Larry and Rita Black. Larry used to play with the ASO. I met them a few years ago when I did a gig with him at a church somewhere. It's been so long I don't even remember where it was. They have a place up in Pisgah Forest, NC. They seemed like good people and offered to do some custom leather stuff for the B&S CC that I had at the time.

I contacted Leather Specialty Co., but did not receive an answer. It's okay, though, my wife and I have done a lot of business with them for our trombones and they've always done great work. I know their business keeps them busy.
On the other hand, on Friday I went to Tandy Leather over in Tucker, GA, and talked with the manager, Jimmy. Long story short, I now have custom leather guards on my tubas that are attractive and functional - plus more than enough to make guards for Ms. Willson (3200S, should arrive Wendesday by Big Brown) and a few more horns. And I can do it myself!

jonesbrass wrote:I contacted Leather Specialty Co., but did not receive an answer. It's okay, though, my wife and I have done a lot of business with them for our trombones and they've always done great work. I know their business keeps them busy.
On the other hand, on Friday I went to Tandy Leather over in Tucker, GA, and talked with the manager, Jimmy. Long story short, I now have custom leather guards on my tubas that are attractive and functional - plus more than enough to make guards for Ms. Willson (3200S, should arrive Wendesday by Big Brown) and a few more horns. And I can do it myself!

Can you post a picture of the 3050 with leather guards?

Thx !

oedipoes wrote: Can you post a picture of the 3050 with leather guards?
Thx !

Yes . . . Here is a front photo of the 3050S, which shows the left side, right side, and small upper bow handguards:

And the back:


Here are the handguards I built for the Cerveny 653:


I think they turned out pretty well. I bought a whole split of vegtable-tanned leather in about a 6 oz. weight, if I remember correctly. Full pictures are here: http://s166.photobucket.com/albums/u116/jonesbrass/
No, the shoes aren't mine . . . they belong to my wife!

oedipoes wrote:you might find something in a shop for motorcycle-accessoires.
Leather in all shapes and colors.

Wim

jonesbrass wrote:I contacted Leather Specialty Co., but did not receive an answer. It's okay, though, my wife and I have done a lot of business with them for our trombones and they've always done great work. I know their business keeps them busy.
On the other hand, on Friday I went to Tandy Leather over in Tucker, GA, and talked with the manager, Jimmy. Long story short, I now have custom leather guards on my tubas that are attractive and functional - plus more than enough to make guards for Ms. Willson (3200S, should arrive Wendesday by Big Brown) and a few more horns. And I can do it myself!

If I'm ever down that way I may have to stop at that place. Thinking about putting guards on the Kalison.

jonesbrass wrote:

oedipoes wrote: Can you post a picture of the 3050 with leather guards?
Thx !

Yes . . . Here is a front photo of the 3050S, which shows the left side, right side, and small upper bow handguards:

I would have preferred them in black, but it looks quite nice !
The 3050 really is monster size...

Wim

oedipoes wrote:
I would have preferred them in black, but it looks quite nice !
The 3050 really is monster size...

Wim

I would have liked them in black, as well, but was concerned that the dye/coloring agent used to make it might be acidic . . . so I went au natural!

Can anyone of you give an approximate price for the work you had done? I am a freak about putting marks on my horn and handguards would be great.

Thank you.

jmerring wrote:Can anyone of you give an approximate price for the work you had done? I am a freak about putting marks on my horn and handguards would be great.

Thank you.

I did the work myself, and only had to put in the time and buy the leather. The split of leather I bought was approximately $85.00 (plus a couple of dollars for 72" shoestrings), but I did all the work myself and still have 3/4 of the leather left over. I understand how you feel about marks on your horn, I'm kind of the same way. Especially knowing the points of contact where my skin meets the horn are the first to wear through the plating/lacquer.

Thank you so much for the information. If I were handy enough, I would tackle the project, wholeheartedly. It seems to be a reasonable price for the materials. Now, I need and adz to puncture the leather and to make sure that I get non-acidic material. Sounds like a plan....except for me being so un-handy!

jmerring wrote:Thank you so much for the information. If I were handy enough, I would tackle the project, wholeheartedly. It seems to be a reasonable price for the materials. Now, I need and adz to puncture the leather and to make sure that I get non-acidic material. Sounds like a plan....except for me being so un-handy!

They have all the tools at Tandy Leather - you'd need a razor blade for cutting the leather, and a large and small hole punch. You can always make a paper version of the guard you want to make, and take it in. Then all you do is trace your design, and you won't even need to buy much leather. Go for it!

Again, I thank you. The resources in this bulletin board are amazing!

jmerring wrote: Now, I need and adz to puncture the leather

Hmm ... most folks use an awl to punch holes in leather rather than an adz/adze, but if you wanna use an adze, be my guest.

Once again, my stupidity is out there. Thank you for the correction.

http://mmis.us/wf/businessWeb/tubaWrap.htm

I have one of these from Kevin Powers' shop, Michigan Musical Instrument Service, and would recommend it.

It is made of really soft brown "glove" leather. The coolest part is that it is self adhesive (think: big sticker) and can be quickly and easily removed for cleaning or adjusting. No laces to mess with. The glue is water based and does NOT leave a residue or otherwise eat into the finish or brass at all. I've had one on my bare brass Alexander for 3 years without any issues.

It comes in a generous length and can be easily trimmed with a razor blade to fit around braces, etc. Mine was a few inches longer than necessary for wrapping around the thumb ring/bell ferulle area, so I trimmed mine a little. It comes with a slit already cut to pull over the thumb ring. His website seems to be having some issues, so I can't get to the ordering section, but if I recall correctly, it was approximately $25.

I have small lace up one on the left hand side of my F tuba. It works and fits fine, but it is an absolute pain to remove and replace for cleaning.