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Helicon restoration completed a few moths ago. What can I say.. I've been BUSY!!!



Anyway, for you Helicon enthusiasts, here is a 1905 King BBb helicon. It was originally built for the U.S. Army. I am sure it was in service for quite a while. Its current owner found it in a "junk store" of some sort and purchased it for about $30. He asked if I would "fix it" so he could march in the Eagle's Band the following summer? I said no, but maybe the summer after that... maybe. So he will be marching with it this coming summer (the summer after the summer).



They are quite a bit simpler to restore then tubas or Sousaphones but when they have a century of hard living behind them they can still be a serious workout. The owner received it right after Christmas and he was all smiles. I guess I was in a pretty good spirits myself.



Fred will be a very healthy 85 this year. I am sure he will have a blast dancing with his new baby that happens to be twenty-five years his senior. Neat guy, cool horn.


Daniel C. "Healer of wayward brass" Oberloh

Oberloh Woodwind and Brass Works

Wow! That is just phenomenal!!

Mike Milnarik

SIMPLY A WORK OF ART!
mark

Awesome to see a great vintage horn restored to (probably better than) it's original beauty.

Wow! What a beautiful job.

Now, Dan.... I'm playing another one of these King helicons, about 5 years younger than this one and in a good deal better shape than what you started with. The tone on this old lady is very nice indeed.
You want to do another one?
John Roberts
Wakefield Retired Mens Club Band

For me, personally, I'm not a big fan of satin silver tubas. Then Dan has to go and make something like this...who could not like this??

I like these helicons but, without a removable bell, they must be a little awkward to transport.

I would love to know the serial numbers of both of these Kings so I can compare them to my BBb King upright which is #8094 to see if I can date it. Dan, you saw my King BBb about 15 years ago; it's still my favorite horn.

Wow, that is just soooo beautiful. Nice job! The engraving treatment just adds that much more. What did you do to make it stand out like that?

Is it just me, or does the valve block, with the receiver and leadpipe going straight into the block, and the "loop" transition from the tuning leg to the bugle, look an awful like a Conn from the same era?

iiipopes wrote:Is it just me, or does the valve block, with the receiver and leadpipe going straight into the block, and the "loop" transition from the tuning leg to the bugle, look an awful like a Conn from the same era?

When I first glanced it I thought the same thing and assumed it to be a Conn.

Beautiful job Dan. It is always a treat to see these old ladies brought back to life and how great is it that a guy almost as old as the horn is going to have the thrill of playing it (and the harder job of polishing it)!

I like how the engraving is bright silver on frost silver background. How do you do that Dan?

Neptune wrote:I like how the engraving is bright silver on frost silver background. How do you do that Dan?

Dunno how Dan does it, but usually the horn is buffed to a bright finish, the label masked, and then the whole instrument lightly bead blasted to create the satin surface. Then, it's plated. The tuning slides and the inside of the bell are also not blasted to leave them bright--what the old American catalogs called "satin silver with burnished bell and points".

Rick "thinking it's great until it gets tarnished" Denney

Rick said: "thinking it's great until it gets tarnished"

How does one polish satin silver properly? We had satin silver 20ks for marching at LSU that we never managed to make look as good as we wanted.