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A couple of months ago I was looking around for rings that I might use on one of my instruments. Ultimately I decided not to put one on, but in the process I did accomplish some exploration of what's available. Without trying to reconstruct the details I decided that if I did want to add one, I'd make it myself rather than try to buy any that are currently available. The only ready-made ones I was really interested in are from Voigt (http://www.voigt-brass.de/gxshop/index. ... INGE.html&), but I never went so far as to inquire about cost. However, they look really nice.

If you want to roll your own, there are a lot of quite good brass rings available out there from several sources (very inexpensive -- take a look on Ebay). Then it's a matter of fabricating the base (or getting one from one of the usual suppliers. Soldering (silver-soldering?) the ring to the base, and attaching to the instrument. Making an adjustable one (a la Voigt) is is not out of the question, but does require significant effort. So if I really wanted one of those, I'd probably bite the bullet and get one from them.

I'm a little partial to the Marzan (Bohm & Meinl) thumbrings but even those I normally turn out the inside diameter an additional 1/8" (roughly).

I guess the next 'stock' thumbring would be the older Mirafone ones but the backing plate pretty much restricts them to rotary tubas.

Take a look at the latest offering from Allied for Kings tubas. They are waaay larger in diameter than the old ones yet have the same profile.

The thumbrings for most older US-made tubas must have been made for folks a heck of a lot smaller than I am!

Here's an image of the old and new King thumbrings for comparison:

Just as a matter of curiosity left over from when I was thinking of fabricating one of these (from some very nice brass rings of different sizes that I acquired but never used ), is the ring/base joint silver soldered? Or brazed? I'm assuming it's not soft soldered for a couple of different reasons.

The thumbring Willson uses on their horns. I have one and it is easily the most comfortable I've ever had. It is the really large thickness type which is very smooth and easy on the thumb. They are even adjustable.

ghmerrill wrote:Just as a matter of curiosity left over from when I was thinking of fabricating one of these (from some very nice brass rings of different sizes that I acquired but never used ), is the ring/base joint silver soldered? Or brazed? I'm assuming it's not soft soldered for a couple of different reasons.

I use 33% silver alloy to attach rings to back plates. You'll need brazing temperature to do that. Concentrate the heat on the ring or you'll be making a new back plate!. 3% silver might work OK but the sub-assembly would fall apart when attaching it to the horn.

The rims off old trombone mouthpieces make nice thumbrings and have enough 'beef' to them to drill and tap a hole for a piece of threaded rod to make detachable ones. Chunks of brass large enough to make a good sized ring gets expensive.

If the current ring is cutting into your thumb, try slitting a piece of aquarium airline tubing down the middle and sliding it over the inside of the ring. Not pretty, but a decent fix until you can get a better one.

Here's a quick photo of my thumbring.

TubaTinker wrote: I use 33% silver alloy to attach rings to back plates. You'll need brazing temperature to do that. Concentrate the heat on the ring or you'll be making a new back plate!. 3% silver might work OK but the sub-assembly would fall apart when attaching it to the horn.

The rims off old trombone mouthpieces make nice thumbrings and have enough 'beef' to them to drill and tap a hole for a piece of threaded rod to make detachable ones. Chunks of brass large enough to make a good sized ring gets expensive.

Thanks Dan. Pretty much what I figured about the temp and issues with using softer solders. Also about the danger of melting the back plate . The paradox of brass: you need to braze the parts together so they don't melt apart when you solder the base plate to the instrument; but brazing introduces the danger of melting the parts as you're trying to assemble them.

What I acquired (for only a few dollars) were some solid (no welds) brass rings from a scuba supply place. Apparently the scuba guys uses these for strapping equipment together. They seem to be quite high quality. The ones that look the best for tuba use are 1" ID and 3/16" thick. If you look around, you can easily find 1/4" thick ones and different diameters. Like I say, I haven't actually used these. Got them from Reef Scuba (reefscuba.com) in VA. They aren't as beefy as trombone mouthpiece rims, but would be good for brazing/soldering.

I like the thumb ring Dan Oberloh made for my Holton 345. Its big enough that my thumb never gets stuck in it and yet comfortable to grip. See the photo essay on how he makes them here:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9824&p=327978&hilit ... ng#p327978

Just scroll down to see the photos and read his explanation.

Bandmaster wrote:I like the thumb ring Dan Oberloh made for my Holton 345. Its big enough that my thumb never gets stuck in it and yet comfortable to grip. See the photo essay on how he makes them here:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9824&p=327978&hilit ... ng#p327978

Just scroll down to see the photos and read his explanation.

+1

I am going to have Dan put one of those on my horn.

Greg wrote:I agree with Jay, the big rounded Willson thumb ring is really nice. I also like the ring on the Hirsbrunners.

Willson thumbrings are great especially for large hands.

bloke wrote:old style 20K thumb ring

+1

Banged up old Bach 18 rim. Halfazzed cut off from cup while spinning in a bench motor. Fine filing and finish work done freehand with a too small rat tail file. Awesome thumb ring.

The thumbring from my Besson 983 is really comfortable. It is big and heavy and rounded. Unfortunately it is designed to clamp onto the valve tubing in such a way that there is no way to put it in a comfortable position and therefore it hasn't been on the tuba more for more than a few minutes since I bought it. If I could find a good spot for it, the ring itself is very comfortable.