Sudden bell damage

[FatCat]

Hello

I pulled my tuba out this morning, and noticed that the bell has unexpectedly become dented with a strange pattern. I'm not sure why this has happened, as I am always very careful.

Here are some images: http://imgur.com/a/rG5uQ" target="_blank

Is this something that can be fixed, and is there any way that I can prevent this from occurring in the future?

[FatCat]

Thanks guys

I guess I will need to be more careful in the future.

Is this sort of damage difficult to repair?

[UDELBR]

From my experience, most instrument "repair" guys or gals hate having to reshape old Mirafone bells. I don't blame them, it's very hard because the metal is so thick like a Panzer Tank.

Really? I had one from the 70s, and the metal was pretty thin. Repairmen aren't happy seeing these horns because in damage like this, it's hard to make the garland (aka: "kranz") fit the bell again after repairs.

[FatCat]

Mine's from the 70s, and the metal doesn't seem too thick, so hopefully it won't be too hard to fix.

I will take it down to the repair shop and see how much it will cost me...

[TheGoyWonder]

squarely within category of "sh** happens". Exactly where you'd expect to see damage if it took a hit within the case. It makes me cringe when I see cases driven off curbs or down stairs.
not expensive to fix unless the kranz has to come off (don't think so).

[Dan Schultz]

..... Late 50's early 1960's horns had thicker metal apparently. I've personally tried taking the hammer to them to pound out dents in a workshop and they take a lot of work, very thick metal. Garlands are also very hard to replace as well. It's common knowledge they were thicker then, that's why everyone trips over themselves whenever one of the early ones comes up for sale.

The damage I'm seeing in the original post is very common and is caused by compression directly on the bell rim either from being set down too hard on the bell or just striking against something while the horn is in a bag or case.

I've 'worked over' probably a hundred Miraphone bells from that era and it's been my experience that the brass is actually quite thin at the outer edges. The primary reason for the kranz is to hold the wire onto the flare and offer some stability to the very thin metal.

One thing I have noticed that you may be confusing with 'thickness' is that the thinner portion of the flare seems to have a harder temper than the rest of the bell which can make straightening a bell a bit tougher. Dents tend to spring back.

There is a good chance those waves will roll out without having to remove the kranz from the flare but that's going to depend more on how much dirt and debris has found it's way in between the kranz and the flare. Plus... I've seen many instances where a repairman has run globs of solder between the kranz and the flare to stop buzzing.

[MaryAnn]

I ended up with a very strange dent in my horn bell. I had gone to an adjacent state for a double purpose, to visit a friend and to drop my horn off to be cleaned at a custom maker's place. When I picked it up, he said, that bell was really hard to fix and I didn't get all of it. And I said, "My bell was not dented." He said, "Oh yes it was, and badly too; the edge was pushed in." And yes it was not "totally fixed" either because that would have required unrolling the rim....
I was really pissed until, much later, I figured out that it was the trip over in the gig bag, upright in the back seat, bouncing up and down for 350 miles, that caused the damage to the bell. Repeated whacks that took their toll. Since I figured it out, there is a two inch foam pad under the horn when it travels in the car with me in the back seat. Possibly your tuba was riding somewhere bell down, and repeated whacks during travel did this to it.
Me, I then went to a cut bell case, and forthwith dropped the bell after taking it off and dented it badly, much worse than before I started, and then I went back to the gig bag and just accepted that I am a klutz.

[toobagrowl]

I once worked on an old Mirafone 186 BBb (circa 1960). The metal was definitely thinner-gauge and softer than the modern ones. Almost as thin-gauge as Cerveny or Alex, but not quite. It was fairly easy to hammer/smooth out the bell creases. But the kranz was in the way of getting the bell totally smoothed out. It would have needed to be un-soldered to do that -- too much work for me and I did it for free for a friend. I just did what I could with the kranz on. Nice old tuba.

I agree that the bell damaged posted here prolly happened in the case/bag.

[sailn2ba]

Hmm. The pattern's a bit strange, but I had a mysterious straight-across crease on my Cerveny 681 bell (no kranz). . . years ago, now. I got a Cerveny 686. . . larger diameter bell, and it fit into the same hard case. However, the outboard side of the bell was an inch or less away from the boundary of the case. (I use a pad now.)
I realize now that the 681's bell crease exactly seats with the gap between the case and the original bell. I'm absolutely certain that the generic hard case didn't fit the horn, and that the whole horn is heavy enough to reform (dent) the bell to the case dimensions when the case is put down hard on the big end.

[sailn2ba]

sorry. . . the INBOARD side of the bell was clear of the case, putting any pressure on the opposite side.