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Ok, so I'm looking at this horn I'm building, and everything looks nice and parallel, until I stand it on the bell - lo and behold, the valve cluster is no longer parallel, noticeably so.

So, I take the set off and re-install it so that when it's on its bell, all is parallel - -



Now, the valve set looks crooked in reference to the bugle, even though it is square with the bell.

The issue is that the radius of the bottom bow is too wide in reference to everything else, so squaring the bugle is only possible if I put a WIDE brace between the bell and top bow, which I DON'T want to do. I think that would look worse than anything else.

I thought of taking the difference between the two, but that would be unsatisfactory all around.

Sooooooooooo, what would you do in this situation?

(Please be kind with your answers, OCD is a tough nut to crack.....)

(delete)

bloke wrote:I understand...
Turn it over and take another picture.
Show us how it's crooked, and how making it look "good" upside-down will leave it looking "good" right-side-up.

It appears to me that the problem would be alleviated if the entire valve assembly was rotated counter-clockwise. You don't need another photo to confirm this because if you turn the picture upside down the valve assembly still looks like it needs to be rotated counter-clockwise.

Here's how it might look if the valve section were magically rotated:
A possible solution, although likely impractical, would be to install a wider top bow.
If the instrument plays well, what the heck.

Hup

Looks fine to me. It's always a bit of a challenge to make things 'look right' from every angle. I usually visually visualize the centerline of the bell and back bow then split the difference.

Thanks for all the comments -

Yes, Dan, excellent point - when mounting a valve nest onto a horn, I like to draw with a marker a vertical line down the center of the bell stack as a reference. Then, as I get things on, occasionally check things with a 2' level. Obsessive, but it's my cross to bear....(Wade, I feel your pain..... )


OK, so I took a good long look at this thing last night, and I noticed that when I put the bugle together, the top bow was tilted slightly out of alignment (to the rear) with the bottom bow. Even a small (1/8 to 1/4", aka nearly imperceptible) deviation at one end will be magnified greatly by the time you get to the other end of the branch. Changing that alignment moved the contact point between the top bow and bell a little farther apart, which also pushed the branch farther away, making it line up better with the center line of the bell.......

After I straightened that out, I removed and remounted the valveset again, and although I still think the bottom bow is about 1/2" wide (these horns were all handmade, and therefore inconsistent), I struck a much better balance with making the valveset parallel to the bugle -



BTW, I'm really happy with how this horn plays, too...very in tune with itself, and the smaller bell flare (17 1/2") gives it a nice punch when you open it up.

Getting there, little by little - next task, the 5th valve circuit.....off to bed now....

That tuba looks great, stop messing with it! But really, that's very impressive, congratulations!

What key?

bort wrote:That tuba looks great, stop messing with it! But really, that's very impressive, congratulations!

Thanks, my eggs are done -

What key?

Old school BBb

Very nice Bob!