replacement bell?

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tubatom91
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replacement bell?

Post by tubatom91 »

does anyone know where I can get an upright bell for my mirafone 1270?
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Post by tubatom91 »

does anyone even know what a mirafone 1270 is?
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Post by Dan Schultz »

tubatom91 wrote:does anyone even know what a mirafone 1270 is?
Izzat the serial number that's on the bell?
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Re: ...

Post by tubatom91 »

TubaTinker wrote:
tubatom91 wrote:does anyone even know what a mirafone 1270 is?
Izzat the serial number that's on the bell?
no that is the model # the serialr is 9770
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Post by tubatom91 »

I have already e-mailed Miraphone and they told me that it is a model 1270 made in 1975 I cannot find any other tubas like it the only one close is http://cgi.ebay.com/MIRAFONE-3-VALVE-UP ... dZViewItem
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Post by Chuck(G) »

Why not get the diameter of the bell at the flare and the circumference right above the ferrule at the bottom bow--and the overall height of the bell from the ferrule? With those measurements, some of us with a closet full of bells (I used to keep pancakes in mine) might have something that will work.
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Post by tubatom91 »

you'll have to tell me what a ferrule is first
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Post by JohnMCooper »

tubatom91 wrote:you'll have to tell me what a ferrule is first
The ferrule is the round ring where the bell section attaches to the bottom bow. Essentially it is a coupler, it serves two purposes, one to hide the seam and two to give a much larger surface area to give the soft solder joint strength. There are ferrules at most (if not all) of the joints in the tubing.
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Post by tubatom91 »

ok the ferrule diameter is-5 3/4 in the cicumference is 18 and 1/2 in
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Post by JohnMCooper »

tubatom91 wrote:ok the ferrule diameter is-5 3/4 in the cicumference is 18 and 1/2 in
Ok, good start! Now the distance from the ferrule to the end of the bell and the diameter of the bell.
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Post by tubatom91 »

the bell diameter is 17 inches this bell is a forward angle bell i dont know how to measure this
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Post by JohnMCooper »

Use a tape measure and try to measure along the centerline of the bell along the side that is curved to approximate the length. You will have to eyeball it and that should be good enough for the guys to start checking their "closet full of bells". Do you want to keep the horn bell forward or do you want an upright bell?
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Post by tubatom91 »

i want an upright bell so i can use it in class(my band director doesnt like the overwhelming sound pointed at him) and so I can get a bag for it without any trouble

13in

if it is laying flat on the table the height is around 15 inches
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Post by tubatom91 »

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Post by Dan Schultz »

Tom,

I'm just talking about your removable bell here... What is the ourside diameter of the ring that fits into the receiver on your horn? It might be possible to build an upright bell to fit your horn without giving up your forward facing bell. You might want to have both type bells. Recording bells (forward facing) are really nice to have when you are playing outside.
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Post by tubatom91 »

5 3/4 in same as before
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Post by Dan Schultz »

tubatom91 wrote:5 3/4 in same as before
Gotcha. I thought someone had you measure the ferrule where the bottom bow meets the bell before. I'm not familiar with the model tuba that you have. The odds of anyone having an upright bell for that horn 'just laying around' is pretty slim. If you've already contacted Mirafone or Ed Stregge at Badger State Repair and they can't help you, chances are you will have to have a bell custom made.
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Post by tubatom91 »

yea I think I might just end up getting a new tuba anyways at some point maybe a miraphone 187-4U BBb
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Post by Chuck(G) »

Someone want to measure a King removable bell? It might be close.

Of course, the problem is that there's a fair amount of work involved to get something to fit--short of a drop-in bell that someone has lying around (I don't hang onto removable bells--all I have in my closet are standard full-length upright bells), you're going to have to pay someone bucks-per-hour to build a detachable bell for you.

The question now becomes "Is it economical to do this?". Given that this is a 3-valve older 3/4 sized BBb, I'd say "no, probably not"

Dan?
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