Mouthpiece restoration

[Daniel C. Oberloh]

Harold mentioned the Keefer mouthpieces he recently acquired from me. I thought I would share a few images that demonstrate the extent that such old ugly mouthpieces can be restored. The first two images are of a Keefer no. 7 tuba mpc that had been rolling around in the back of my truck for about three years.



When taking a load of trash to the dump, I found the mpc. and instead of tossing it, I brought it back to the shop where it was turned and refinished. I then masked and bead-blasted it. It was then sent out to be silver plated. As soon as I got it back, Harold took it! He must have liked it a lot. I did not get a chance to take an image, perhaps I can have him bring it back so I can do so.



The stainless steel mouthpieces that are so popular today, I find to be rather boring and uninteresting both in shape and finish. I prefer brass as it has the option of bright, sating textures and can be plated in silver and gold. In addition to its machinability that allows it to be turned in such ornate patterns, brass can also be done in multiple textures as well as plated finishes. Also, it is easy to hand engrave making it even more interesting and beautiful. I personally like the feel much better then stainless but thats just me.



The No. 8 was purchased by Harold with a really nice BBb York tuba. The mouthpiece was as rough as the no. 7, if not more so. I thought it would be nice to refinish it in a satin and bright gold plate. Turned out quite nice.



I enjoy refinishing a mouthpiece now and then but when I first started restoring band instruments, I found mouthpieces were also part of the job. I did them in great numbers. In fact, the first time, when I was in repair school, I did over 250 as a group. I think the instructor had it out for me and was punishing me for some reason but hey, I got good at it and my mouthpiece work later got me a job in a silversmithing shop. It is tricky to do well but with a little practice, what most would think a so-so fishing weight, can be turned into a true gem.

Daniel C. Oberloh
Oberloh Woodwind and Brass Works
Seattle, WA

[scottw]

Truly a beautiful restoration, Dan! Fine art in any form is to be admired. My question regarding mouthpieces is having to do with the rim: with a mouthpiece that has rolled around a truck for years, there must surely be pits, scratches, gouges, etc. in the rim? If so, how do you get rid of these without compromising the original contours of the rim?

[TubaRay]

I thought it would be nice to refinish it in a satin and bright gold plate. Turned out quite nice.

Daniel C. Oberloh
Oberloh Woodwind and Brass Works
Seattle, WA

That is quite an understatement. What absolutely wonderful work!

[iiipopes]

Re: pits and scuffs in the rim -- I'm not sure Dan will tell all his secrets. If he did, he might then have to.........

Beautiful work.

[ASTuba]

Re: pits and scuffs in the rim -- I'm not sure Dan will tell all his secrets. If he did, he might then have to.........

Beautiful work.

I know some mouthpiece restorers will fill in the pits in the rim with low temperature silver solder. I'm not sure how Dan does this, but just one idea.

[Dennis K.]

Dan,
Just out of curiosity, what is a ballpark price range for mouthpiece restoration?
I have an early Monette TT5. It has some plating wear, shank has been out-of-round and re-rounded, the rim once met my driveway.

[Daniel C. Oberloh]

My question regarding mouthpieces is having to do with the rim: with a mouthpiece that has rolled around a truck for years, there must surely be pits, scratches, gouges, etc. in the rim? If so, how do you get rid of these without compromising the original contours of the rim?

When restoring the rim, it depends on the condition as to how I will approach it. If the plating is good and thick, and the rime is simply marred from say: hitting the sidewalk!, I will burnish the metal back into the pitted area of the rim. The mouthpiece is turned on the proper arbor, beeswax is applied and very highly polished hand burnisher is employed. It takes a good eye and a relatively strong wrist. The rim is then polished. If the rim is badly damaged and the pitting is now more of a gouge or crater; the same process is applied but I will also use a special shaped, very hard and highly polished hammer that will help me push the metal back in to the gouged area. This process is also used on mouthpieces that have good plating, it just depends on where the damage is and how bad. I will then burnish and finally shave the surface by hand using a very fine and sharp scraper. A little more burnishing, followed with a light wet sanding and a fine polish and its ready to plate. Simple enough? ...... Rrriiiight. Keep in mind that if your dealing with old, rare and unusual specimens that are beat up badly to the point that the exact rime dimensions have for the most part been lost, all one can do is make your best guess and test once the rim is completed. This is not a wise or viable approach for the novice, if it is to be performed on a valuable piece or that of a client. One must exercise great caution when freehand cutting a rim simply because once the metal if removed, putting it back on is really not an option.

The filling method Andy mentioned is tricky but can work nicely. I have silver soldered and filled pits but that was only on the most valuable and irreplaceable of mouthpieces as this takes time and can get a bit spendy. It is not as simple as it sounds because during the polishing process, solders will erode at a higher rate then the brass leaving an indentation in the rim. I will shave the soldered rime, wet sand and hand polish while turning the piec on an arbor to help minimize or avoid this all together, I will follow with a little more burnishing and then off to plate.

Restoring the pieces shown runs $40-$60, gold plate adds a little but not to much. I tend to do these on a case by case basis. Thanks for your interest as well as the kind words.


Daniel C. Oberloh

[Mark]

I have two mouthpieces that Dan refinished for me in a gold plate similar to the pictures above. They are even better looking in person.

Mark

[Daniel C. Oberloh]

Harold brought by the Keefer 7 the other day so I could get an image. So here it is before and after.





Nasty and ugly!



Shiney as a new dime.

D.C. Oberloh
www.oberloh.com

[kegmcnabb]

Wow,

Beautiful work! What about MP's that have small cracks at the end of the shank? Can those be repaired or is it all over at that point? I have a Marzan MP that I really like the feel of but it has a couple of small cracks at the end.

I love seeing examples of your work, Dan. It may be "horn dorn" but keep it coming.

[XtremeEuph]

Lol yeah I love that work, I should get that done some time!