Bell Construction - from scratch!?

[Chuck(G)]

Have a look at these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqgJ1ycL16Y
http://www.zacharymusic.com/Zachary_Music/Factory.htm

Yeah, I know they're trumpets, but you'll get the idea.

Modern tuba bell manufacture involves a metal-spinning lathe where the rough bell shape is forced onto a spinning form. A good spinner is worth his weight in gold. You can imagine the size of lathe needed for a tuba bell.

[Rick Denney]

A good spinner is worth his weight in gold.

He's probably heavier than his volume in gold, too. The lathe is a huge hunk of iron, and the burnisher the spinner uses is steel and about the size of a baseball bat.

Rick "thinking there is a reason early brass instruments had not much bell flare" Denney

[Daniel C. Oberloh]

This should help. check out there video.

http://www.schallstueck.de/english/index.htm

Daniel C. Oberloh
Oberloh Woodwind and Brass Works
www.oberloh.com

[Chuck(G)]

I think it's remarkable that the guy in the German video seemingly doesn't wear gloves. I wonder how much blood has been spilled on that shop floor over the years?

[Dean E]

I've been currious to know exactly what would go into constructing a bell from scratch. I've done some searching on the net, and all I can find out is that an "apron-like" patern is molded into the shape of the new bell. I'm certain the work involved would be beyond any hobbyists ability, but I'd sure like to know if any of you have ever tried this!
<snip>

Looks like a woodcut engraving of early-industrial methods from the Dutch Tuba site:


Meinl-weston's site has a few snapshots.
http://www.meinl-weston.com/virtualtour.htm

[Daniel C. Oberloh]

Its good to see folks take an interest. The equipment is very expensive and custom bell mandrels can be even more so. I have done a little in the past and studied on and off with a master metal spinner a while back. It is a difficult skill to obtain but once you have a go, you are ether hooked or you never want to do it again. One thing I can tell you is after a short time on the lathe your arm-pit is aching and you have worked up a real sweat. I managed to get it out of my system and now have no reservation about contracting bell fabrication to one who does nothing but.



Yours truly doing the deed. What was I thinking French horn bells are an interesting project, sure.... I should have been locked up in a padded sell until the urge passed.



If you want, you can make your own tools but it takes a lot of time and effort. Thats what I did. Learned a lot at considderable expence and a better man for it. Still, glad I got it out of my system.

Daniel C. Oberloh
Oberloh Woodwind and Brass Works
Seattle, WA
206.241.5767
www.oberloh.com

[Art Hovey]

What I want to see is how to make a tuba belll and bottom bow out of carbon fiber. -Anyone?

[Chuck(G)]

Just the thing for those BBBb tuba bells:

[Daniel C. Oberloh]

Nope, not big enough.

Daniel C. Oberloh

[Steve Inman]

http://home.planet.nl/~tubaness/How2.htm

This site may also be of some interest, if you want to fabricate your own shorter/smaller piece of tubing.

Cheers,

[Chuck(G)]

Nope, not big enough.

Daniel C. Oberloh

You're right:



I love to watch industrial videos:

http://www.leifeldspinning.com/images/m ... %20web.WMV

I recall seeing a segment on PBS where one of these big automatic spinning machines was fed a stack of stainless steel discs and was turning out woks, one right after the other. It was truly inspirational.

[Daniel C. Oberloh]

Adaboy, now your cooking with gas.


Daniel C. Oberloh

[Chuck(G)]

I was thinking--if someone just wanted to fool with bell geometries without going to the expense and trouble of spinning a bell, why not try the segmented "morning glory" horn approach that you see on old Victrolas?



It seems as if you should be able to get a good idea of acoustical performance.

[UDELBR]

I'm certain the work involved would be beyond any hobbyists ability, but I'd sure like to know if any of you have ever tried this!

It's not entirely beyond the scope of the shade-tree builder; I've done it. I'm the first to admit that I'd never accept work like this from a professional shop, and I'll add that it looks like some of Paul Revere's worst pewter work dropped from the back of a horse. Criminally oogly. But it CAN be done, and it works.

A lathe woulda been handy(!), but you figure they didn't lathe those primitive trumpet bells 500 years ago. The hardest concept to get was that of the rim bead: a larger circumference circle being bent back upon itself to form a smaller circumference. Tough not to get wrinkles when you're 'shrinking' metal.

BTW, this bell is 35cm across. It was a 6 valve F based on the bottom bow of a euphonium. I made everything except the valves and bottom bow from sheet brass.

[rwiegand]

This has been one of the best threads in a long time--loved the Mr. Rogers video.

I have a slightly different (and somewhat off-topic) problem. I'm having a fairground (carousel) organ built and we're having some issues in sourcing the brass clarinet rank and the brass trumpets and trombones. We've got a guy who is supposed to make the trumpets and trombones, but I'd like a backup, and he won't do the clarinets (which ought to be simpler). These are the resonators on reed pipes. I wonder if any of you who bend brass for a living would either be willing to 1) think about making these, or 2) point me to someone who might. I'll also follow up with the sources already pointed out in this thread.

Here are pictures of the tops I'm looking for:

This is a clarinet rank--a cylinder with a conical bottom.



These are trombones and trumpets:



Any leads will be appreciated.

[windshieldbug]

I was thinking--if someone just wanted to fool with bell geometries without going to the expense and trouble of spinning a bell, why not try the segmented "morning glory" horn approach that you see on old Victrolas?



It seems as if you should be able to get a good idea of acoustical performance.

Heck; they even SOLD some of these...



Reidl Arigra trumpet

[UDELBR]

Cool! Would you happen to have any more pictures for us to oogle at?

Nope. The body of that horn is still around, but the valves moved on to other projects. That axe played well, but not well enough not to canabalize it.