If stainless steel/titanium mouthpieces are so much better..

[Chuck(G)]

Believe it or not, some types of stainless are actually easier to spin than brass, which work-hardens quite rapidly and needs to be periodically annealed during the spinning process. But I still wouldn't hold your breath for that stainless tuba with a nice burshed finish...

[Rick Denney]

I can't imagine picking up and carrying around a stainless steel tuba!!!!

LDC.. Who was given a death sentence on his lower back by a spinal surgeon this past year!!!!!

It would not need to be heavier. Steel is stronger than brass by a greater factor than its increased density. Thus, it could be thinner with the same dent resistance, and therefore no heavier. But it would also be not particularly stiffer and therefore would not have much difference in its resonance, even assuming the resonance of the metal is terribly important.

Rick "a skeptic on the effects of materials" Denney

[MartyNeilan]

But I still wouldn't hold your breath for that stainless tuba with a nice burshed finish...

Maybe this guy can build one...


(extra credit if you know who he is)

[Dylan King]

The new spokesmodel for the Gillette Mach III?

[tofu]

But I still wouldn't hold your breath for that stainless tuba with a nice burshed finish...

Maybe this guy can build one...


(extra credit if you know who he is)

Well he resembles Burt (rain drops falling on my head) Bacharach

but definitely would John (Mr. GTO) DeLorean -- do you need a nickel bag to support your failing (delorean) stainless car!

[Chuck(G)]

but definitely would John (Mr. GTO) DeLorean -- do you need a nickel bag to support your failing (delorean) stainless car!

More like a dime bag...

[Jeffrey Hicks]

Technically if Mr Delorean built it wouldn't it be a stainless steel bell and bows but the valve assemby would be an outdated 3 valve french design which would under utilize the beautiful looks that everyone else sees?

[WoodSheddin]

As "stainless" as stainless steel might be it still rusts and corrodes moreso than brass. Perhaps there are better alloy compositions than the stainless steel I have experienced.

Horns fall apart within just a few months, perhaps years, use.

[Dan Schultz]

but definitely would John (Mr. GTO) DeLorean -- do you need a nickel bag to support your failing (delorean) stainless car!

More like a dime bag...

Actually, the DeLorean was not much more than a fiberglass tub like a dune buggy with a bunch of stainless steel panels bonded to it.

They say that Mr. DeLorean followed a white line very well!

[Allen]

It's hard to discuss these different materials, as each term such as "brass," "stainless steel," or even "aluminum," as they can refer to many vastly different alloys. These terma are only slightly more specific than saying that something is made of "metal."

Anyone talking about "stainless steel" without mentioning an alloy number is not talking more specifically than saying something is made of a metal alloy that contains iron and some unknown quantity of chromium and nickel and other stuff (perhaps a lot, perhaps only slightly).

I might as well add that that the term "surgical stainless steel" is merely a marketing term; it does not refer to any particular alloy.

If you want something really tough, look up stainless alloy 310 -- it's only about half iron. I sold some equipment I had designed (made out of that alloy) to a company that suffered a devastating fire. When I went by the next day, everything was in ruins, including many steel machines that had melted. However, that piece of equipment from my company was still standing! Think of a tuba made from that alloy! [Our metalworking vendor complained no end about how hard that stuff was to work.]

Allen

[Kevin Hendrick]

Technically if Mr Delorean built it wouldn't it be a stainless steel bell and bows but the valve assemby would be an outdated 3 valve french design which would under utilize the beautiful looks that everyone else sees?

"Form covers dysfunction"?

... They say that Mr. DeLorean followed a white line very well!

Well, now, that's no mean feat (feet? fete, perhaps?) -- surely nothing to sniff at!

[Art Hovey]

Stainless steel alloys typically have densities between 7 and 8 grams per cubic centimeter. Brasses are between 8.2 and 8.7. Stainless steel is also much stronger than brass. (Just try bending the blade a table knife and a strip of brass with comparable dimensions.) I conclude that a stainless steel tuba would be lighter and stronger than a brass one, and titanium would be even better. BUT stainless steel is much more difficult to solder, and I suspect that may also be a problem for titanium. I think the most promising material is carbon fiber for the bell and the two outermost bows.
The only reason we make instruments out of brass is because it is so easy to work with. The sound of a tuba comes from vibrating air, not vibrating metal.

[Captain Sousie]

Go with AUS-8 or maybe dentric cobalt. If you really want a challenge, make a cast iron tuba.

[Chuck(G)]

BUT stainless steel is much more difficult to solder, and I suspect that may also be a problem for titanium.

Stainless isn't terribly hard to solder using the right flux. I use phosphoric acid when soft-soldering and it works just fine. Titanium, to the best of my knowledge, is like magnesium--it can't be soft-soldered nohow. MIG welding seems to be the standard method--or maybe a good epoxy.

[Rick Denney]

Continuing to discuss the ridiculous, isn't brass generally more malleable and flexible?

Malleable, yes. Brass can be hammered easier with less chance of cracking.

Flexible? Yes, but it's misleading. Brass is only about half as stiff as steel, so it will deflect more under a given stress. I just looked up stainless steel 316, and it's about the same strength as work-hardened brass, and more than twice the strength of annealed brass.

So, when you poke it with a screwdriver, steel will resist deflection with more vigor because it's stiffer. When it does yield, the dents will be shallower. So, steel of the same thickness would be more resistant to dents and punctures.

Rick "suggesting that you compare poking a hole in a car fender versus the bell of that $85K CC helicon" Denney

[JB]

How about a strawberries and cream swirl Kellybrunner?

Had a strawberries and cream swirl Kellyberg once; it was the only one available here when I first tried them.

From a distance it looked pink; because of that I didn't dare get it out around my orchestra colleagues for a try in that setting. (One can only imagine what the pithicanthropus bass trombonensus beside me would've had to say on the matter )


(But since it looked pink, and pink is supposed to create a passive atmosphere, it is ironic that it is now owned by a person who does the militia-band sorta thing! Perhaps it'll calm those blastophones to only stun rather than be set on kill )

[Erin]

But since it looked pink, and pink is supposed to create a passive atmosphere, it is ironic that it is now owned by a person who does the militia-band sorta thing! Perhaps it'll calm those blastophones to only stun rather than be set on kill

Are you and this person still on speaking terms....?

[Captain Sousie]

A lexan tuba would be pretty cool, I have seen glass flutes so, why not a tuba out of lexan?

[Joe Baker]

Rick "suggesting that you compare poking a hole in a car fender versus the bell of that $85K CC helicon" Denney

I dunno, Rick; I think I could stick a screwdriver through a car fender easier than I could through the bell of that helicon.
__________________
Joe Baker, who notes that the greater resistance does NOT come from the metal, but the mind!

[Rick Denney]

I dunno, Rick; I think I could stick a screwdriver through a car fender easier than I could through the bell of that helicon.
__________________
Joe Baker, who notes that the greater resistance does NOT come from the metal, but the mind!

It wouldn't be the resistance of the mind stopping you, but rather the resistance of a mad Memphian.

Rick "who intended the test only for Bloke's consideration" Denney