vinyl bands that clipped on to tuba bell rims

[Mojo workin']

Does anybody sell them? I tried razor knifing some 3/8" clear plastic tube in half and all I got was a squiggly line that looked like crap. It would be nice to have a manufactured one that was evenly cut.

[Ace]

There was a vinyl band on my new MW 2145 that I received in the late 1990's.

Ace

[Dan Schultz]

Does anybody sell them? I tried razor knifing some 3/8" clear plastic tube in half and all I got was a squiggly line that looked like crap. It would be nice to have a manufactured one that was evenly cut.

I keep split vinyl tubing on most all of my bells. 5/16" ID works well for most applications. I also often send out customer's horns with tubing on the rim. I split vinyl icemaker tubing hundreds of feet at a time with a very simply little jig....

In a piece of soft wood, drill a hole a bit larger than the tubing you want to split. Imbed a single-edged razor blade into the wood so it 'hangs out' into the hole far enough to go through one wall of the tubing. Once the tubing is pushed through the hole far enough to grab it... just draw the rest of the tubing through the hole. In thirty seconds, you'll have enough tubing split to last a lifetime!

[ZIMETMUS]

Brilliant!

[iiipopes]

Does anybody sell them? I tried razor knifing some 3/8" clear plastic tube in half and all I got was a squiggly line that looked like crap. It would be nice to have a manufactured one that was evenly cut.

I keep split vinyl tubing on most all of my bells. 5/16" ID works well for most applications. I also often send out customer's horns with tubing on the rim. I split vinyl icemaker tubing hundreds of feet at a time with a very simply little jig....

In a piece of soft wood, drill a hole a bit larger than the tubing you want to split. Imbed a single-edged razor blade into the wood so it 'hangs out' into the hole far enough to go through one wall of the tubing. Once the tubing is pushed through the hole far enough to grab it... just draw the rest of the tubing through the hole. In thirty seconds, you'll have enough tubing split to last a lifetime!

+1! What Dan said! That's what I have done for the instruments I have owned. albeit with an open-faced version rather than the permanent jig as described. Once split, the tubing can be fitted onto a bell very easily by back-bending the tubing to open the split as it is fitted on the bell rim. It damps the overring very, very well, helping centering and intonation as well. The last tuba I saw with it as a factory item was a few years ago a bass trombone playing friend who has just retired from conducting high school bands had one on a M-W 11.

[TheHatTuba]

My 2013 MW and 90's Rudy came with one and I think Gronitz tubas come with them. To make one, clamp one end in a vice and have someone hold/pull it tightly. Then, take a utility knife and run it along the tubing. Generally, you can make it pretty darn straight (no wobbles and zig zags).

[Reptilian]

I test-played several brand new MW horns including a Thor, Fafner, a gang of F's, and what was supposedly the last Baer 6450 that will be shipped to the US market about two months ago. All horns were unwrapped in front of me and had the bell ring.



It was a good day, BTW

[Steve Marcus]

what was supposedly the last Baer 6450 that will be shipped to the US market

What is the replacement for the 6450 and 6450/2? Or is Buffet-Crampon (parent company of M-W) simply not offering it to the US market any longer?

[ghmerrill]

I needed a little visualization help in terms of constructing a jig. Found this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Q2OzraoxRE" target="_blank" target="_blank

[Dan Schultz]

I needed a little visualization help in terms of constructing a jig. Found this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Q2OzraoxRE

Some neat little details in that video!

That's a little fancier that a hole drilled through a piece of wood with a razor blade hanging into the hole but the effect is the same.

[PaulTkachenko]

You can buy it off the shelf in Germany:

http://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_schall ... ng30cm.htm" target="_blank

[Dan Schultz]

You can buy it off the shelf in Germany:

http://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_schall ... ng30cm.htm" target="_blank" target="_blank

There's something to be said about buying something 'ready made'. But... that's a pretty hefty mark-up for tubing that costs about thirty cents a foot!

[ghmerrill]

I think I'll forego ordering the "ready-made" from Germany.

I just got 20' of 5/16" vinyl tubing at Lowes for $4.48. That's enough for my two tubas.

Having just cleaned the rubble heap that is my garage/shop and rediscovered drill press and the 7' tall band saw, I am about to make the jig.

[MartyNeilan]

Fwiw, some people may file these under snake oil, but on my very thin nearly century old BART bell, having split tubing tightly wrapped around the bell rim makes a big difference. I had been working on the horn about a week ago and started playing it with the tubing removed. My wife immediately noticed the difference and asked me what I had changed.

[Dan Schultz]

I have an old butter knife that I heat with my acetylene torch until it is glowing. I lock the handle in a small vise on my bench with the blade horizontally flat. After heating it I press both ends on it until gooey and then press them together and spray with water to cool until the joint is firm. Then I set the ring on a flat surface and allow it to harden up for about ten minutes. I trim any flashing with my trusty Exacto knife. Et voila!

I suspect that's pretty much the way they do it at the factory. We used to refer to this in the plastics as 'hot plate welding'. 'Whiffle Balls' are made the same way!

[ghmerrill]

Splitting the tubing has been addressed. How about permanently joining the ends?
...
What's your solution, TNFJ?

I guess I don't see the problem for which a solution is being sought. I just made the jig, slit a length, and put it on the (17") bell of my 1934 Buescher. It fits on very firmly and the ends meet. But I don't see any point to joining them.

What am I missing?

I guess if I did see a need for this, I might cut a very short overlap piece and find some sort of superglue that would work. Otherwise the hot weld approach. But I just don't see the point. I expect that if I end up putting it on and taking it off repeatedly, it would also end up stretching, and so I wouldn't want it fused since I'd want to be able to trim it down in that case.

(Whatever one thinks of how this may or may not affect the sound of the instrument, I think it adds a little additional protection to the rim and is a real advantage when putting horn bell down on various types of floor -- which I almost never do, but there are times ...)

[MartyNeilan]

I have about a three inch overlap. I make sure to stretch the tubing as I pull it around, to keep enough tension on it. On a horn like mine, that slight difference in cosmetics vs. having perfectly joined ends is irrelevant.

[euphomate]

A bit off topic, but my method of avoiding damage to the bell is to use a K&M stand designed to set the tuba in (upright) when not being played. No scratches, no dents, no need to watch what damage others are trying to inflict on the horn with clumsy feet or careless chair and music stand placement. Place the EEb comp in front of me, between self and my music stand, no searching for space and a place to set it down on the bell, the water runs to the water key end rather than around the bends. Sure they cost more than a length of tubing, but cheaper than the last lot of dent repair on the bell.