King 18" bell?

[gravy_mbsm]

Hey everybody,

I've been looking around for a King 18 inch bell? Let me know you guys have one or know of somebody who does.

[The Big Ben]

Not enough info. What do you want to do with it?

[EdFirth]

The Bill Bell C's had 16'inch bells. I know there weren't many but they had the same tenons as the 1240/41 tubas and the sousaphones.FWIW, Ed

[gravy_mbsm]

Sorry for the lack of the info. I'm trying to find a bell that I can attach or fix to attach to a king sousaphone to make it a ran catcher or a helicon.

[The Big Ben]

Sorry for the lack of the info. I'm trying to find a bell that I can attach or fix to attach to a king sousaphone to make it a ran catcher or a helicon.

Ah, hah... I'm not sure there is a bell which could be attached directly without modifications to make a helicon out of a sousie.

Here's a link to Tuba Tinker's page about creating a helicon out of a sousie. He has big pages so keep scrolling down until you find it. It is there. He posts here frequently so maybe he can chime in with some information.

http://www.thevillagetinker.com/projects.htm" target="_blank

[T. J. Ricer]

You should be able to use the upright bells from the 1240/1241/2340/2341 to make a pseudo-Raincatcher, if you’ve got the “normal” King 4/4 sousaphone. It won’t be the perfect angle, but it’s pretty close. You may have to pull your slide out a good bit since it’s a shorter bell. I think they come in 19” and 22” bell sizes. I’d go with the 22” if I was trying to make an authentic-ish Raincatcher. A smaller bell is probably closer to right for a helicon. Maybe a Yamaha 201 full bell stack or something like it could work if you remove the last turn from the sousaphone to make a helicon?

On a barely-related note, I’d love to have a removable bell in any size from 15-18” for a King concert tuba, if anyone has one laying around. More like those old Bill Bell Kings and less pancake...

[T. J. Ricer]

That all sounds right... is cutting a bell a normal or simple thing for a repair tech?

Btw, here’s a video of me using an almost-Raincatcher. This one is a Martin Mammoth with a Kanstul upright bell, but I think the King Sousa with the 2341 upright would have about the same bell angle.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YoO_6ob1HyM

-T. J.