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I have a nice Mirafone 183 lever rack assembly that I intend to use for an upcoming project. It has an oddball replacement 4th lever for a 186, which 1.) has too long of a drop, and 2.) is made from the MUCH SKINNIER nickel bar stock.
The very heavy bar stock in this rack set was used back when tuba players rode dinosaurs bareback through the Neander Valley. I think (a guess) that Miraphone used this style of their lever when they first set up shop until about 1966 or thereabouts. I don't think it has been produced since that time. (Again: This is a guess on my part.)
The oddball 4th lever filled my need, so that leaves me with the rack, three levers, and springs. The threaded end of the hinge rod was snapped off when I received it, so that will be recycled for single levers that I scratch-build. Today, I received a brand new hinge rod with both acorn nuts. It is for a 186 and will have to have the threads extended and about 5/8" trimmed to correctly fit this narrower rack for an Eb tuba.
Now all I need is the heavyweight 4th lever.
One of these things is not like the others. One of these things just isn't the same. (HINT: It's the one on the left.)
A closer examination of these old-style levers shows in the red circles the difference in the lever arm thickness, which is about as thick as the rack itself (and an excellent way to see whether you have what I need). The blue lines show the difference in the drop of the larger 186 levers. They are close, but not the same. The hinge tube is also wider on these old levers. The 186 lever (from the 1970s) is about 1/8" narrower, so it can slide back and forth on the hinge rod between the two tabs. I can fix these size differences. I cannot make the heavy lever, though.
What I want to buy or barter is an old-school Miraphone 4th lever (MUST be 4th as all four are different and are in no way interchangeable). The original "S" arm can be present and pristine, it can be all bent up, or it can be missing. It can be slightly bent. The lacquer can be ruined or even gone. But the heavy lever arm, the hinge tube, and the platen must be in overall good condition.
I am willing to hear your price. Nicer is worth more to me, and junky is worth less, but all genuine Mirafone old-style heavy 4th levers have value to me. If you have one and are not really interested in selling or trading for it, contact me anyway. Maybe I have something you would like to have, or something and some cash. Or cash. Cash is always good.
Please, these are not worth all that much as individual parts, but they are rare and I would really like to have this old lever assembly have all matching parts. PM me with photos and an idea of what you have in mind to let it go. I know what these cost brand new in the current, thinner style and would be willing to pay that price + 50% due to the scarcity of these really old ones. I also have a lot of interesting parts to offer in trade.
Here are two photos that show more detail regarding the difference in thickness of the old levers compared to the newer one on the left.
With the springs removed you can see that the newer lever simply uses less material — It costs a lot less to produce thousands of these versus thousands of the thicker ones. This is reflected even down to the length of the hinge tube, which on the more modern BBb 186 lever is visibly shorter, again, using less material.
I *really* love this lever set, so please help me get what I am seeking if you are able to do so. Again, money, parts, mouthpieces, sheet music — I even have an old Zoom H4 — whatever you will take in exchange for your thick style 4th lever: If I have it it's yours.
Let me know what you have.
Thanks for taking the time to read this!
WR
