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I went back out tonight and did a little bit more work on this thing, but I did more thinking than I did installing. I think the linkage thing is going to work out okay, and I found something besides Muraphone. I'd really rather keep Miraphone stuff for Miraphone.
I don't know if I'm going to have this all stuck together tomorrow, but I just might...?? If I get it stuck together, I don't think I'm going to get it polished and get lacquer shot on it. That's a little much, and I have other things to do with part of the day.
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Someone also had a solid silver bell King trumpet with a loose lower outside slide tube on the #1 slide circuit.
On a hunch, I pulled a crapped out King single horn out of the attic and checked it's outside slide tubing, and it's the correct size and also yellow brass which makes it a match, so that customer will be happy.

I got into this linkage thing, and realized that I had forgotten that I was missing a stop arm.

Obviously, I can't wait two months for some place (now: Lidl...?? someone else...?? no one...?? design completely changed since the 1980's...??) to mail me a stop arm from eastern Europe, but I do have a few sizes of brass rod.

I don't like going this sort of thing (Wade loves it, and I wish Wade had been here to do this for me), but here's a stop arm that works.
It's far from an exact duplicate - and the two-sided hole that I fashioned looks a bit whittled - but it fits tight and down to the same place on the rotor stem as do 1, 2, and 3...

I also drilled a sub-2mm hole for taping some yet-to-be-determined thread (on top).

bloke "6.5mm height"

I like the pip marks.

arpthark wrote: ↑Tue Mar 07, 2023 2:28 pm I like the pip marks.

It occurred to me, "why not?"

When I got back to this yesterday, I realized that I didn't have any mount screws for the carriage bar (remember? This thing was trashed) and the local small town hardware store had just closed.

I'm just going to use some 8-32's.

My best tap looks like crap on the tip, so I'm going to pick up a new tap as well. (The o.e.m.threads and the carriage mounts - that I found in a drawer of rotary linkage crap - are something slightly smaller than 8-32.)

There wasn't much else to do, because it's sort of hard to adjust paddles and action arms without the carriage bar stabilized.
About all I got done was to stick on some doodads - like strap rings and such, and buffed off a little bit more burned lacquer. I also decided to go ahead and remove a remote (difficult to remove) dent in the armpit of a 90° #1 circuit elbow, which had been the result of an old (discarded) carriage arm getting whacked.
(When I see instruments like this, I can't help but imagine how chaotic those band experiences must have been - based on how badly these instruments are damaged - and how carelessly they were handled. It's pretty depressing to imagine.)
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Earlier, I worked on an old King trumpet (solid silver bell - "Super 20") with a first valve slide thumb saddle. The geometry coming out of the #1 casing didn't match the geometry of the slide, and King ("let's make it nice and strong") used two braces instead of one, so this sucked.
If this guy wants to slide to work nicely, I'm going to have to tear it all apart, and of course those braces are not adjustable in width - and the thickness of the sheet metal of the flanges is already very thin.

I picked the 15th grader's recital, assuming he's my son.

I'm getting back to this tomorrow. Today, I'm resting and working on my ~own~ instrument, dang it!

OK...
This was REALLY easy (and no action arms, obviously), but I ACTUALLY got something significant-LOOKING done on this thing, tonight...

I went though drawers and piles of junk today, and scrounged all the matching screws and links I could manage to scrounge.

I'm headed back to that supermarket-sized hobby shop in Memphis (tomorrow) to pick up two different types of 3mm screws and (only two miles from there) I have another errand to run, so (at least) that's two errands burning the same gasoline.

I've decided to go commando (which sounds the opposite of what I'm meaning, in this instance) and not pack any heat.

Whether I want it to be or not, this thing's destined for completion.

Screws bought...They will all work just fine and look OK.
After doing some work on my own Miraphone (with Mrs. bloke holding the tuba), I just didn't feel like getting this linkage done - nor the bell/mouthpipe stuck on this thing, today. ( ' time to lay down and medicate.)

I feel like crap today...worse than yesterday.

I eventually waddled out to the shop, scrounged up stuff (as I was determined to keep this linkage conversion down to the cost of a few screws and spacers) converted EVERYTHING to M3 threading (as a gesture of kindness to the buyer - drilling, tapping, threading, etc.) and stuck what's-seen-below together.

The links coming off the lever arms are all Jinbao. The fourth valve paddle/lever are mismatched, though Jinbao and that part "blends in" and functions. The Dubro stuff on the stop arm sends were SAE 4-40, but are now M3. I have the same links on my F tuba, installed them prior to 1990, and they've been wonderful/reliable/silent ever since.

As this church will be getting a dent-free shined-up European-made 4-rotor tuba for only $2K (including delivery), I'm just not interested in tossing in a bunch of expensive/premium parts (that would only make a difference as far as "check out this nice linkage" would be concerned). Further, it would function c. 0% better.

What was left of the o.e.m. 1980's Czech linkage (which was crap from Day #1) was mangled, and roughly half of it was missing. I might (??) be able to save what's left to help someone else with their junky '80's Cerveny - which might be missing some linkage parts...

...so here's what I managed to scrounge. It's acceptable, yes?



If I can figure out where Mrs. bloke is (after EVEN MORE coffee and otc meds), I'm probably going to stick the bell and mouthpipe on this thing and (maybe even) make some honking noises. (I'm including a no-name new 7B-lookin' Hb mpc.)

I need to feel a damn sight better, before I can manage to motivate myself to polish and re-lacquer the bell, bottom bow, mouthpipe, and several other repaired individual areas.

Anyway...some horribly abused worthless crap will have been raised from the dead (in time for Easter, no less) and should (??) give some volunteer church musicians a bit of pleasure.

All I can say about the smeary surface, picture resolution, and the lighting is that it appears as though there are dents and unevenness, but there are neither.
If I feel up to it tomorrow, I'll buff it, and - if the humidity is low enough, shoot it.

(just discovered) bummer: friggin' EURO shank and a "LARGE side of euro" shank, at that.
I'll look into this, prior to shooting it...I ain't includin' no fancy-schmancy euro-shank mouthpiece with this outfit.

One of the last things I did was to remove the buttugly mangled lyre holder...Of course, the bell was mushed in underneath it (now: fixed).



It's not quite finished YET, so no end-of-thread device...

I think I'm feeling good enough today to polish this thing up, but something that's been getting worse and worse is that the motor for the polishing room exhaust fan has become clogged with buffing wheel fibers, and I think it's time to take that motor apart and clean all that crap out of there before polishing any more tubas. Hopefully this job will go smoothly. I have taken motors apart before to replace bearings and actually to clean them in this same manner.

OK...no luck with the exhaust fan...
I'll probably look for a 1/3 hp motor with external fins and sealed bearings (rather than open frame and an oil spout)...
...surely can find one used...

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I fabricated a paper-thin Jarno taper sleeve for this tuba that steps the mouthpiece requirement down from (actually) "Alexander" to standard shank.

I played the tuba and it felt stuffy and sounded puny...no leaks / nothing wrong...

Then, I began laughing at myself:
- all stopped up / ears plugged up (sick)
- accustomed to playing a Miraphone model 98

Thanks for posting about this. I enjoyed following this

Here are a couple of "before" pics that the guy at the church requested.

Realize that I was sorta interested in him saying "yes", so these were the most COMPLIMENTARY angles that I could manage.

From OTHER angles, this thing looked MUCH worse (actually FLATTENED ).

notice: NO LINKAGE

also: almost no lighting out in the barn - so low res. means that you really can't ascertain how much damage there actually was.

Am I remembering correctly, or wasn't it this company - back then - that was selling a ton of Cerveny and Besson (just before the Edgware shuttering) stuff...??



After I polish and shoot, I'll put up a couple of "after" pic's (nice outdoor shaded or overcast light), and you'll then see the picture of the conductor and his caboose again...

I voted, today, that I feel more well than sick...

(It REALLY sucked to be sick for a week, well for four days, and sick again - same $h!t - for another week. )

...so today, I got this thing shined and shot.
I could have been tempted to go back tonight and stick it back together, but I believe that - instead - I'm going to allow it to skin over until tomorrow afternoon.



If it appears to you that this old only-1/2-mm-thick bell appears to be just a little bit wavy, (congratulations ) you're absolutely correct.
I burnished it a whole bunch, and (again: only selling it for $2000 bucks, INCLUDING a multi-hours drive to get it to them...UNLESS they come here) I decided that I had done enough, and - previously - the bell stack more resembled the shape of a 2x8 piece of lumber, than a bell.

.

tofu wrote: ↑Sat Mar 18, 2023 5:26 pm For 2K that's a good deal for them. As a kid I would have been thrilled & honored to be handed a school horn like that to play.

I'm not signed on with organized religion...but I do appreciate its patronage (gigs)...so I usually try to cut it some slack, when it buys stuff from me (and particularly when they're having to count their nickels, dimes, and quarters).

tubaing wrote: ↑Fri Mar 17, 2023 6:15 pm Thanks for posting about this. I enjoyed following this

Plus one, I’ve really enjoyed hearing about progress and seeing the photos too.

Nice looking instrument, there are always better instruments but I can’t help thinking that the Church will be getting exceptionally good value for their money. Here’s hoping that they feel the same way too and that you’ve not made a loss on your usual hourly rate - you’ve done a lot of work and but for a free (to you) start point a good $2K instrument wouldn’t have been possible.