I have an old Grand Rapids Eb, a York stencil. The metal is thin like many Yorks, but some spots are super soft. I could likely dent it by squeezing it, or pushing hard with one finger. Is there a way, short of a patch, to reinforce these really soft spots? Why do I see blue pill jokes in the answers?
Re: Soft metal
Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2021 6:00 pm
by LargeTuba
Do Grand Rapids Eb York stencils have the same magic as regular yorks?
Re: Soft metal
Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2021 6:05 pm
by bloke
About the only thing that can be done would be to remove the thin bow(s), solder pieces of brass sheet metal over each end, blob lead solder all over the exterior insertion areas on each end, send it to Anderson...
...and have them copper plate it like copper plating was going out of style.
Once you got it back, you could remove the soldered-on sheet metal from each end (which prevented the interior from being copper plated, and heat-and-remove the blobbed-on lead solder from each end (as the copper plating over the solder will also go away, the ends will still fit inside their respective ferrules).
If the instrument is silver or worn silver, you can have those copper-built-up bows silver plated to hide the copper.
I'd rate the typical thickness of never-refinished York tuba sheet brass to be (no...not "thick", but) "average".
The reason the CSO York is lightweight, is because it has had the guts buffed out of it (by some hack, in my estimation). Old pictures show that it originally sported a satin silver finish. It takes a whole bunch of removal of material to accomplish a smooth bright finish on a formerly-satin-finish instrument.
Re: Soft metal
Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2021 6:12 pm
by Stryk
bloke wrote: ↑Wed Jan 06, 2021 6:05 pm
About the only thing that can be done would be to remove the thin bow(s), solder pieces of brass sheet metal over each end, blob lead solder all over the exterior insertion areas on each end, send it to Anderson...
Interesting. I *KNOW* this old horn is not worth that. It will remain a "wall hanger"!
Re: Soft metal
Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2021 7:19 pm
by bloke
It wouldn’t be worth it to me, but it ain’t mine.
Re: Soft metal
Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2021 8:03 pm
by Mark E. Chachich
I have an old York Monster E flat (I think 1920s), the metal is rather thick. I think that because the previous owners most likely did not buff it into thin metal it is more like the original York tubas.
