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I seem to remember someone, possibly @the elephant or @Yorkboy , purchasing brace socket feet separately, then brazing them to brass or nickel sheet to make their own braces.

1) Where can I find brace sockets?

2) What thickness of brass sheet would be appropriate for the feet?

3) Where to buy said sheet brass?

4) Good methods for cutting sheet brass? Tin snips?

Thanks all!

Yes, I made my own brace feet, and I think elephant made his own as well among others.

The sockets themselves (7/32, same as what York used) were purchased in the great Kanstul purge a while back…..actually, I was sold them by the original purchaser, who was kind enough to share his bounty with me. After those are gone (and they almost are), there ain’t no more, nor do I think there’s any ready-made source for them.

I was thinking of sending one as a sample to a greatly gifted and talented machinist (who also has a passion for music and brass instrument fabrication) in the northern Midwest (who made some fabulous York replica top caps for me), in hopes he might be able to make more of them. I just haven’t gotten around to it yet.

I’m certain there are some on this board who have the lathe skills required to make them, but I think the repetitiveness of the job would be best done by a CNC.

I used .025 sheet brass (22 ga), similar to the thickness King used on their diamond-foot braces. I used to get the sheet brass from an outfit called Metalliferous, but I believe they are now defunct. A quick Google search will likely find other sources. The heavier the gauge, the more difficult it is to work with it, though annealing it first helps a lot.

You can get aviation snips without cerrated cutting edges (believe me the cerrated edge creates unnecessary work) but I just used Home Depot Wiss straight snips (yellow handle) with the edges carefully ground and filed down.

FWIW, the standard 1/4” round-foot braces used on King tubas of today etc. are readily available from Conn-Selmer.

I've done that when I've had to, but (mostly) I squirrel stuff away stingily (or buy it - particularly vintage King/Holton, when offered) - so I HAVE stuff like that when I need it.

When they're not badly cracked (around the socket) I've been known to braze them back (from the underside), which (sometimes) is just quicker than rifling through boxes - looking for a match.

The more rare old stuff becomes, the better I've become at brazing...

The most recent being a Cerveny bottom bow tear (1 inch) right next to the bow cap, and an 1/4 inch upper bow crack (same instrument) right next to the upper bow cap...and without messing up those caps. (I wasn't sure how they would turn out, but I was gratified that luck and skill teamed up - when they were needed - and cooperated with each other.)

Yorkboy wrote: ↑Thu Mar 30, 2023 2:17 pm You can get aviation snips without cerrated cutting edges (believe me the cerrated edge creates unnecessary work) but I just used Home Depot Wiss straight snips (yellow handle) with the edges carefully ground and filed down.

It's surprisingly hard to snip acceptable round flanges, I've found. This tool works really well though!

That device is fascinating/cool - and thanks for linking it ...and/but there are places that sell a bunch of diameters of brass discs in several thicknesses below-at-and-above .025"...

The ones that most of us find that we need to "copy" are King/Holton/York and (oval) Olds...but (well...) Olds hardly ever seem to bust.

hat's off to Olds !!!

I can imagine and understand that circular/oval brace-feet are probably stronger than diamond/square ones, but for some stupid reason they just don’t appeal to me, aesthetically.

Also, I find it less time consuming to wipe and clean ones with straight edges, just a personal observation (excepting Fullerton-era Reynolds Contempora, which are hexagonal!)

one hand guiding the other, regardless of the shape of a brace flange

To me, the tips - or rounded tips - of diamond shaped flanges are the most treacherous places to clean away excess solder.

You can buy the plate from Voigt.

https://shop.voigt-brass.de/en/B2B/BRAC ... LOW-BRASS/