TubaForum.net

My daughter’s Conn 8D horn has a bell that screws on, and the whole horn fits in a case that’s much more compact than a normal horn case.

I have an old B&S F tuba that I’m pretty sure would fit in the trunk of a Miata if the last bit of bell (4 or 5 inches, maybe, and not 12 to 15 inches, like normal removable tuba bells) could be unscrewed. Does anyone do this conversion?

(maybe this should be in the repair or disrepair forum)

USUALLY I can straighten horn bell thread rings which have been ovaled.

Were/when someone ovals tuba threaded bell rings, would you guess that one of those rings (or both, if dropped when still screwed together) would be easier - or more difficult - to re-true, compared to French horn threaded bell rings?

If you decide to cut the tuba bell to fit the car (even though you'll be putting more weight up above your head), I'll recommend a slip joint - as with a sousaphone or recording bell tuba.

How many more years are you keeping the tuba vs. the years you plan to keep the car?
Do you own another car?

I think a threaded ring would be very hard to find or very expensive. What is the diameter at the point in the Bell you would want to cut it?

How much?

My guess would be “wow!”

I have cut a bell before, despite zero experience, but I do have a ton of unearned confidence, so there's that

This was to make a travel baritone that will fit in a carry on suitcase

The tuba player I saw on PBS last night had what appeared to be an F tuba with removable/screw bell.

I still say “wow!”

That looks really nice, Mark!

Oystein Baadsvik’s miraphone breaks down to fit in standard luggage. This Facebook post has more:

LeMark wrote: ↑Tue Jan 02, 2024 6:50 pm I have cut a bell before, despite zero experience, but I do have a ton of unearned confidence, so there's that

This was to make a travel baritone that will fit in a carry on suitcase

Where did you find the screw rings? Or did you fabricate them yourself? I ask because I’m looking to convert a cimbasso bell to a removable screw on bell.

Thanks

I used a French horn bell ring

bloke wrote: ↑Tue Jan 02, 2024 5:21 pm
If you decide to cut the tuba bell to fit the car . . .

Sounds more like a screw-*UP* bell to fit a small car from here . . .

If only, we had a screw on brain, for the viola players.

The real question is:

Forget the tuba, how on earth do you fit in a Miata?

Miata story…

The former principal trombone player of the most local to me “big time orchestra” had a Miata. In a hurry to get to the hall, he put his instrument (in a gig bag) in the trunk of his Miata and closed the lid. When he arrived at work and unpacked his gear, he found that the trombone hadn’t been in quite the right orientation in the trunk and he now had a taco bell amongst other damage from the lid crushing the instrument.

If you're not picking up someone else and taking them to the jobs where you're playing your F tuba, I'm going to make the assumption that you use bags (as do most tuba players) and suggest that you set the instrument (upright in its bag) upright on the floor of your passenger seat and seat belt it in, rather than chopping it up into pieces so it will fit into the trunk of your small car.

Before I decided that molded plastic cases are really the minimum protection I require for my tubas, I would do just as described above (particularly when I packed quite a few instruments)...such as
- two or three instruments for one gig
- two or three REPAIRED instruments for colleagues engaged for the same gig
- maybe even one or more school-repairs drop-offs on the way to/from a performance/rehearsal.

My largest tuba (much larger than an F tuba) would fit into the passenger area of my Corolla in the manner described above.

...I'm also concerned that the cost of doing what you describe - plus (in my view) that amount that it would devalue the instrument (in the opinion of many) would be quite a net cost to you.

I agree if no passenger that the tuba can easily be the passenger, maybe with some padding for safety.
Also agree that a screw ring is heavy, affects even the weight and balance of a (French) horn, and a great big one as you describe might not be the better solution --- I like the idea of a slip fit for weight reasons, but it will bend more easily. Getting a ring to screw on again after it is bent is a massive task; local person had her horn worked on and the person who did it managed to put the ring out of round on the bell branch end (he didn't have the bell as it wasn't needed) and I saw her trying umpteen times to screw the bell on at the next rehearsal -- she was principal horn -- and she had to get up and leave the rehearsal because of that.

How do you fit ~anything~ in a Miata trunk, much less a tuba. Did you remove the spare?
I removed the passenger seat for a month to re-upholster it (low-priority project on infrequently-driven car), and I enjoyed having the extra space. Sousaphone, tuba, hard-case euphonium (none fit in the trunk) were a breeze to carry (my wife, not-so-much) and I could even drive it to Costco

With 3 horn playing siblings, I've long cast envious eyes at those compact screw-bell cases, so I'm following this thread with interest.

I have a small contra bugle in BBb (purchased from @arpthark ) that has a screw off bell. It seems pretty robust... but the configuration doesn't really seem to save a lot of space. I am not really sure what the design intent actually is (maybe easier repair on bottom bow???). The brace between the bell and the upper bow unscrews then you can unscrew the bell.

bloke wrote: ↑Thu Mar 13, 2025 8:00 am If you're not picking up someone else and taking them to the jobs where you're playing your F tuba, I'm going to make the assumption that you use bags (as do most tuba players) and suggest that you set the instrument (upright in its bag) upright on the floor of your passenger seat and seat belt it in, rather than chopping it up into pieces so it will fit into the trunk of your small car.

Some years ago I said to a colleague that I wanted a gig bag for my euphonium so I could fit it in the front luggage compartment of my Porsche in case I had a passenger. My friend replied that having the euphonium would guarantee that nobody would want to ride with me, so I may as well use the passenger footwell to carry the instrument. It turned out to be true.

Don

um
if this is a good tuba? A Symphonie? Then I’d leave it alone. It’s a classic horn and it’s not worth fudging it up.
Buy a smaller tuba that fits, or a cheeper one to operate on.
And if you’re really set on doing this then buy another bell to do the operation on. That way you can at least have the original bell re-installed if you want.
Your tuba probably won’t resonate any better from making it into a screw bell. Yeah, it “might”, but I wouldn’t bet on it.