TubaForum.net

I’ve had a few Schilke mouthpiece blanks kicking around for a while. I decided to square them up and face them. I don’t know how far I’ll get or what I’ll do with them, but so far they seem to be in good enough shape to fiddle with. It didn’t take much to square them up. I’m thinking I’m going to make a cup tool, cut the rim profile, and use a standard reamer for the backbore. Maybe…

You could make chess pieces.

If you only need a cup cutter to survive for 1 or two uses, I have started with some inexpenssive spade bits then shaped the edges to the profile I wanted on a belt sander. Then back angled the edge for some relief. Worked well for 3/4" in free machining brass. Drilled and bored out the conical section, then used the cutter to form the cup.

I like that spade bit idea. Good stuff.

I like taking mouthpieces that are almost good and seeing if I can make them good. Of course, if the place where they're almost good already has too much material taken away, then there's nothing to be done. Those that you have there have infinite positive potential.

I kind of thought of these as a “resource in reserve.” I use one of them that is already faced as a tool for checking flatness of certain things. I started fiddling with them now because I thought, “what am I saving them for?”

Many, many years ago, I briefly worked as a “go fer” at a place that made custom mouthpieces. It was in the “pre-cnc, everything was done manually” days. The closest thing I did to the process was polish mouthpieces, but I witnessed quite a bit.

Bought some new HSS cutter inserts. Looking to improve the finish of the cuts.

There was a reason these were cast off blanks… there’s an ever so slight wobble. Perfectly fine for my uses, but they won’t be finely perfect! I flipped a couple of things around and swapped in a newer carbide tip. Much better finish cut. I’m still waiting on some new HSS ones.

By the time you turn the rims and the cups, the off-centeredness of the shanks should be negligible. I think if you end up with some mouthpieces you like that they're going to be just about perfect.

Absolutely. Good enough. Most folks might be surprised how imperfect their expensive new mouthpiece started out life!