Thursday, March 3, 2011

Trombone Bell Buckle

And I'm back!!! (for as long as technology will allow me...)  

     This was one of the first projects done on the brass side: unbuckling a trombone bell.  It was a lovely experience getting to know the different dent removal tools and the methodical happenings of brass work.  It all started when my instructor picked out a bell for me and proceeded to throw it on the floor and against the table repeatedly.  I was handed this warped piece of brass and this is what happened....



An average encounter?  Let's hope not...


     After assessing the condition of the bell, I began slowly tackling this ripple, by ripple.  I started by rolling out the more pronounced areas gently, to avoid enhancing the scars to follow.  

Rollin' 'em out...




     As time goes by...

Improvement...











And a progression!
(Some day I'll figure out the 'Slide-show' idea)




     It is frustrating to know that this bell will never get fully back to its former glory (ie: scars left behind from the creases and material scratched and/or chipped away).  It was fun and mildly therapeutic to restore this as close as I possibly could to its former self though!  It'll be a good day to feel comfortable making the call when enough's enough.  I felt like I could have spent months on this thing to bring it back!  Alas, I was instructed to move on and that All was done in the situation that could be...

Finally getting the throat as round as it'd go

     Bell dent work 101.  Feel pretty confident about it and enjoyed it much!  Time to move on to other brassy things...

1 comment:

  1. I'm all goosebumps of nostalgia or is it neuralgia?

    ReplyDelete