possibly today: century-old bottom bow seam repair...

[bloke]

boring, or picture-worthy?

to me: boring

[bort2.0]

What, you've got something MORE exciting to share instead?

[bloke]

What, you've got something MORE exciting to share instead?

> a school bid that - potentially - makes much more money...and without getting dirty
> a fence repair, so that the crazy dog - that can jump the damaged fence - can be put back in that pasture again, rather than on the big porch, and taken for a bunch of daily walks...

[LargeTuba]

I ALWAYS enjoy looking at pictures of tubas.

[bloke]

I still haven't gotten to the tuba bow repair...

A friend - with leukemia, actually - showed up to have his French horn (buzzing vibration) - and his son's French horn (sticking valve) - serviced.

He's on his THIRD transplant...it SEEMS to be "taking", and he looks (certainly compared to at his worst, when I would stop by the hospital, every Saturday, after my "boat gig") GREAT.

He and his family are actually going to Disney World, next month...

The stuff the medical industry can do, now, to sustain life - and with good quality - is truly amazing...

[bloke]

OK...It's NEAR the seam...not "the seam"...(' sorry...I only glanced at it, previously...)

I just did it, after submitting that school bid, and while Mrs. bloke was reheating leftovers.

She came in to ask if I got the bid done, and to report on what's for dinner.

I suggested that she stay and witness - in real time - what over 400 subscribers are waiting (and with bated breath) to see in still picture format.

She enthusiastically replied, "I have to go".

OK...for the big honkin' crack, (as seen below) I spanned it with a piece of copper wire, that I had to special order from riflingthroughblokesjunque.com

If you see what you believe to be a couple of leaks on the big repair, you're correct. I went back (after I took the picture) and touched up two spots.

For the little-bitty cracks (that you surely also see in the pictures), I just hit 'em quick and pooled silver-braze straight on 'em... (no copper "bridge") ...' worked fine.

I ground the repairs down nearly flush, but left a tiny bit above the surface for strength.

This York bow is getting covered up by a King bottom bow cap, so looks and outer surface absolute smoothness are moot.

This all took very little time, including also repairing the small cracks (which were obviously repaired subsequent to the professional photo shoot).

[Yorkboy]

Ingenious!

[the elephant]

That's how I do it, too. However, I have never thought to use that large of a gauge of wire. That makes things easier. On my current job, the wire I have is just too dang thin. I will try thicker stuff, or perhaps several strands twisted together.

Good job.

[bloke]

As those few unfilled-on-first-pass spots show, his crack was even wider than that wire...

I have those cutesy little spools of brass and copper wire (various smaller gauges) for many applications (including most bassoon bocals).

I've also found that - if I flatten it - that's a bad idea, because it just wants to curl away from the instrument, when heated...so I leave it round.

Now that the cracks are filled, I'm really struggling to get this King cap on this York bow (neither were handed to me put back quite as they were originally), but I'll eventually succeed.

bloke "tippy-tappy-teasy-weezie..."

[Rick Denney]

I used a long piece of #8 solid copper to re-establish the connection between the rolled rim and the bell on Solder Practice. Too many decades of standing it on its bell had worn right through the brass and the rim was unattached for half the circumference of the bell. I just (soft) soldered the wire into the valley just inside the old rolled rim.

Ugly and wholly amateurish, but it worked.

Rick “somehow not inappropriate on that 125-year-old POS” Denney

[York-aholic]

You crack me up with the sequential pictures of Romex, wire strippers, the ground wire out of the romex, the grinder, etc...

[bloke]

You crack me up with the sequential pictures of Romex, wire strippers, the ground wire out of the romex, the grinder, etc...

mission accomplished

[bloke]

OK...
Today, I installed a (King) cap on this old-old (York) bottom bow.
The installation of a cap was semi-essential, because of the huge crack repairs that are far better covered up with a cap...for reinforcement, as well as aesthetics (as, originally, these instruments' bottom bows featured caps).

King-to-York isn't a perfect fit in the first place (were they never-damaged to never-damaged), but repaired caps (and this one required a great deal of repair) to repaired bows (which already mismatch) present even more challenges.

Further, as the bow (though needing crack repairs and a cap) was sent to me from a customer/friend with dents removed, the bow had some sort of scratch brush (??)/scratch pad (??)/sandpaper(??) finish, and (well, me: "assuming" stuff, instead of checking stuff) there were still some dents in the bow, in addition to the bow having been cocked outward (ovaled) from the dent burnishing (done by whomever did it).




Anyway...I got the cap on, it looks good, yes...??
Also, I tried something "new" (to force the cap and bow to fit each other), and that technique worked AMAZINGLY well...so -
even though I was also technically the "teacher" - I LEARNED SOMETHING !
I'll send it out to its owner tomorrow, and then: on to the next thing.
(I believe the "next thing" is some semi-local school's mushed-up St. Pete. )

[Yorkboy]

Beautiful work! Like Lazarus being brought back from the dead.....

[Name_Plate]

I have loved watching projects like these develop over the years, before I even joined the community online I remember scrolling through these projects and being in aw of what people could do. This looks like it will be a fine tuba when its put back together.

[groovlow]

Great art,,, self portrait ...the one with sunlit mohawk
artisan and work
Joe H

[Three Valves]

Great art,,, self portrait ...the one with sunlit mohawk
artisan and work
Joe H

So beautiful, it makes me weep...

But seriously folks.

[bloke]

You forgot to admire the jeans...
They are 4" too large (the smallest ones that I can manage to cinch up, as I donated everything larger).
I don't perspire very much (combination of weight loss (BP is REALLY low, now...like c. 100/60 - no meds), PLUS it's now much cooler outside...
This is probably gross...but I tend to wear (those sorts of "work") jeans for a couple of weeks, these days, before washing them.
They never seem to smell of "me", but of cut wood (both lumber and firewood), chainsaw exhaust, smoke, automotive/mower parts, buffing dirt, brass, grease, oil, lacquer ingredients, plain ol' dirt/turf, and the like.

Of course, I change out of that crap, even if I'm going to the hardware store, or if a customer is on their way...

[groovlow]

[Yorkboy]

Of course, I change out of that crap, even if I'm going to the hardware store, or if a customer is on their way...