Miraphone 84-B twin-spin

[the elephant]

Nicely done, sir!

… 4th-casing-to-main-slide question-mark-shaped connector…

As per Miraphone: waterkey knee

[Rick Denney]

Looks awesome.

Rick “following with interest” Denney

[bloke]

I have another (perhaps) slightly more costly instrument (to remain unidentified, here) that someone is interested in purchasing - in not much above as-is condition, that person and I are having trouble meeting up, but a trusted colleague of theirs might be able to swing fairly close to blokeplace later THIS week… so I think I might end up setting this instrument down for four or five days, and going over that other instrument just enough to where – if they do nothing to it for a good bit of time – they will still enjoy playing (even gigging with) it. I’m interested in that instrument moving as well, and the discussed face-to-face meeting date (for the instrument in this thread – the 84 B-flat) is over a month from now.
That all having been said, I’m pleased to have this instrument so close to ready for assembly.

[bloke]

I had the same semi-debilitating headache
/nausea - this morning - that I’ve been dealing with for several weeks, but got over it (for today), dealt with a trumpet customer (with a “real” - SK series - Getzen Severinsen model), got cleaned up/dressed up, took Mrs. bloke into Memphis to a visitation/funeral/21-gun-salute/bagpipes Marine graveside service for an 80-year-old friend (lost to blood cancer), got home, and was just exhausted from doing a bunch of nothing. It’s already nearly 8 PM, the Svengoulie movie tonight really sucks…an English-made Boris Karloff movie, and - after we reheat leftover catfish from some that was caught when Bill was here - i’d like to think that I will have the energy to go out and acid clean the guts of this tuba and pick over the final dents in the bell…so I can stick this thing together tomorrow, but I don’t know how I’ll feel after eating.
Regardless, this thing has a pretty good shot at finding itself all stuck together by tomorrow at dinnertime.
Thinking about everything Mrs.bloke did today, I’m feeling pretty guilty - not “keeping up”.

[bloke]

Today is another achy-stomach/slight-dizziness day.
DO NOT OPERATE HEAVY MACHINERY !!!
Of course, I've operated heavy machinery, climbed ladders, and driven cars all my life (when feeling sorta-to-really bad) being that I'm self-employed...

...so this was the last dented-up piece on this instrument.

Anyone - who's ever bought a formerly school-owned rotary instrument - has seen what happens to these (thanks again, Wade) main slide connector "knees": They ALL end up FUUUUUUUUUBAR !!!

Using a combination of goofily bloke-bent mini-rods - with 1/4" balls brazed on their ends, pounding balls with other balls, magnet-burnishing, annealing, and dent-jerking, I knocked this out in about an hour (again, were I not a bit dizzy and achy, it would have probably been half that time, but whatever). I didn't bother to strip it, but just buffed off the original (early-made, so nitrocellulose) burned lacquer, solder film, and light burnishing scratches. (Again, my filing and sanding days are long over...Screw that crap...I'm not trying to "fool" anyone...It's damned good enough.)

yeah...I could have bought I new one...but I don't know what they cost...and (as the Miraphone people are so very nice and so very fair) I don't like to ask them what stuff costs...so - since I didn't want to find out what a new one costs (and getting a new one ready to install STILL would have defined some labor, on my part) - and since there's no red-rot, I just fixed this one.





Had I filed and sanded it (ie. "ruined" it), you wouldn't be able to see the factory solder-scraping marks around the (removed) water key saddle.

OK...I'm going to try one of those little green stomach gas pills, an aspirin, and - hopefully - go back out there (perfect day, no air-conditioning nor heat required) and see about acid-cleaning the guts, calling Mrs. bloke out there (to help hold stuff) and stick this thing together. The possible meet-up (with a possible buyer) is not until Good Friday, but I want this thing together, shot with (tinted-to-look old) lacquer, picked over, play tested, approval-stamped, stuck in its case, and no longer (until - possibly - Good Friday) on my mind.

EDIT:
I took the valves/slides out, and - other than tarnish - the inside is as clean as a whistle...so no acid bath...HOWEVER, my (clearly warning me - by rough operation - that it was about to break) buffing machine's V-belt just (finally) broke, so off to AutoZone (open until 8 on Sunday, even in our hick-town county seat).

EDIT #2:
I managed to get a new MADE IN (central ) AMERICA belt purchased and installed.
What a nuisance !!!
I had to loosen two not-stuck bolts with a crescent wrench, and reinstall them…wasting three minutes of my life !!!

[bloke]

Mrs. bloke helped me out - late last night, remounting the bottom bow and main slide.
Every brace flange and every insertion went back to its original spot.
I don't think anyone would believe me, were I to explain to them how I remount the main slides on the horizontal-slide rotary tubas (ie. with a nearly "perfectly backwards" system)...I'm sure it wouldn't seem logical...ie. "Why would you go to that much trouble, and make it so hard on yourself?"...etc.
...because I can, and because it puts everything (things which could probably be stuck back on all sorts of ways, and still "work") back precisely as they originally were.
I'm sorta happy regarding how very little of the oem nitrocellulose lacquer (on the various solder joints) was burned or darkened.
The bell (from a later-made donor instrument), mouthpipe (which I believe to be a never-lacquered longtime factory-made replacement), the main slide knee, the #2 slide, and the three-bends lower #4 circuit tube are the only pieces on this instrument which will be completely re-lacquered...though I may cut the lacquer off a couple of other slides and re-lacquer them as well.

I'm...
- ten solder joints
- installing rotors/linkage, and adjusting to my satisfaction
- some buffing/surface cleaning
- mixing/shooting a weird "old-looking" color of lacquer here-and-there
- final assembly/testing
- cleaning up the old hard case
(Oh yeah...It looks like the carriage rod might be homemade, as it seems just a bit loose and only measures 2.9mm (rather than 3mm) in diameter, and the threads - on the threaded end - are not M3 threads...so - though arguably "good enough" - I'll probably make another carriage rod and toss the one that was removed from the instrument.)

...away from being done with this project.



casual suggestion to school teachers:
If you have been issued a $10K tuba, maybe (??) don't hang it upside-down on the wall on a hook via its valve circuit tubing.

[bloke]

OK...

Other than the thumb ring (which is sort of in the way of buffing the bottom bow solder joint, etc.), It's stuck together.

The mouthpipe is not original (was with the instrument, when I bought it, and didn't fit particularly well) and the receiver brace is new (semi-"immovable force"), so both of those had to be "convinced".

I need a break, and I need to fix up a crappy trumpet, and then get cleaned up.

Mrs. bloke is dragging me into Murder-fuss for some social/club thing this evening, and we'll be passing by a (simultaneous) community band rehearsal whereby I could return a (if repaired by then) trumpet to it's owner and collect some dough for (not only repairing the trumpet, but) also for repairing a 95-year-old rotary E-flat cornet for him, last week.

Here's where we are by 1:30 P.M., today...




not genuine Miraphone parts, but (yes?) pass as "reasonable facsimiles":

Looks awesome.

Maybe "promising" even trumps "awesome"...(??)

[bloke]

Unless signals were crossed, I believe @JRaymo is showing up today with his family) to pick up an instrument that he bought from @Dan Tuba whereby I only served as an a intermediary/temporary storage facility/facilitator...

...but there's YET ANOTHER who I'll have the privilege of meeting in-person.

...and I just remembered that he asked me to knock out some dents, so (though I might pick over the valve action on the 184, today), I probably won't carry it to the finish line. Further there's either a polar vortex, mega-cyclone, or something of the like (ie. it's drizzling) today - due to mankind's climate irresponsibility...so it's not any sort of a day to shoot any lacquer.

[JRaymo]

Unless signals were crossed, I believe @JRaymo is showing up today with his family) to pick up an instrument that he bought from @Dan Tuba whereby I only served as an a intermediary/temporary storage facility/facilitator...

...but there's YET ANOTHER who I'll have the privilege of meeting in-person.

...and I just remembered that he asked me to knock out some dents, so (though I might pick over the valve action on the 184, today), I probably won't carry it to the finish line. Further there's either a polar vortex, mega-cyclone, or something of the like (ie. it's drizzling) today - due to mankind's climate irresponsibility...so it's not any sort of a day to shoot any lacquer.

I wish it were today but its next week. Sorry it took so long to reply. Busy today today up here in the raining north. I will be there Tuesday morning next week.

[bloke]

The rotors are in and moving.
I have decisions to make about the paddles.
I’m going to leave them off for now (much safer for polishing, anyway) and see about pushing towards getting the surface of the instrument looking nicer and covered with some funny-tinted/aged-looking lacquer…
… particularly as the rains have passed.
Conditions are pretty ideal, as the humidity level is only 58%. Oddly, it has rained so much for so many days (months) that there is standing water around here.

[bloke]

fb screenshot:

332A4518-2812-4DE4-B41B-B9887637DA23.jpeg (85.73 KiB) Viewed 1367 times

First though – as a stalling tactic, I think I’m going to walk with my son out to where some pasture fence repairs are needed, encourage him to take care of them, and then fool around with lacquer tinting, so that - when this thing is polished - I’m ready to shoot something on it.

Last night, I cleaned up a few solder joints just a little bit better, stuck on the thumb ring, and stuck on the bell’s strap ring. I also fooled around with the rotors just a little bit, to make sure they weren’t going to give me any problems - as final assembly valve problems (if allowed to occur) are absolutely a pisser.

Three of the T-joints connected to the S-arms are rusty/seized and several of the horizontal threaded steel rods (within them) are un-brazed from the finger levers’ vertical arms, so this instrument’s going to receive some Minibal links.
I’m low on 3 mm rod and I’m going to need some longer 3 mm screws for the easiest conversion. I don’t want to order that crap online and wait, so I’m going to pick them up at the (over the years, the guy has nearly turned it into a “superstore“) hobby shop in Memphis, but I don’t want to waste gas, so I’m gonna wait until Mrs. bloke has a couple of saxophone repairs finished for that Soulsville charter school in Memphis - that’s attached to the Stax Recording Studio museum.

As a minor sidenote, surgery recovery (slight) backtracking is just a little bit discouraging (and this daily minor headache and stomach ache - ever since having gotten that stupid jab, as permission to play gigs - doesn’t help either… and yes, I have read up on which supplements to take to fight the ill effects of those dubious jabs, so I do not need any private messages about that), but the hell with all of that; I’ve got sh!t to do.

[bloke]

I think it’s ready to color buff.
This is not a perfect restoration, but a “fix up really nice, so someone would be proud to own it” gig.
I did not mess with any lacquer color mixing today, as I had hoped. (Frankly, I had a really good day - free of surgery pain, free of headaches, and free of nausea. I’m tired, and I just want to call it a day.)
Maybe, I can get this thing to the finish line tomorrow…well: except for the linkage.
I monkeyed with the main slide a little bit more; it works nice and smooth, and I also checked and monkeyed with the #1 slide; it also works well. I never like selling tubas with the #1 slide falling out, but like to sell them aligned well enough so that someone else (with Lava Soap suds and valve oil) should be capable of making the #1 slide fall out (if they so choose).
——————-
My son and I also looked at a run of fence on back of the back pasture, and - rather than repair it - I think we are going to replace it. It’s less less than a hundred feet run of fence, and rain and irrigation have sort of covered up the bottom 2 or 3 inches of the fence, and - rather than digging all of that out to just a reveal rusty fence bottom, along with having to straighten out the fence because of our abuse - I think we’re just gonna weave in some new fence, move the posts over a little bit, and run it again - perhaps four inches higher. This pasture has been fallow - other than a play yard for two guard dogs, but needs to be kept up - in case it is needed. Otherwise, I’m pretty proud of this pasture. It had been the worst one, as it had several bad washes in it, but I have thrown branches and leaves into those watches over the years, and they’ve just about all disappeared. Further, the places that were washes before are now the most fertile and growing the nicest grass. Finally, the whole thing is just about covered in either clover or bermudagrass. We started building a small barn back there, and need to finish that up sometime… that would mean that each pasture has its own barn.

[bloke]

Sunlight and shadow pictures are THE WORST, but I'm not ready to take this down - until it's skinned over just a bit better, but...

...this is probably one of my better "try to come close to the color of old, darkened, originally-clear lacquer attempts.

MOST of the "guts" is ORIGINAL decades-darkened lacquer, but the OUTER SURFACES of the large bows, the BELL and some previously badly-damaged interior parts had to also be stripped and re-lacquered from scratch.

a good bit of orange, a touch of dark bronze, and a hint of green (translucent tints - added to clear).

Wednesday will be a terrible storm, but today is just about ideal:
- calm
- mid-60's temps
- mid-30's humidity

If you happen to see my reflection...
What do I care (??)
...I'm wearing what I usually wear (even if really cold) to lacquer, which is barefoot, old worn-out T-shirt, and boxer shorts (to eliminate lint). Basically, this was my post-surgery "uniform" for several weeks, as well.

Once I get the linkage mounted, I might take some overcast pic's which should show off the color a little bit better.

too much sunlight:


doesn't show much, does it?


This thing REALLY needs to disappear into a new owner's arms...
...and I REALLY need to move on to other things in the "pile of stuff".

bloke "This $h!t is always nerve-racking...I can do REALLY nice trumpet/trombone re-lacquer jobs, but for TUBAS...I'm REALLY 'faking it' - due to the lack of anti-dust and anti-humidity $XXX,XXX equipment. That having been said, I've been learning - from my own horrible mess-ups and re-do's - for several decades."

[Three Valves]

This and the Kaiser would really make a cute couple!!

[bloke]

This and the Kaiser would really make a cute couple!!

I made the (probable) buyer of this an attractive price for the pair.
Further, they already own an 86 B-flat - so they would then own an 84, an 86, and a 90
They don't seem understand the sublimity of this enough to have accepted my offer.
(reminder: Deutsch orchester b-tubas are best when fabricated in Deutschland.)

Here are some better (overcast lighting) pics:







Spraying TINTED lacquer on TUBAS scares me more MORE than ANYTHING...
...even more than bending new mouthpipes for $2X,XXX tubas...because - with those - I can just "try again" if I REALLY mess up.

Here's the thing:
Some people are under the impression that I know what I'm doing, and me: I depend on prayers, luck, and (sometimes) re-do's.

[Rick Denney]

This and the Kaiser would really make a cute couple!!

I made the (probable) buyer of this an attractive price for the pair.
Further, they already own an 86 B-flat - so they would then own an 84, an 86, and a 90
They don't seem understand the sublimity of this enough to have accepted my offer.
(reminder: Deutsch orchester b-tubas are best when fabricated in Deutschland.)

Here are some better (overcast lighting) pics:







Spraying TINTED lacquer on TUBAS scares more MORE than ANYTHING...
...even more than bending new mouthpipes for $2X,XXX tubas...because - with those - I can just "try again" if I REALLY mess up.

Here's the thing:
Some people are under the impression that I know what I'm doing, and me: I depend on prayers, luck, and (sometimes) re-do's.

Looks awesome.

Maybe the dummy already has a kaiser he likes. Maybe he’s not very bright. Who knows?

Rick “wink, wink, nudge, nudge, know what I mean?” Denney

[bloke]

Maybe he’s not very bright. Who knows?

Rick “wink, wink, nudge, nudge, know what I mean?” Denney

The three of us are restoring the integrity of some pasture fences, but first we have to unearth the bottom 2 or 3 inches of some of them - in some areas, where heavy rains and wash have buried them, due to the contour of the land and the fact that those fences were put up before part of that pasture land land was completely covered with grass.

In summary - and to your point, we’ve been digging in dead Ernest.

[bloke]

… and - as much as I would like to see this thing completely finished and in its case - I’m NOT going to the hobby shop (to pick up those screws and rod material) until Mrs. bloke finishes those saxophone repairs for that charter school. I’m just not going to burn up that much gas to make an extra unnecessary trip into Memphis. (She has a lot on her plate, so they might not even be finished tomorrow or the next day.)

[bloke]

Combining Deutsch and hobby-shop parts (probably, a hodgepodge of American and Chinese parts), this is what I've devised - to avoid any tedious cutting/filing/brazing (x 4), as the S-arms' universal joints are all in bad shape (rusted/seized, and their permanently-installed steel hinge screws have become un-soldered from their lever arms).

It may not be the most elegant, but it's "hell for strong", should be "anti-click", and is also easily capable of being disassembled.

not shown: Minibal link knurled 3mm lock-nut

[bloke]

I really do NOT like fashioning aftermarket rotary linkage.

...Everything has to be a certain geometry, things have to be made to work (and work very well) in ways in which they were not originally designed to work (unless huge $$$'s are spent, one starts over from scratch, and one functions as nothing more than a "parts changer".
It's tedious, and it's repetitive - YET not repetitive...ie. "Oh...I have to do it THIS way, because of THIS obstacle/geometry/whatever...(sheesh).

Anyway...I've got some stuff on here that that works and might pass for "not looking stupid"...(??)

I'm running out of time...
I've had this background illness for several weeks (headache/dizziness/hint of nausea/etc.), it came to a head several days ago, I ended up in the bed, but my dentist gave me some really high-dose/4X-a-day generic Cypro, and I believe I have this $h!t on the run...I got out of the sick bed (not feeling as sick), drank way too much coffee (jitters - which makes it difficult to think), and got this far with this tonight. It all works, and I'm going to have to decide whether this is it, or whether I need to slightly rethink. (again: I HATE doing this linkage $h!t...but - without it - there would be no tuba, so...) By tomorrow, what "is" is going to have to be what it will be.
It's "good", but I always am skeptical...particularly of myself.

The slides go in and out...Since the main slide's geometry had to be redone (pretty much) from scratch, it slides really well - even though it was previously as disaster. The #1 slide alignment is dialed in, and the other slides "pull" (as that's about all the others need to be able to do, on tubas of this design). Oddly, the #4 slide (unlike a typical Miraphone B-flat) does NOT need to be pulled out as far as it can possibly be pulled (with this particular instrument) for good intonation.

bloke "Dicking around with linkage is for nerds - nerds: such as woodwind-fixers 'n' such...YET woodwind fixers often do little more than take stuff off and put it back on, so - not."

oh yeah...
Of course, we're not allowed to discuss anything "real" here...just tuba stuff and dumb jokes...but something (in the real world) REALLY made my smile (no: actually, it made me LAUGH), today. To avoid being chastised by the monitors for discussing it, I will comment on it in a way that many may not be able to decipher:

O Sybilli, si ergo. Fortibus es in ero
- Gregorius Magnus