My new / old Eb tuba adventure.

Projects, repair topics, and Frankentubas
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Grumpikins
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Re: My new / old Eb tuba adventure.

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I did.... a project for next year....?Image

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Tubajug (Wed Oct 04, 2023 4:27 pm)


Meinl Weston 2145 CC
King Symphonic BBb circa 1936
Hopefully a pre WWII king Eb soon.... :teeth:
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Grumpikins
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Re: My new / old Eb tuba adventure.

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I was practicing my king Bb last night and I couldn't resist the desire to try out the Cleveland Eb. So I stuck it all together and plugged all the spots that need to be soldered. Wow. Notes really slot easily. The tone is warm and rich. Not dark like my Cc, but not bright like a trombone. Very colorful. I put it to a tuner and everything is about 40 to 50 cents flat. Air leaks and mouthpiece I assume. I still need to ream the reciever. So far, this horn is wonderful.

Disclaimer. I've never played an Eb before.

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Meinl Weston 2145 CC
King Symphonic BBb circa 1936
Hopefully a pre WWII king Eb soon.... :teeth:
2nd tenor
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Re: My new / old Eb tuba adventure.

Post by 2nd tenor »

Grumpikins wrote: Sat Nov 18, 2023 5:21 am I was practicing my king Bb last night and I couldn't resist the desire to try out the Cleveland Eb. So I stuck it all together and plugged all the spots that need to be soldered. Wow. Notes really slot easily. The tone is warm and rich. Not dark like my Cc, but not bright like a trombone. Very colorful. I put it to a tuner and everything is about 40 to 50 cents flat. Air leaks and mouthpiece I assume. I still need to ream the reciever. So far, this horn is wonderful.

Disclaimer. I've never played an Eb before.

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Thanks for the update, I’m interested in the repairs so more pictures would be nice.

The current pitch standard is A = 440Hz but it has changed since your old horn was built and who knows what standard it was built to, just something to be aware of.

https://cderksen.home.xs4all.nl/ConnArticle44.html


Leaking air somewhere? Perhaps, but how much difference it makes I don’t know. Each small repair will slowly improve what you have, well done and good luck.
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Re: My new / old Eb tuba adventure.

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Here it is so far.Image

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Meinl Weston 2145 CC
King Symphonic BBb circa 1936
Hopefully a pre WWII king Eb soon.... :teeth:
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Grumpikins
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Re: My new / old Eb tuba adventure.

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Patch on bottom bow front side and dents mostly removed. This side was crushed in as though a 4x4 board landed on it.Image

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Meinl Weston 2145 CC
King Symphonic BBb circa 1936
Hopefully a pre WWII king Eb soon.... :teeth:
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Re: My new / old Eb tuba adventure.

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Patch on bottom bow back side. Where the hole was, it was crushed in like it had been bolted to a beam. I think it had been hung as there was a perfect ring around the hole from a washer on a bolt. I got it pushed out and smoothed enough for a patch. The other visible dents just wouldn't come out.Image

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Meinl Weston 2145 CC
King Symphonic BBb circa 1936
Hopefully a pre WWII king Eb soon.... :teeth:
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Grumpikins
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Re: My new / old Eb tuba adventure.

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Main tuning slide that I had piece together. I decided to just patch the water key hole. I really dont care for them anyway. I just pull and dump. I still need to make braces for it. I made the patch a diamond shape so it kind of looks like it belongs there. My soldering sucks, but that was part of the purpose of this project. I'm learning a lot.Image

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Meinl Weston 2145 CC
King Symphonic BBb circa 1936
Hopefully a pre WWII king Eb soon.... :teeth:
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Re: My new / old Eb tuba adventure.

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All of the braces on the 3rd valve circuit needed repair. The two up by the valve were there but needed to be re-soldered. The gold one replaced a previous poorly made replacement. Whoever did that repair didn't remove the dent. They just put a longer brace. I was able to improve the dent, not completely. The brace I used came from the same donor as the tuning slide parts (king euph) and is identical to the original braces on this horn. It fit perfectly about a 1/2 inch above the original location. Good enough for me. The brace at the bottom of the circuit came from the original main tuning slide. Originally, the 1, 3, and main slides were identical spacing. My new main slide is about 1/8 inch more narrow than original. The 3rd valve circuit is now all attached and pretty straight.Image

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Meinl Weston 2145 CC
King Symphonic BBb circa 1936
Hopefully a pre WWII king Eb soon.... :teeth:
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Re: My new / old Eb tuba adventure.

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As you can see, my solder work is pretty sloppy. I need to go back and clean it up. When I have time I'll go over it with some soapy water and air to find all my leaks. I know my main tuning slide leaks. I think my patches do too. Because when I plugged the holes with my fingers, it played wonderfully. Now, it plays a little stuffy and intonation is wonky. I also need to sort out an appropriate mp and possibly open up the reciever a little.

Overall, I'm very happy with this project. It's my first and is turning out well. It's a hundred years old and is much better than I expected it to be.

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These users thanked the author Grumpikins for the post (total 2):
2nd tenor (Sat Nov 25, 2023 2:58 pm) • York-aholic (Sat Nov 25, 2023 9:08 pm)
Meinl Weston 2145 CC
King Symphonic BBb circa 1936
Hopefully a pre WWII king Eb soon.... :teeth:
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