- buff the thick brown patina off this Olds bell
- straighten the rim
- remove (thankfully) soft creases
- burnish out deep vertical tracks in the throat area (someone used the wrong tool...probably a rod and a ball
)- slick out the entire flare/throat/stack (including a deep karate chop in the small end)
- hit it a couple more times on the polishing machine
- clean off grease and buffing dirt
....all between a radio station's two adjacent top-of-the-hour breaks
another secret: head out to the shop needing to pee, and hold it in the whole time you're pushing to do a complete tuba bell repair.
(I needed to have this bell done for someone prior to Thanksgiving, but there's nothing else to do for them other than this. I was playing my tuba, and the thought of this chore looming just kept buggin' me...so I decided to dispense with the chore - as well as the worry.)
bloke "the 'Darling Of the Sousaphones'
, unschooled/shot-in-the-dark/inferior mouthpiece guy, and previous procrastinator"