Leather wrap on a tuba

[EthanMGeary]

Does anybody know anywhere that sell leather tuba wraps, or is it a DIY thing.

Thanks
-Ethan

[bloke]

I don’t feel like typing a bunch of blah blah blah, but if you call me, I’ll tell you how to make one… and then I will tell you why I don’t think you should…but I WILL tell you how to make one - and make it well.

Does anybody know anywhere that sell leather tuba wraps, or is it a DIY thing.

Thanks
-Ethan

[LargeTuba]

I think I remember the steps
Make a paper maché template of the spot you want to wrap
Use the template to cut a piece of leather
glue an old t-shirt to the back of the leather (Leather will damage the brass)
Use leather string to tie it together.

When I did it, I just skipped the template parts.

Good luck!

[MN_TimTuba]

Measure the circumference of the widest and smallest parts of the tuba that you wish to cover and then cut a pattern out of leather with those measurements, adding if course how tall you want it to be.

If you are worried about how the leather will react with the tuba, glue a old black t-shirt to the back of the leather, cut to fit or course.

I used to use string and eyelets to complete the wrap, but now I just make it one inch too big, and use velcro strips to connect and secure everything

[Three Valves]

1. It is a DIY thing.

2. Don't do it.

3. Unless you have raw brass and don't want green all over you.

I wear long sleeves when I play or keep a microfiber towel over my arm.

[Estubist]

I think a rotary tuba looks naked without them. I've been making them for 30 years

[bloke]

Mark's method works with stretchier/thinner leather, but there's another method (neither tricky nor involving any math) that allows for the curature of the instrument (supplying you with a pattern with both an arced top line and an arced bottom line). Using this method eliminates possibilities of wrinkles.

Actually, this method (suggested to my by my Mom - a commercial artist) just involves strips of paper, scotch tape, and scissors.

I'm not typing it out, but the person is calling me in an hour or so.

Decades ago, I put these on my tubas, but I'm not a fan of them now - neither leather nor faux leather nor cloth.

[York-aholic]

Decades ago, I put these on my tubas, but I'm not a fan of them now - neither leather nor faux leather nor cloth.

But what about this faux leopard fur?

[Three Valves]

^^^

Pimp My Miraphone??

[bort2.0]

I've got one on my tuba right now. I bought it from someone on Tubenet who briefly was making them to-order. That was probably 10 years ago.

I like it, but will be honest, I probably use it more to keep that vulnerable part of the tuba looking nice and new... for future sale of the instrument. People like shiny, so I like to preserve shiny. I also like to preserve the finish, to prevent raw brass from emerging and becoming an issue in the first place. I rarely keep a tuba long enough to make it a problem, so ... Zing!

[royjohn]

So, bloke (or whoever)...what is the problem with these...I'm guessing that moisture or something gets under the sleeve and deteriorates the lacquer that you are trying to protect...is that it? Cure worse than the disease, so to speak?

[kingrob76]

From the "I Was A Dork" files:

in the mid-80's in college I wrapped an elastic Ace bandage around the bell in the area of the thumb ring because a) I liked the feel of some fabric there; b) it was easily removable / washable / replaceable; c) it allowed me to present some "artistic eccentricity"; and d) instant conversation starter. With these now available in black I don't know if the last two boxes would get checked, but the first two get handled pretty easy.

[Three Valves]

So, bloke (or whoever)...what is the problem with these...I'm guessing that moisture or something gets under the sleeve and deteriorates the lacquer that you are trying to protect...is that it? Cure worse than the disease, so to speak?

Yes.

[EthanMGeary]

After talking to bloke I think I have my plan. I’ve got a leather couch cover with a felt back that I think would be perfect for this project. The felt should stop any scratching and soak up any moisture that does become trapped. Thanks to everyone for their advice on this subject.

[bloke]

WERE it that was rough on the finish on the front of a tuba - in the area below the thumb ring, I would simply wear a nice comfortable long sleeve shirt, when playing my tubas - a shirt that “breathes“ nicely - regardless of the time of year.
I am aware that some community bands and jazz combos have short sleeve golf shirts as uniforms. In such a case, I would probably cut the right sleeve off of an old worn black dress shirt (or worn black sweatshirt) and put that sleeve over my forearm when playing the instrument.
If I didn’t want to ruin a black dress or sweat shirt of my own, I would find such a shirt at a thrift store (for two dollars, etc.), and cut that shirt. Actually, once cut, probably both sleeves would fit just as well over the right forearm.

Every time I have removed a protective whatchamacallit from a tuba bell (after several years), the finish - or bare metal - looked worse underneath it than did the area around it.

If a leather-look is desired, I'd probably pick out a really high-grade of FAKE leather:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanning_(leather)

[Snake Charmer]

Some observations to this topic:
I have leather wraps on all my regular played instruments. For two different reasons:
- more comfortable feel and better grip and
- protection of the metal in the hand region.
Hand sweat is really aggressive and can bring some serious damage to raw brass, nickel and silver plating. With raw brass it is easy to wipe it off after playing, but plating will be wiped away over the years as well . With a good laquer there will be no problem or at least it will take some decades to wear off.
But I regard my horns more as tools as artpieces, so comfortable playing matters more than pure catalogue look. Personally I don't like smelling hands after playing and most times I don't like wearing long sleeves. But I like the casual optics of well worn leather
The leather can protect your horn: When I sold my Besson 981 I removed after 20 years the leather wraps (made of overlength leg cut-offs of my motorbike pants, nice thick soft leather!) the silver plating was shiny like new. There was a slight stain line at the edges from polishing the uncovered parts over the years, but that came off easy with a pre-sale allover polish.
And I just had a curious look und the ophicleide wraps (thick furniture leather for six years): the raw brass has a bit darkened but would be easy to polish.

[tofu]

.

[UncleBeer]

Like Bloke, I've seen damage underneath leather guards when removing them. I've been told it's caused by the tannic acid used when curing leather. I wouldn't use real leather when making a guard, even with a cloth backing.

[peterbas]

...

[donn]

I've been told it's caused by the tannic acid used when curing leather.

90% of leather is chrome tanned - which is supposed to be more corrosive than vegetable (tannic acid) tanned. If you want to know which kind you have, it may be possible to tell them apart by burning some, but unless it's some kind of artisan stuff I suppose it's probably chrome tanned. Then they do all kinds of stuff to dye it and waterproof it and so forth, so who knows what's leaking out. I'm tanning my squirrel hides with ammonia and wood alcohol, and by the time I get enough of them, who knows, maybe I'll have a rotary valve tuba.