John EricsonThe previous post with the before photos of the Glassl bell horn project has been so helpful to me to refer back to, that I have two more “before” horns and an update on the Glassl.
Mirafone Madness
One of my sabbatical project horns used as a basis a Mirafone single F that was missing valve section parts and was unplayable. But had a great, hand-hammered bell with a garland.
With that horn in mind, I’ve kept checking occasionally for that same model horn, and I found one a couple weeks ago. It will be used primarily as parts to work out two projects. The main one is to complete a long delayed project where I build as close as I can to a Schmidt single F, using a Schimdt single horn bell.
The Mirafone came, and it plays pretty decently.
It looks pretty complete from the front! And it is complete, with good valves. The build quality on these is really nice, and as it sits it plays pretty well, although it does feel huge.
From the back, and comparing it with the parts I have from my previous horn, the leadpipe is different. The work was done nicely, but it’s a replacement, and the original nice leadpipe brace is missing too. Both are of a simpler design than the original. Very generic parts visually. Oh well, I’ll work with that as I go forward with the Schmidt project.
The bell I plan to take off and put on the horn below, which was also recently obtained in trade for another parts horn that didn’t speak to me as much.
This is also a Mirafone, but now a Kruspe style double. This horn is not playable presently but it has good valves and can be made into a nice horn. And some nice construction details. Although if you look closely you can see some odd/bad repairs to set right. I’ll need to nearly completely disassemble it. In the end it should look and feel somewhat high end.
My plan with this is to use the bell from the single F (it not only is a nicer bell overall, but also has a bit smaller throat, which will be a good update) and work it over to match as closely as I can my Kruspe double. This project is one I’m looking forward to as well.
As I write this, I’ve already started parting out the double! I had tried my old Mirafone leadpipe on my Kruspe single horn (described in this recent Horn Matters post) and it turns out this one will certainly work well on that horn. With the bonus that the construction details match that Kruspe better, to the extent you might notice it is a replacement. For this double, I’ll plan on some upgrade leadpipe, perhaps a Lawson I’ve been hanging onto. Will decide that later.
Glassl update
The big thing is I have 7 projects underway, two close to done, and one at an end point of what I can do on it for now. For the remaining ones, I need to have right now a clear idea of how the parts can work together to get to the end point I’m hoping for.
What this meant for the Glassl was I really had to figure out the first branch situation. I got it down to more parts and had to use dent balls to confirm bore size at critical points. The first branch will be made from two sections of the “generic” single that donated the valve section plus a critical portion of a King first branch. As a bonus on all of this, I don’t think I’ll need to re-bend any tubing to make all this work! The photo below shows where things are heading as of now.
Still plenty of touchy dimensions to work out, but for now I’ve got some direction. First step is finish up the dent work.
Looking more broadly, I do have all the critical parts for upcoming projects set out ready to go. I now need to get to stripping some lacquer, and I’ve got a leadpipe to bend for the Kruspe single. Good projects, I should be making steady progress the coming weeks.