Hirsbrunner tuba repair project stage 4

The forth of a series of videos covering the repair and restoration of a badly damaged Hirsbrunner tuba. In his Seattle based repair shop, along with the assistance of his staff of craftsman, Daniel Oberloh covers the details and methods used in the brass instrument repair process.

[@Epulor1]

No matter how many times I have seen the removal of dents in a brass instrument, it always strikes me as magical and miraculous. Thank you.

[@gotmilk91]

I'm surprised that you didn't choose to anneal such a crinkled piece before starting the work... seems some techs anneal with even less severe damage.

[@uncleblack7322]

very interesting video, I'm not a musician however, my question is...How in the world does an instrument, get in that shape??? great job...

[@DCOberloh]

@whatever7x7 I will anneal a bell if required. It would not be a good idea to do so on a silver plated bell unless the silver were removed in advance as the silver would melt and run or blister the surface making a bigger mess of the project (more work). Another issue of annealing would be throwing off the evenness of the bells temper. Unless the whole bell were annealed, it would have hard and soft spots that would take a good deal longer to address, making the bells temper properly uniform.

[@hausein]

Thank you for sharing. Greetings from Taiwan.

[@DCOberloh]

To be honest, I have never had to replace a valve assembly. Even the worst ones I have encountered, I repaired. Its a bit involved but very doable. Some valve assemblies I have purchased, I got from a few European sources but be warned, they are very pricey.

[@falloutboy7778]

Have you ever heard of a tuba playing sharp? I was on a 4 valve yamaha that wasn't quite 3/4th but was a smaller full size and then switched to a full sized miraphone, quite beat up. And on both horns I play a really sharp. It got better switching to the miraphone but i can't seem to stay in tune, especially on the tough notes like Db and F#

[@DCOberloh]

@whatever7x7 Yes I have made bells (french horns) and they are hand-hammered. Go to my shops web site and in the gallery under ''Geyer French Horn Bell and Rotors'' you can see a pic of me spinning one such bell. Check out the pics under completed projects, you might find them of interest. The completed tuba is also shown. Thanks for your interest.

[@VaisntH]

Say you have to replace the valve cluster because of terrible terrible damage, how does one buy just those?

[@aaadogman]

i played tuba at high school, the tuba was owned by the school, one day it got smashed in the back of the car, wasnt a huge knock, you would be amazed how little it takes to cause that kind of damage, looked just like the one you are repairing, anyway.....my father decided to have a crack at fixing it rather than tell the school.......1 rubber hammer, 1 steel panel beaters hammer, honestly, no body every knew, i played it for another couple of years before passing it on to another student....

[@Mithosphere]

How long did you work on the bell in total?

[@DCOberloh]

If I remember correctly, the bell itself took about ten hours, including polishing.

[@TS175]

you are a...GOD!!!

[@davidaubuchon7309]

Incredible!

[@foxombat1]

@whatever7x7 annealing silver plated horns is not really a good idea. It will make it look horrible and will mean a trip to andersons plating or wherever you ship to. On brass however i will anneal one small area but only on student line horns.

[@TheHatTuba]

0:50 I can do that!!!

[@DCOberloh]

To be honest, I have never had to replace a valve assembly. Even the worst ones I have encountered, I repaired. Its a bit involved but very doable. Some valve assemblies I have purchased, I got from a few European sources but be warned, they are very pricey.