Thursday, September 1, 2011
Week One
Hi and welcome to my Blog about my Band Instrument Repair Class! I have started a wonderful journey in Red Wing, Minnesota that has allowed me to meet people from all over the country with the same interests as me: fixing band instruments! I have enjoyed my first week in the brass shop and am learning so much! We have already made tools and taken lots of notes on safety precautions. What I am learning will not only lead me to a job in a shop but also supplement my music education degree. Working with band directors to enable a horns longevity is crucial to a student's musical career. I will be posting pictures of what we are doing in class and the project instrument I am working on! Feel free to comment and post questions!
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I am going to be going to Red Wing next year for band instrument repair and I am so glad that I found your blog! It's nice to see what kinds of things I will be learning to do. Are you guys required to keep a blog? I've seen a few blogs like this from Minnesota's band instrument repair students.
ReplyDeleteHi Laura. I am glad that you found my blog too! I was on spring break this past week so sorry for the delay in this email. As students we are not required to keep a blog but it is helpful to you in two ways. One, it helps you re-enforce the information you have learned and two, it shows employers what you are learning in class and what you are capable of doing. It is also cool to see everything you have learned. I hope you enjoy it and I will be adding more as the school year goes on! Thanks for the question and let me know if there is any other questions you have about the program!
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Danielle
Hi Danielle,
ReplyDeleteI have just stumbled on your blog and I have to say I am so impressed with it. Not just all the examples of the great repair work that you've done, but also the meticulous way in which it is all documented.
I am about to embark on a brass repair adventure and have decided to get some basic tools. I wondered if you would agree to spare a few minutes of your time and let me know what 'desert island' tools you would purchase on a $200 budget to start out. I plan to mainly focus on trumpet and trombone.
Hi James, sorry it has taken me a while to reply. I am a teacher and we just finished our school musical! You definitely want a dent roller. This is a cylindrical roller on ball bearings that is put in a vice. Don't get a specialized conical bell roller because those are specified to the instruments. A cylindrical one can be used on trumpet and trombone. You will also want a small delrin hammer to use when taking out dents. A rawhide hammer is nice to hammer out bell folds. Make sure that you attach a piece of leather to the hammer so that you do not scratch the brass (I think I documented this under tools.) To work on dents in the neck of the bell you will want a bell stem madrel. You will be able to use this to remove dents and tap out dents. A set of dent balls is great but expensive. A forming iron for the bell folds is nice to work with. Please let me know if you have any other questions!
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ReplyDeleteHi Danielle,
ReplyDeleteApologies, it has taken me an age to get back to you as well! Of course I wanted to just thank you for taking the time to reply to a complete stranger : )
I have taken your message for seriously and have had a look around on the internet for tools that you mention. Because I am based in the U.K things are a little more expensive. However I did locate a shop that stocks most of these things. Of course I do not expect you to get back to me again but if you ever have the chance, I would love to know what you think of the following dent roller and bell stem mandrel and whether it is of the type you mentioned: http://www.ferreestools.com/brasswindtools/brasswindtool-dent-rollers.html#Dent_Rollers
I think it is the P11 and P12 rollers you are referring too. Could you advise me on how to learn about how to operate one through books, sites etc? (I'm saving up for repair tuition courses but still have ways to go ;)
http://www.dawkes.co.uk/tapered+mandrel%2c+trumpet+bell.dm?catno=fn91d
I think this is the mandrel you are referring too. I'm pretty sure this is used in conjunction with the delrin hammer to tap on the dents with the mandrel contacting the bell inside.
Thanks again for all your tips. I am going to go over your articles and photos again soon as part of my learning.
All the best!
Hi James,
DeleteThose links you have are exactly what I was thinking! The P11 and P12 are great! I have the 7 inch one and it works great! The bell stem mandrel is what I was thinking also.
Finding ways to learn how to use them may be tricky because our teachers taught us everything hands on. When using the dent roller make sure the roller is secured in a vice grip. When you are rolling out dents it is easier if you are higher than the roller so that you can put your body weight into it if you need to. Some dents are tricky! Then you basically put the dent on top of the roller and roll out the dent from side to side. One trick to seeing where the dent roller is touching the bell is to see where the light is bending as it reflects off of the brass. Always do dent work in a well lit room, preferably with florescent lights. This way you can see the long reflection of the light bulb bend.
To use the bell stem mandrel make sure it is secured in a vice grip. Make sure that when you use a delrin hammer to tap out the dents you are pressing the brass down onto the mandrel. If the brass is not firmly pressed on the mandrel you could dent it more. As you are LIGHTLY tapping make sure you are checking the progress of the dent. You can take it off and inspect it in the light or feel it with your hands. You can over tap the dent and sometimes it pops out in the other direction. If this happens you can leave it, or attempt to roll it with the dent roller but be careful and go slow. Dent removal is definitely a process and should be taken slow. When removing dents the laquer on the brass may crack and the brass may get 'stretch marks.' This is all a part of dent removal. If you want to re-laquer that spot you can but otherwise it is fine and shows that it was fixed. Re-laquering is not standard and costs more so people usually don't complain.
I hope this helps! Let me know if you have more questions! I am here to help even if I don't respond right away!