Trombone Bell
The first instrument that I buffed in class was a trombone bell. The bells that my classmates and I worked on were donated bells from Getzen. They were deemed unworthy for any number of reasons throughout the manufacturing process. In order for the bell to be ready for buffing I had to wipe the excess solder down to tinning. Tinning can be taken off by the buffing wheel but lumps of solder can cause grooves to be left by the buffing wheel.
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| Project trombone bell as it was given to me |
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| Trombone bell at the solder bench before I wiped the excess solder |
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| Once the solder is wiped, all that is left is tinning |
After the bell is free of excess solder I marked the bell so that I would know which way the buffing wheel should contact the bell.
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| Arrows showing the wheel direction and blue tape covering the engraving |
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| Arrows inside the trombone bell |
Then I moved to buffing room to buff the bell to a mirror finish
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| Using the cone to buff the inside of the trombone bell |
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| Mirror finish |
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| Inside bell |
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| Degreasing the bell and removing extra buffing compound |
Hand Buffing
Hand buffing is required in some places that are impossible or too dangerous to be reached on a buffing wheel. I soldered a brass rod to act as a brace on the bell for future dent removal but this rod can easily get caught on the buffing wheel so I had to hand buff the bell bow area.
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| Project trumpet bell without the soldered brass rod and before buffing |
