This trumpet is interesting for several reasons. Here you can see the adjustment rod that when positioned correctly would allow the player to extend the slide far enough to lower the pitch of the instrument from Bb to A. The third valve tuning slide also has a micro tuning slide which means that the entire assembly is composed of two different slide sections. One fits inside the other and allows the player to make adjustments from either section.
First step is to disassemble the trumpet. A lot of penetrating oil and time with some carefully practiced techniques proved to be successful. Then it was time for pre-cleaning before a trip to the chem room.
Here is the trumpet after several soaks in the pickle. Now I can work on the alignment and then move to dents.
The inscription reads:
HAND-MADE
Paul W. LeResche
LA PORTE
IND.
Paul W. LeResche was born in 1886 and passed away at age 81, in 1967. He is now buried in La Porte, Indiana. LeResche was a trumpet player for the St. Louis Symphony orchestra in the 1920's and 30's and later, was a director for the Michigan City Municipal Band in Indiana. The Music Trade Review announces a new band in 1928 under the name of The New Buffalo Boys in New Buffalo Michigan, Paul W. LeResche as leader. There is also a cornet know with the same markings found on this trumpet.
There is a crack in the mouthpipe that needs to be fixed. Ordinarily a patch would suffice or a universal replacement part would be used but since this trumpet has some history and because of its unique construction we decided to manufacture one that would more closely match the original. The mouthpipe and the receiver on this instrument are all one piece, almost like a horn. The tubing tapers from the beginning of the receiver down to where the mouth pipe would start and then enlarges again as it approaches the upper main tuning slide. The receiver portion of the mouthpipe assembly is wrapped with another piece of brass giving the appearance of a separate receiver but it is all one piece. John Huth has a lot of experience with custom mouthpipes and quickly decided that adding a cylindrical extension to the mandrel would allow us to create the larger taper and then go back and create the taper needed to receive the mouth piece at a later time. We started with annealing the end of a piece of brass tubing and then pounding it into a die that gave us a domed shape to the end of the tube. This helps the tube when being pulled through the steel washer in the drawing process. I then annealed the entire tube and removed the heat varnish. A roughing mandrel is inserted into the tube that threads into a screw attached to the winch. The idea is to pull the tube and mandrel through a steel washer that will help form the tube to the mandrel while stretching it at the same time. The first draw
begins to taper the tubing but in order to reach the final shape it must be annealed and drawn again on the final mandrel. It was in the second drawing that we added the cylindrical extension to the mandrel. The washers can only be used once and require annealing before use in order to allow enough give not to disfigure the brass. Here you can see a washer the way it begins. It is then shaped with a slight dome and annealed and lastly it has been used. It is possible to see were the brass tubing passed through, enlarging the hole while also being formed to the mandrel.
Here is a video of the final drawing to help illustrate the process.
Notice the cylindrical segment on the end that will be tapered differently to receive the mouth piece.
We then had to create the taper to receive the mouthpiece. Using the lathe we expanded the cylindrical section to match a Morse number one taper. The video below shows the process with John's mouthpipe. It was necessary to proceed slowly and to anneal several times during the process.
The receiving end was wrapped with another piece of brass tubing that was tapered on the lathe to better match the original. I then attached the original outer main tube. It was necessary to shim both pieces in order to create a better solder joint. Here you can see the new mouthpipe and old mouthpipe side by side.
When originally assessing the trumpet I noticed that the 1st valve draw knob was missing and needed to be replaced. I decided at that time that it could only happen if time permitted but here you can see the new one. The new draw knob was fabricated out of brass stock on the lathe and I have to say that this was one of the most enjoyable parts of this restoration. It is a small detail but I believe that the new knob adds to the overall appeal of the instrument. I worked to match the existing knob on the 2nd valve slide and then soldered the new knob to the 1st slide.This trumpet has provided a wonderful education in working with vintage horns. I began with several stuck slides and the 2nd piston was also stuck inside the casing. There were more dents than I care to remember. The seam opened on the crook when using the Roth tool and I had to solder it back shut with cadmium silver solder. It turned out well and will hopefully continue to hold strong for several years. The mouthpipe fabrication was a wonderful experience as well as the smaller details such as the draw knob and dealing with the stop rods. The guide for the main tuning slide stop rod had to be repositioned and hopefully next semester I will be able to fabricate a nut for the 3rd slide stop rod. The bell was aligned as well as the main tuning slide and a faulty solder joint was discovered. The pistons still need some work to be wonderful but the work will continue next semester and she should be playing shortly there after.
