I am finally getting around to posting the next chapter. So the next step was figuring out how to join the sections so that they were both secure but also easy to assemble and disassemble. The original design was to use outside rings to join the segments. I experimented with making these rings using my CNC machine. I started by making a couple of prototypes out of Doug fir.
The problem is that they need to be longer than I can do on my CNC so I would have to make them in sections and glue them together. I ultimately decided that it would be better to make them on my lathe. So I started turning tubes of various sizes.
These were all made from Bradford pear I had laying around. After milling blanks from Bradford pear logs, I basically turned it round and mounted it in a chuck so that I could use Forstner bits to drill out the centers The largest rings were much bigger than my largest Forstner bit so I had to finish the hollowing by hand and turn it to size to fit the ends of each section.
This ring has a bark inclusion that I stabilized with some brown CA.
As I finished making the segments (previous chapter), I realized that my original plan to use outside rings to hold the segments together was not going to be strong enough. As I discussed in the last chapter, I considered using some sort of box clasp to pull the joints together and add a little strength. I bought some small clasps but decided to use that as a last resort. My fear is that with the thinness of the outside walls, it was going to be difficult to attach the clasps or that they would easily pull out and damage the wall.
The approach I settled upon was to make internal sleeves to fit inside the ends of each section in addition to the outside rings. With this approach, the sleeves could be longer for more support. So back to the lathe for more hollow tubes. These are about twice as long as the outside joining rings.
The outside and inside sleeves are each glued to one side of the joint and have a layer of 1/16” Crubber gasket on the other for a tight fit. I coated each gasket with cork grease to help them slide together more easily.
At this point, I was starting to think that this might actually work. While the bell has a similar joint. the curve made the fit difficult. You can see the sleeves for the joint to the bell in the picture below sitting on the bench but I will cover that joint in the next chapter about finishing the bell.
Once the joints were completed, each segment was finished with polyurethane.
While I was doing all of this turning on the lathe, I also made the mouthpiece adapter for the end and I also turned a couple of mouthpieces. I also bought a cheap trombone mouthpiece on Amazon to compare.
Next up, finishing the bell segment.
--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.
If I had to do this (for personal use). I'd give up, grab some sched 80 pvc and a long radius 45. Finish up with wood grain contact paper.
I'm still worried that the wood for this prototype may split at the joints. Maybe a wrap at the joints with some thickish copper strap, wrapped around and set with some stubby copper rivets.
Coming apart is definitely a possibility I suppose, especially if it gets wet by playing in the rain on a mountain top or maybe even just from seasonal changes. Traditionally, they wrapped the straight section with wood reed split from birch. When the alphorns are made by splitting a tree with a curved root flare in half, they may not have even glued them back together after hollowing but just bind them with the reed? I did not spend much time looking but finding wood reed is difficult and I was not going to try making my own. I do have some bamboo cane for weaving chair seats from a previous project and I considered wrapping the entire tube with that. Since the external sleeves are glued on to one end of each segment, I figure that will help keep that end together. The other end has the internal sleeve glued in which should also help to hold it together so I decided to forgo wrapping it with the cane. Time will tell. As with most experiments, part of the idea is to learn what works and doesn't work. Note that many of the commercially made segmented alphorns are not wrapped and do not even have the external sleeves at the joints like mine has. They typically just have internal aluminum sleeves to hold them together.
--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.
Since I played trumpet in high school, I can actually do better on the smaller mouthpiece but someone with experience playing trombone might do better on the larger one. My larger wood mouthpiece is easier for me to play than the metal one.
--Nathan, TX. Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.
