This NY Bach Stradivarius trumpet came into the shop with leaky valves and poor action. There were some cracks/holes that needed to be addressed as well. There were some challenges that came with working on a trumpet of its age in addition to dealing with some previous workmanship that compromised the horn’s integrity. First, the entire horn had been stripped of its lacquer and buffed very heavily, which can be seen on the engraving and unfortunately had made the knuckles between the valves very thin. On had already cracked and had been crudely patched and the other was on its way, so I made a new patch for the knuckle between the second and third valves. The third slide had probably been dropped and repaired at some point (perhaps several times) and left a hole. This is a medium bore trumpet with a unique span, so our modern replacement parts wouldn’t be a proper fit. I think a small patch is okay for this.
The biggest task was to re-plate the valves and hone the interiors of the casings straight. The second and third valves proceeded without issue, but the first valve I’m guessing was badly damaged and straightened at some point in its life. The casing was already a tenth of and inch larger than the other two and there was hardly any shelf for the valve guide left. Even then, there was a large gap between the ports for the bell and the first valve, resulting in air leaks. I had to be very careful when honing to just eliminate the unevenness as best as I could while keeping the shelf for the valve guide. Even before eliminating any gouges, the valve guide started slipping into the casing. After everything got straightened out, I plated the pistons, honed them down, and fit them by hand. After that was done, it needed a light cleaning, and sent it out the door. The compression isn’t perfect in the first valve, but it’s good enough for playing purposes and it’s certainly better than it was. I was happy with how it sounds and feels and so is the customer, so I guess that’s a plus.
Edit: According to serial number lists, this trumpet should be from 1945-1950. I’m not sure why there is a 67 next to “New York” especially since the factory was not in NY in 1967. Never heard of a 67 bell before either… Answer found. 67 is Bronx postal code.
