[TPIN] Bell Bow (NOT Bilbo Baggins!) Bends

[Dr. J. David Kocurek]

I've been told that the new Strads also have the bell flair mounted with a
slight upward inclination relative to the main valve/slide/mouthpipe
assembly.

Has anyone seen this? Can you describe how much inclination is used?

David

-----Original Message-----
On Behalf Of Michael Anderson
Sent: Sunday, March 09, 2008 9:21 PM
To: TPIN
Subject: Re: [TPIN] Bell Bow (NOT Bilbo Baggins!) Bends

While I think it is true that the post-strike horns are really good, this
particular change in design isn't a conscious harkening back to an old
design... Actually, during the strike they went over every aspect of
production and found that the jig they were using to do the bell bends was
way off and had been for many years. So, they built a new jig based on the
actual specifications of the correct Bach bell bend. I also think that the
way the bell tail fits into the first valve casing is more critical than the
actual bend. That misaligned jig caused them to often not be square at this
critical juncture. This is one of the common things the guys who do Bach
conversions and customizing do
 
Apparently, they also got rid of some dead weight workers during the strike
and only hired back those who were really good at what they do. So, it
should be no surprise that quality control is up at Bach.
 
MA
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