micky wrote:
On Mon, 19 Aug 2013 09:44:08 +0000 (UTC), "Danny D."
wrote:

My grandchild dropped the trumpet, denting the horn:
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2820/9...ac58b3d1_o.gif

He was crying up a storm (probably because he doesn't want me to tell his mom).

Do you think the now-bent trumpet can be saved before mom finds out?
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5500/9...ebdf135f_o.gif

I have about a day or two before she expects it back...

What tools would straighten the horn out?

If you were anyone else but the grandfather or grandmother, I would
say it's not your place to touch it and you should let his parents (or
whoever paid for it, decide what to do.)

But still, I don't think there is anything you or I can do that will
make it look original, or close enough that she won't notice if she
ever picks it up, or if she looks at it while he's playing.

Is there a place that make's trumpets nearby. Maybe they can put it
in the form they use in the first place and sqeeze it down again. Or
a music store that sells instruments can tell you who repairs them

I would not use a hammer. It will put little dents in on top of the
big dent and they will be harder to get out.

If I were trying to do it myself I would get someone who is used to
autobody work by hand**, or bending metal in general (I always bend
metal, usually until it breaks, before I throw it away.) and have him
do it by hand, with his thumbs in just the right place, moving them as
necessary.

**I've been able to make a 3 foot dent into a 6" dent, such that the
first 2.5 feet look perfect, with my hands or my foot,, but usually I
can't get the last 6" with just my hands or if I did, I know t here
would be a wrinkle in it. . Of course that is steel and not brass,
but it's thinner too.


How old is he? Was he roughhousing or being careless or was it the
kind of accident even an adult might have?

How does it sound? Maybe if it has extra sounds, one can get rid of
them without fully repairing it.

Can he get by the way it is, until he decides he's serious about the
trumpet and would want a better one anyhow?

He seems to have done a lot of damage. Does that mean it's soft and a
person can put it back with his thumbs, or did he drop it a long way?


Someone tried to bend it back in shape with their fingers. I see
fingerprints around the damaged area in the second photo.

This Youtube video shows how a trumpet is made
The part of the video that shows how the damaged horn can be repaired
starts at 1:38
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl8qfu-ojTQ

--
Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeros after @