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Recently I’ve been working toward finishing a natural horn build, and worked out how to make the crushed tube braces. These are highly iconic to some natural horn makers. A quick search also suggests that there may be nothing at all online on this topic, one deserving a quick look.
What is a “crushed tube brace?”
Stated simply, it is a brace made from a crushed tube. The ends are what are actually crushed, formed in the process to fit over the tubes they are attached to. These are often seen on natural horn bodies and crooks. Thus, the braces are hollow rather than being made from solid stock.
Why?
There are a several reasons why you might do a brace of this type instead of a brace turned from brass stock on a lathe. But that actually is the main one I think, how the design originated. You don’t need a lathe to make one of these, just a small piece of tube.
Then it clearly became a style thing. There is a look to these braces that is unmistakable. French makers and makers inspired by the French designs are highly likely to have made their natural horns with the crushed tube braces.
My current natural horn build (described more in my personal blog, here) involves using parts for a Cousenon copy that were obtained from Richard Seraphinoff. He had completed some of the body braces, which I honestly had struggled a bit to finish. And I still needed to make them for the crooks, which created a new challenge for me as I got back to this project over the holidays.
How?
This part was a big stumbling block to me until I finally hit upon a method of making the crushed ends. I’m going to leave my exact method a secret for purposes of this post, but it is actually quick and easy and I will be using them as often as I can in the future! The photo below shows what they are (and the photos at the end of the article show more of how they are applied to a crook).
In my build the crushed tube braces match between the body of the horn and the crooks, another indication to a future owner that they belong together. A detail to look for if you are in any doubt that a crook does or doesn’t belong to an instrument.
Why again?
Makers in other areas were more likely to use braces made from solid stock in some manner (forged or turned on a lathe), but the French came to favor this design. As already stated, the crushed tube brace was style thing but also practical and traditional, and their use hung on for a long while. ASU owns for example a Hawkes piston horn (with a full set of crooks) dating to ca. 1916 that has crook braces of this same type.
As to me, I will be using these braces whenever it makes sense, I do like the traditional look and I can quickly make them to any needed length.
