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I had some options for a final major project, and then was lucky to locate the body of a vintage Geyer single horn of similar design to my Mirafone/Yamaha combo that turned out so well (more here).
The body of this horn is a Geyer, as in made by the legendary horn maker Carl Geyer himself (more here). What happened to this horn prior to my ownership is fairly clear. The most recent thing to happen was the bell was removed (!) to use to restore another Geyer horn. Although the remains were an eBay purchase and have no Geyer markings, I know the seller in real life as well, and with further comparison with photos of Geyer horns I feel very certain this body is in fact the work of Geyer.
Even when it had the bell I believe it was unplayable, the lead pipe was a mess with patches and large dents, and I spotted right away two major leaks in the horn body and some suspect repairs.
My original project of the semester (more here) involved rebuilding an older project of mine with a new valve section from a King single Bb. That bell was available for this project, and fortunately it will fit the Geyer body with minimal modification! So that is the good news. The bad news is after taking apart the Geyer body to do dent work it needs at least 5 (!) patches, including two on valve knuckles, and it must have been damaged pretty heavily and then repaired and lacquered. I still have to take the valve slides off the first and third valves, and I bet there is even more damage I have not found yet.
As of now I have stripped the lacquer on the bell and the horn body, and I’ve completed most of my dent work, to the level I can do — not perfect, with a bit of visible “character” in the dented areas, but acoustically sound. The next step is working on the patches and fitting parts back together. After the body is done I’ll consider lead pipe options.
Still, I’m glad I can put this horn back together. I will follow the design of the original build as closely as I can, and I’m excited to see how it turns out. There are still some key Geyer parts here, made by a master! And looking at the calendar this should be the last major part of my sabbatical project. More soon.
Continue to Finale of Sabbatical Series
