Mute repair

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jrod93
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Joined: Thu Jun 21, 2018 5:15 am

Mute repair

Post by jrod93 »

I have an old H&B cup mute that is missing the round "red" dot on the front of the mute. I'm wondering if I can cut and glue a replacement piece of wood to plug the hole. Any suggestions for the type of wood or thickness?
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BGuttman
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Location: Cow Hampshire

Re: Mute repair

Post by BGuttman »

I assume you mean the base of the mute.

ToneColor mutes (a competitor) used to have a 1/4" (6 mm) maple disk as the bottom.

I would guess that any hard wood would be OK. So would epoxy laminate, or even a thin metal plate.

Other materials may give some interesting results even though they won't necessarily sound like a cup mute.
Bruce Guttman
Merrimack Valley Philharmonic Orchestra
"Almost Professional"
djkennedy
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Re: Mute repair

Post by djkennedy »

I have made buzz wow mutes with thin wood bottoms
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djkennedy
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Re: Mute repair

Post by djkennedy »

Also have used metal
For mutes
timothy42b
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Location: central Virginia

Re: Mute repair

Post by timothy42b »

I just measured my cup mute bottom at 3.5 inches.

Interesting. Most tape measures have inches on one edge and centimeters on the other. This one has sixteenths marks on one and thirty-seconds on the other. No wonder it was cheap. But I digress. I grabbed a ruler for the metric folk here and it's about 8.6 cm.

Lowes and Home Depot sell flooring samples in a variety of wood types for 25 cents each, sometimes free, and I think they are 4 x 4 inches.
jrod93
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Re: Mute repair

Post by jrod93 »

Nice ideas guys! Thanks. I'll head to Lowe's in a few. Actually I might have some floor sample in the garage ☺️
djkennedy
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Re: Mute repair

Post by djkennedy »

Thin 1/4 “
Belt sander to sand taper to fit
jrod93
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Re: Mute repair

Post by jrod93 »

Thanks DJ and all

Going to get started soon
Doubler
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Re: Mute repair

Post by Doubler »

In addition to home improvement stores suggested above, craft stores like Hobby Lobby usually have a good selection. You could look on eBay, too.
Current instruments:
Olds Studio trombone, 3 trumpets, 1 flugelhorn, 1 cornet, 1 shofar, 1 keyboard

Previous trombones:
Selmer Bundy, Marceau
jrod93
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Joined: Thu Jun 21, 2018 5:15 am

Re: Mute repair

Post by jrod93 »

Took DJs advise and repaired it today. Cut to size and pressure fitted. Now I have to paint it.
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Crazy4Tbone86
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Re: Mute repair

Post by Crazy4Tbone86 »

You might have already painted this "mute," so this might be a "moot" point..... (sorry, but I thought that was slightly clever). Anyway, I was taught years ago that the most effective mutes are sealed and airtight. You might consider sealing that edge with a glue gun or some type of filler.

The "air tight" notion is not something that I necessarily believe. I have had horrible mutes that were air tight and fantastic mutes that leaked profusely. Just throwing it out there as something to consider.
Brian D. Hinkley - Player, Teacher, Technician and Trombone Enthusiast
Posaunus
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Re: Mute repair

Post by Posaunus »

Crazy4Tbone86 wrote: Tue Nov 24, 2020 5:22 pm You might have already painted this "mute," so this might be a "moot" point..... (sorry, but I thought that was slightly clever). Anyway, I was taught years ago that the most effective mutes are sealed and airtight. You might consider sealing that edge with a glue gun or some type of filler.

The "air tight" notion is not something that I necessarily believe. I have had horrible mutes that were air tight and fantastic mutes that leaked profusely. Just throwing it out there as something to consider.
Interesting. Some folks make a big point of drilling holes in the bases of their mutes – to make them less airtight! Never done this myself, but ... :idk:
jrod93
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Joined: Thu Jun 21, 2018 5:15 am

Re: Mute repair

Post by jrod93 »

I'm looking at sealing it with glue or caulk. You would think that the side would be like the drilled holes but it's not. The center hole is possible
Doubler
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Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2019 8:56 pm

Re: Mute repair

Post by Doubler »

jrod93 wrote: Wed Nov 25, 2020 5:41 pm I'm looking at sealing it with glue or caulk.
If it were mine, I'd use Titebond Quick & Thick http://www.titebond.com/product/glues/d ... f19351778b# . Check out the video.
Current instruments:
Olds Studio trombone, 3 trumpets, 1 flugelhorn, 1 cornet, 1 shofar, 1 keyboard

Previous trombones:
Selmer Bundy, Marceau
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