Straightening out brass instruments using Super Magnets

Gandalfe

Gandalfe

Striving to play the changes in a melodic way.
Staff member
Administrator
I found this fascinating: http://www.supermagnete.de/eng/project8

Roberto from Italy repaired his dented brass instrument on his own with the help of super magnets. To do so, he used our largest magnetic hook FTN-63 as well as a large disc magnet. The hook provided him with a reasonable grip which the disc alone cannot offer. Here you see the dented Euphonium.

http://javascript<b></b>:toggleImageSize('68',262,393,524,786,524);Then he let a steel ball, somewhat smaller than the dent, roll into the instrument. The steel ball naturally "attached itself" through the instrument to the magnet. He then moved the magnet back and forth over the brass where the instrument was dented, and with time the steel ball pushed the dent outwards.

To ensure that the instrument would not be scratched, he placed a drumskin between the instrument and the magnet and applied some oil on both the drumskin and the instrument.

Read/See more...
 
jbtsax said:
Exactly, but judging from the current prices the "rare earth magnets" are becoming more rare all the time. These, by the way are great for removing dents in saxophone bell bows.
Click to expand...

The scarcity of the magnets (so we have been told) is also messing up pricing for musical instrument loudspeaker cabinets of the neo - lightweight variety.

Prices have gone high crazy fast in the last year or so.
 
Carl H. said:
The scarcity of the magnets (so we have been told) is also messing up pricing for musical instrument loudspeaker cabinets of the neo - lightweight variety.

Prices have gone high crazy fast in the last year or so.
Click to expand...
Hey, they're called "rare" for a reason :).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudspeaker

They could always use something other than rare earth magnets, like switch to an older technology. The first thought I had about this was, "Why not just use an electromagnet?" According to that Wikipedia article, that was what a lot of the first (French) speakers used. I think that some of the problems with those designs could be fixed with modern tech.
 
pete said:
Hey, they're called "rare" for a reason :).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudspeaker

They could always use something other than rare earth magnets, like switch to an older technology. The first thought I had about this was, "Why not just use an electromagnet?" According to that Wikipedia article, that was what a lot of the first (French) speakers used. I think that some of the problems with those designs could be fixed with modern tech.
Click to expand...

I heard that the Ferree's tool company experimented with using electromagnets with dent balls several years ago---long before the advent of the rare earth magnets, and they found them to be too big and cumbersome to be practical.

I have wondered if there is some way to have a regular magnet inside the sax and an electromagnet on the outside which rapidly reverses its polarity resulting in a rapid "tapping" of the dent outward.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom