Handy tip for DIY mouthpiece modifications

[Lionel]

I've been modifying mouthpieces with home tools since my teen years. That's roughly 47 years ago. And in more recent times I've finally broken down and bought a small metal lathe. Oddly enough however I've recently started turning to a homemade solution and left the lathe back in the tool closet.

Last year while at the Home Depot I purchased a slightly smaller than average vise. Something just to hold objects that I was either drilling or cutting. It's an indispensable tool for the home shop. Then just about a week ago and while feeling frustrated with the speed of my lathe, I took one of my variable speed drills and INSERTED IT INTO MY VISE!!

Presto: Instant variable speed metal lathe! With this, I can polish out nicks that I'd filled earlier with lead-free solder. And/or modify cup depths and rim shapes. One of the cutting tools I use is rather primitive but it sure enough works. Basically, it is just a quarter-inch-thick drill bit. I use the edge against the rotating mouthpiece. A collection of varying sandpaper grits is important too. Usually starting from 120 going all the way up to 1200. I only rarely use the super coarse 80 grit paper, but this is almost in the category of a cutting tool itself.

One benefit of using the ''Drill-in-a-vise'' trick is that you can view the work better from above. As opposed to a lathe which requires either bending one's neck or removing the piece from the machine. Also, gravity tends to make the average metal lathe go out of true. Hint: The only trick to working with the drill in a vise is getting the shank of the mouthpiece perfectly centered so that it turns true. However, this is almost easier with my drill than it is with the lathe.

Wear safety goggles and keep a spray bottle of water handy. As a turned mouthpiece gets hot (friction).

Ask me about how to make a mouthpiece with a much wider rime than stock mouthpieces generally come in. Okay? Well shucks, I'll tell ya. Just buy a selection of brass washers. Cut them on a grinder and then solder to the mouthpiece. Finish off as described above and sand to at least a 600 grit finish. This just might solve a doubling problem for trombonists who want to play trumpet on the side.
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"Check me if I'm wrong Sandy but if I kill all the golfers they're gonna lock me up & throw away the key"!

Carl Spackler (aka Bill Murray, 1980).

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Could you make a video please (hold the camera on a tripod)?