PROJECT OVERVIEW

The first step in making the trumpet will be the 3D model, which I plan on doing in Autodesk Inventor. I will then print out all of the drawings I need of the design and I will 3D model and print the negatives I need to make the casts for each of the parts, including the model of the bell mandrill, which I plan on casting out of aluminum. I will then form the bell out of sheet metal around the mandrill and braze the seam together with copper phosphorus brazing rods. Then I will fold the edge of the bell over and trim the excess, and roll it around the wire reinforcement and force solder into the seam around the edge of the bell. I will then put the bend in the rear bell section with a D-shaped wooden semicircle with a groove in the middle on the curved section. Next, I will make the valve casing cast by 3D printing the valve casing and making a cast out of it, probably sand with the valve casing separated into pieces. I will then clamp the pieces together in position and braze them together.
With the valve casing and the bell done, I will cast the valves, this time using the lost wax style by coating the valve 3D print with clay and creating it into a mold and then casting it, this time out of nickel-silver as Bach claimed that it caused the valves to move smoother and they gave better sound. I plan on casting the valves with the button dettached from the valve and then brazing them together with the cast valve cap on the valve stem, because hammering threads into a delicate valve is not something that I want to risk. I will then do the first test fitting with only the valves and valve casings, to make sure that I do not need to make any adjustments or recast anything.
Next, I will solder the smaller tubing onto the valve casing, including the bell section. Then, using measurements from the valve casing, I will begin to bend the slightly larger tubing to form the tuning slides for each of the 3 valves. Only two of the valve tuning slides will be able to move though- the second tuning slide is small enough that any adjustments that could be made would not affect tuning at all. The second valve tuning slide will be tuned and then soldered into place once the entire trumpet has been assembled and tuned using the fundamental pitch. The total length for each of the other tuning slides should be just under 17.9cm for the first valve and just under 27.8cm for the third valve slide. I will also be attatching a saddle to the first valve tuning slide and a ring to the third valve slide, for adjustments in the higher and lower registers.
Finally I will bend the main tuning slide into shape and fully assemble the trumpet and solder everything in place, except for the tuning slides, using thin metal rod supports where needed to hold everything together. The total length of the trumpet without any of the valves depressed should be around 147cm, to leave room for tuning adjustments. I will then tune the horn and then tune and solder the second valve tuning slide into place.
With a project this complex, there are some things that I cannot do, such as engrave the bell and use two valve caps, with one on either side of the valve. I also can’t use threads to attach the top valve cap to the valve casing- I plan on casting them with some sort of locking mechanism. I also can’t put in spit valves or a third valve brake, but neither of those are necessary. I also cannot make a double-bore horn (where the bore at the mouthpiece differs from the bore at the beginning of the bell) because I will be using one size of premade tubing. I will also not be making my own mouthpiece, because that requires ability with a metal lathe.
There are two different types of brass sounds- bright and dark. Brighter sound is typically used more for a jazz environment while dark sound is better for traditional classical pieces like classical music. A darker sounding brass instrument will typically have a bore that becomes wider gradually and does not flare out at the end of the horn very much, like a flugelhorn, while a brighter horn will have a more narrow bore for most of the instrument before rapidly flaring at the bell, like a traditional trumpet. Since I very much enjoy jazz more and am a more proficient jazz musician, I will be making a brighter, jazzier horn. In order to help that goal more, in addition to making the bell flare more at the end, I will be making the bends in the instrument sharper than traditional instruments (for instance, changing the radius of the piece of wood I bend it around from 2” to 1”).