as I got this Echo cornet, the whisper bell was missing. It might have been removed, because it takes up quite some space, and gives a bad hold of the instrument. Besides that, the usual repairs had to be made. This report will focus on the reconstruction of the missing whisper bell. No drawings were awailable from John Grey, all I had to work from were the wear marks in the coffin case, and on the instrument itself. And the calculated length of the tube.

As it came to me	All disassembled	A new part is made

The first part of the repair was much like other repairs, worn or missing parts had to be replaced, maybe spare parts could be found in the spare parts box, or they must be made from new.

Corkslices being prepared	A bad soldering is removed	And a new is made

Cork and felt slices most often need replacement. New slices are made from raw material, it saves me from keeeping a store of many different sizes.
A bad soldering made of tin had to be removed. A silver soldering is necessary here, but all tin must be carefully removed, or the new soldering will get too weak.

Lead casting	Bending of the tube	A press is used in one case

Now the missing whisper must be made. A bell from a scrapped trumpet was found suitable for the project. But it must be adjusted to fit. Lead is casted into the tube, that has been treated with vaseline oil or paraffin oil to awoid soldering between lead and tube. Then the tube is bend to shape. Small wrinkles appear, and must be hammered back. In one case a press had to be taken to help for a certain bend.

Melting out the lead	Matching of a mandrel	Cutting of the bell rim

The shape is reached, but the bell must match too. First the lead is melted out, then a mandrel is fitted to match the bell, the correct fit is checked with marker blue. In a lathe, the excess bell rim is cut off, using a steel with a strong negative cutting angle. This is to awoid the steel to hook the thin brass when breaking trough. This would misshape the bell.

A new rim is mounted	The last scratches removed	Parts being assembled

After cutting off the rim, a new ring is mounted. From here the bell will narrow again. This remaining part was made out of a toy trumpet, that matched this use quite well. The last scratches are removed, here with a polishing iron. Then the parts can be assembled.

Polishing	Washing

Now it is assembled, and the polishing can begin. Where possible a machine is used, in corners and edges handpower is required. At last the instrument is washed inside and outside to awoid dirt to get into the valves.
Here is the result.