Making the Sauer brace permanent

[MStarke]

To the techs here:

I really like the effect of the MK version of the Sauer brace on some of my horns. I really like my TIS horns and German trombones with heavy slide/light bells and enjoy the effect the brace has on e.g. my 88hs, my Kanstul alto (with a very light slide) and my hybrid Conn 112h/62h.

How would you go about this?
Would you take the actual Sauer brace and solder it on the desired spot?
Would you machine something by yourself?
Or would you take some readily available part, customize it and solder it on?

[MStarke]

This is probably a really simple answer for the techs, but would appreciate your inputs!

[Matt K]

I'm not a tech but I've known about half a dozen people over the years who have liked the brace so much that they ended up having a tech make something similar out of simple nickel or brass rods and solder it to the slide.

[Crazy4Tbone86]

Well…….this is an interesting idea. However, I would not recommend simply soldering on an MK Sauer brace for two reasons:

1. It is a specialized piece of equipment that has been machined to a precise measurement with precise threading. I think it would be best to solder on a non-threaded brace in which the solder can flex in and out (be adjustable during the soldering). You should save the MK Sauer brace for other horns and let it remain as a modular part.

2. If you simply solder the MK brace on, it will not play exactly the same as when you twist the rod to install it. The solder will add weight and that will make it different in one way or another.

If you want to go this route, my suggestion is that you start with the brace flanges from a Bach trumpet main tuning slide. Use a nickel rod (the original one from the trumpet will probably be too short) and machine the center of the rod down so that the weight of all three parts (two flanges and a rod) is a couple grams lighter than the original MK part. Then when solder it on, the weight will be very close to the original MK brace.

[MStarke]

Matt and Brian, thanks a lot! Totally makes sense for me and is very helpful, especially the very concrete suggestions from Brian.

Having a good idea for myself definitely makes it easier to align with my tech who I have good experiences with, but my impression is that he has not done much yet which is a little out of the box.

[trombonedemon]

The Brass Tech that alighted my slide, told me the brace eventually throws it out of alignment when put on an off . I eventually left it off.

[Crazy4Tbone86]

The Brass Tech that alighted my slide, told me the brace eventually throws it out of alignment when put on an off . I eventually left it off.

Yes, there is the potential for the Sauer brace to make the tubes not parallel, especially if you tighten it too much. That would actually be a reason to solder a brace on at that location.

Of course you won't be able to just solder a brace on and trust that all is well. The tech would need to check all of the parallel aspects of the inner and outer slides to make sure that everything is in optimum alignment.

[JohnL]

Has anyone tried just adding some mass down by the end bow rather than adding a complete brace? Maybe a set of oversleeves?