Mikey

Does anybody have a template for cutting a new harmon mute cork? I have a Jo-Ral that is in good shape, except the cork is shot. I already have a sheet of cork...

Thanks,


Mike

Fudleysmith

Hey Mikey,

I quit using cork on my Jo-Ral 'cause of the weight of the mute, and I now use something called Magic Foam that I got from a crafts store. It has been much more secure for me (no more DENTS in my $50 mute!).

Sorry, no template, but the foam stretches just a bit, so I get the larger diameter aligned just so - let the excess run free over the opening - and then trim the small diameter with a single edge razor when the glue (I use silicon glue) is dry.

One of my section mates tore off his original cork and now uses the foam (too many unintended bounces).

Good luck,

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Fudleysmith

Conn V1 Rose brass bell
GR 65M #1bb

Conn V1 Flugel (Satin Silver)
GR 65FD

Conn 8DRS
Lawson S670/P10G 705

Fudleysmith

Oh, I forgot,

An ACE bandage makes a great cork/foam "clamp" whle the glue is drying.

__________________
Fudleysmith

Conn V1 Rose brass bell
GR 65M #1bb

Conn V1 Flugel (Satin Silver)
GR 65FD

Conn 8DRS
Lawson S670/P10G 705

Mikey

Thanks for the tip. But I looked in 2 craft/hobby stores here in Minneapolis and neither one heard of Magic Foam. What craft store did you find it in?

gzent

I think I found it at Michaels, or some other fabric store. Forget cork, the sheet foam (Funky Foam rings a bell) is much more durable.

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Mikey

Ah........Michael's in Richfield is where I went, and they never heard of "Magic Foam." But I will ask about "Funky Foam, and tell them it comes in a sheet.

Thanks....


M.

Tootsall

Mikey... you can check at Michaels as someone has already suggested. You might not find the foam as a "sheet" but as precut pieces for crafts; just find one that'll fit.

For making a template for a Harmon (Harmon brand) I just laid a sheet of gasket cork on the workbench and traced the inner (smallest) line that resulted when I rolled the mute in a partial circle. Then add the width of cork and trace another line outside the first. Make it a bit oversize if you want; an X-Acto blade trims it up really well. I used contact cement to apply.

Edit: oh yeah... I forgot... I used cork on the Harmon mute because I needed to thicken the cork up... the mute was sitting way too deep inside the bells of both my B1 and MR. I have used the thick foam from Michaels for making replacement cork "pads" for a straight mute.

The cork has yet to fall off my JoRal bubble mute!

Dave Converse

Templates can easily be made from plain paper. I like the suggestion of cutting the cork slightly over-size, then trimming after the glue dries.

Fudleysmith

I'm kinda late getting back to this thread, but it was A.C. Moore craft store where I bought 1' x 1' squares in two different thicknesses.

__________________
Fudleysmith

Conn V1 Rose brass bell
GR 65M #1bb

Conn V1 Flugel (Satin Silver)
GR 65FD

Conn 8DRS
Lawson S670/P10G 705

Fudleysmith

Hi Tootsall,

It wasn't the cork that fell off of my Jo-Ral Copper bubble mute, it was the mute falling out of the bell (even after "huffing" the bell well). With the foam, it feels more secure in the bell.

__________________
Fudleysmith

Conn V1 Rose brass bell
GR 65M #1bb

Conn V1 Flugel (Satin Silver)
GR 65FD

Conn 8DRS
Lawson S670/P10G 705