Daily Journal of Mr. Jacob Charles Malec, participant
Robert Barclay Trumpet Making Workshop--July 12-17, 1999

First Day
Monday, July 12, 1999 -- 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

July 12, 1999

Today was the fist day of the workshop. Dr. Burdick and I got off to a rocky start because the directions we were given to the vocational-technology school where the workshop is being held, bared no semblance to reality. As a result we were a half an hour late. However, once we arrived and got settled, the day ran very smoothly.

From the very beginning of the day everything was hands on. Bob Barclay would demonstrate, and we would do. The first task was to connect the seam of the bell. This was accomplished by alternating tabs of brass. After we made the tabs we proceeded to solder them together. When we were finished we could either finish making the rest of the pipes or hammer the bell. I chose to hammer the bell on the anvil. There is only one spot on the anvil that is efficient. You can tell this place because the anvil rings with a particularly loud resonance. I wore earplugs witch helped protect my ears These tasks took the entire day. All in all I believe, that I am learn a great deal of technique that I will be able to apply an future projects.

Daily Journal of Dr. Daniel Burdick, participant
Robert Barclay Trumpet Making Workshop--July 12-17, 1999

First Day
Monday, July 12, 1999 -- 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

July 12, 1999

Well today was full of new experiences and very exciting. Jake and I left Shawn and Emily's a little bit late due to a summer cold I have caught that is now in full force. The map we had to follow was a little bit challenging, but once we figured out that the Hoosier Hills Vocational School was in the same complex as the Bloomington North High School, we arrived at the workshop a half-hour late. Everyone was just getting started with making their bells.

Although today was a lot of fun, it provided many challenges for me since I seem to have little aptitude for working with metal. However, both Bob Barclay and Rick Seraphinoff were very patient and helpful. The first activity of the day was to file down the edges of the bell to provide for a tight fit when the bell seam is completed. After filing the edges, metal shears were used to cut tabs on one-side of half of the bell. These tabs were then bent alternating between forward and backward.

After all of this preparation, I closed the bell seam by bending the bell in half over a mandrel. Then, I pushed and hammered the seam until the tabs made a tight fit. It was difficult to do and I had to get help from both Rick and Bob. It involved raising the tabs and starting certain sections over. However, with lots of patience, it was finished with the tabs in reasonably good order and the fit serviceable.

At this point, it was time for lunch; about 1:15 p.m. Jake and I joined a student from Centre College in Danville, KY, Brian, and Dr. Hank Meredith for lunch at a good Mexican restaurant. It was good to have a break both mentally and physically. My back was sore from all the bending.

After lunch, it was time to solder the bell together. Brian had burned his fingers earlier by picking up the very, very hot end of a tool. And, sometimes hearing about someone's misfortune is not enough to prevent it for someone else. I too began my soldering experiences by causing second degree burns to my thumb and forefinger by picking up the hot end of a tool.. A little bit annoying but our time with J.B. at Presque Isle stood me in good stead. He said when these things happen, just slap a bandage on and keep going. So, I did and it didn't hurt that much. Once, I got started the soldering went pretty well. I got all of the tabs soldered and then did the straight seam of the rest of the bell. I had one area where it didn't solder, but with a little help from Bob, all was well.

The rest of the after noon was spent forming two straight tubes and soldering them. Soldering actually became fun watching the solder follow the flux. Bob helped me solder the second pipe and it went well. The techniques Jake and I learned from J.B. Salter at Presque Isle Brass really came in handy today.