Experimental Horn Bracket
A recent discussion on the D-List got me thinking about the Detail Associates
Nathan horn set 5-chime M5 #1602. This is probably the horn set I will use on
the GP38-2s I am slowly working on. But the biggest problem with this kit is
how fragile the bracket is. One bump, it may be history. It was during that
discussion that the idea of making a new bracket out of metal came to me.
Digging through my STACK of Detail Associates parts produced just one of the
#1602 kits. And sure enough, the bracket was already broke in half. So using
what I could of those parts, I created this part that resembles the DA bracket.
And no, that is not two brackets. It is one that is folded in half to give it depth and strength. In the first photo below you can see the
bracket after it is folded into shape. The second photo shows the bracket at a slight angle to show the depth. I didn't do it in these photos,
but a dab of glue could be added between the halves and the tabs at the top could be filed away.
And here you see a group of photos of the bracket with the Detail Associates bells and diaphrams added to them. While the assembly is a little
trickier than gluing plastic to plastic, if it is planned out correctly, one could build a horn with the same results that is less likely to break.
This bracket was made out of brass. It is probably strong enough for what it is being used for. It could also be made out of Phosphorus bronze or even
stainless steel. But, by the time you sandwich it between five horn bells and diaphrams and then insert it into a mounting hole, I would think you
would have to bump it pretty hard to bend it. And then you would probably knock off a bell or two. As far as accuracy of the bracket, I don't know,
there are horn gurus that can chime in on that. But, I am wondering if this opens a whole new can of ideas that will give that Detail Associates
Nathan horn kit many new uses. As always, thanks for checking out my experiment. If you have any comments or suggestions on it, please feel
free to let me know planodude@planomodelproducts.com There is never a guarantee I will produce this or any of my experiments, but if it wasn't
feasible, I wouldn't post it...
Thanks for looking!
Keith
