BULB HORNS

[CHARLES lipscombeParticipant @charleslipscombe16059]

Does anyone know the technology of the 1920's bulb horns used on Model T Fords and just about all other vehicles at that time? i.e. what brass the reeds were made from and how these were tuned? Reeds purchased from India often do not work or give a feeble squawk, attempts to fix them usually result in no sound at all. There must have been millions of these horns made – someone, somewhere must know the technology!

Chas L

[CHARLES lipscombeParticipant @charleslipscombe16059]

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

Must be the same principle as concertina reeds, and I think there is quite a bit of stuff on google about them. There are quite a few people around who repair concerinas and accordians, they might help?

[Roderick JenkinsParticipant @roderickjenkins93242]

I don't suppose the type of brass matters but my guess is that they should have been hammered to work harden them and make them springy. I once made some Northumbrian bagpipe drone reeds out brass, the bodies were folded up and the tongues hammered. They gave a creditable honk when sucked, sadly the pipes are still waiting to be finished .

HTH,

Rod

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

I've got a bombard, which is a bit like a bagpipe practice chanter, but it has a single brass key so it can be longer.

Double reed and probably the most anti-social musical instrument known to man.

Neil

[Roderick JenkinsParticipant @roderickjenkins93242]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 01/11/2016 16:03:39:

Double reed and probably the most anti-social musical instrument known to man.

Does that qualify for the defiinition of a gentleman? – one who can play the banjo/ bagpipes/ bombard (delete as appropriate) but doesn't.

Rod

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

No gentleman would admit to owning a Super Adept!

[CHARLES lipscombeParticipant @charleslipscombe16059]

I must admit that any possible similarity to accordion reeds, bagpipes and bombards had escaped me!

The only current use for these reeds that I can think of are in railway linesmen's horns to warm gangers that a train is coming (in the UK at any rate, they are still used on some vehicles in India).

Surely the worlds most annoying "musical" instrument is the device used at the World Soccer Cup in South Africa -cant remember the name but starts with a V

Chas

[GeorgineerParticipant @georgineer]

Vuvuzela, if memory serves. I've got a spare one you can have if you want to annoy the neighbours.

The main difference between horns and accordions/concertinas/ mouth organs/ harmoniums/ humming tops is that the horn has a single beating reed, which makes contact with a hollow housing (rather like a clarinet mouthpiece), and the others have free reeds which vibrate in a closely fitting aperture but don't actually touch it. I imagine that the same sort of brass would serve equally well for both.

George

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Would the squeaker out of a dog toy work? That's what they used to use in cycle horns.

Neil

[Clive HartlandParticipant @clivehartland94829]

Sainsbury are selling a bulb horn for bikes at the moment!

Clive

[V8EngParticipant @v8eng]

Posted by CHARLES lipscombe on 01/11/2016 10:13:27:

Does anyone know the technology of the 1920's bulb horns used on Model T Fords and just about all other vehicles at that time? i.e. what brass the reeds were made from and how these were tuned? Reeds purchased from India often do not work or give a feeble squawk, attempts to fix them usually result in no sound at all. There must have been millions of these horns made – someone, somewhere must know the technology!

Chas L

 

 

Hi Chas.

There is somebody goes by the name of: taff the horns, well into everything to do with vintage vehicle horns.

Web address might well be:- taffthehorns.com

A search would probably find it anyway.

I've never actually dealt with them personally.

Regards V8.

 

Edited for spelling error.

 

Edited By V8Eng on 02/11/2016 18:11:47

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

Our Perkins Heritage Group inherited a 1923 Autocrat car. During refurbishment, we found that the bulb horn did not work, (someone had bent the reed). Another retired employee, who was into pipe organs, kindly sorted it.

The loudest note will obtainable will be a combination of the reed, oscillating at its natural frequency, setting the column of air in the trumpet into resonance, which should be the fundamental note of the horn. If you can make the two frequencies coincide, you should get a good loud note!

Fat finger typos corrected; all I hope!

Howard.

Edited By Howard Lewis on 02/11/2016 18:32:50

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

V8 is right, and he sells them for £10 each or £5 for 'seconds' (do they go poop instead of parp?)

Neil

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