Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 257, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 October 1915 — CARE IN FASHIONING BUGLE [ARTICLE]

CARE IN FASHIONING BUGLE

Making of Instrument Used In the Army Is a Delicate. Complicated Process. From start to finish, the making of an army bugle is a process of much ingenuity and interest. A bugle may not at first sight present a striking resemblance to its cousin, the coachhorn, but the one is practically * curled-up version of the other, for, before the bugle is bent into shape, it consists of a narrow tube, 51 Inches long. In the first stage of manufacture the bugle is cut out of sheet copper and rolled into two thin cylinders, technically known as the “bell” and the “branch.” The narrow tube, which is the “bell.” is gradually shaped out on molds until the opening is the regular 4-inch diameter! It ii then "spun” on a wonderful machine, and an expert workman takes the rough edges off the copper. Both sections are afterwards filled with molten lead, preparatory to the bending stage, and it is this solid stuffing which prevents the tube breaking In the process, and allows it to keep its shape. The expert workman, with the aid of a formidable lever and hammer, bends the bugle into the familiar shape, the lead being subsequently melted out at a charcoal furnace. after which the instrument is sent off to the polishers. One of the most Intricate parts of the bugle is the mouthpiece, which is made of nickel silver and turned out on a special lathe. 1 With the mouthpiece fixed, the instrument is ready for the testing-room.