The Manufacture
of the Montview Timpani

The bowl is cut out of sheet copper...

then welded together. They have tried spinning the bowl on a lathe but the copper does not cooperate.

Final shaping is done with this automatic hammer. The copper needs to be annealed a few times during the shaping, by heating and quenching, because it tends to harden with the hammering. The hammering leaves the copper hardened.

Sanding and buffing is done in this room.

This is the buffer used for the bowls. The green brick on the buffer is green rouge; red rouge is used for the final polishing. After buffing the bowl is lacquered. Wax was formerly used, but modern customers prefer lacquer. EPA requirements for the formulation of the lacquer make it finicky to apply.

Auxiliary parts are made. This machine rolls steel bands into circles.

The frame parts are cast at another firm in Denver, then they are machined and finished here.

A rachet for locking the head tensioning (tuning) is being machined.

A nearly complete drum assembly. This one is for Julliard. Note that about 1/3rd of the drum heads supplied for these drums are rejected here, then sent back to the manufacturer.

One of Montview's drums, nearly complete.