It is sobering that in this high-tech world where even your washing machine is computerized, an unknown event for one person can take down an entire community that evolved over a lengthy period of time.

@robertwerntz LOL. I would need to do some soldering before it could even be a stable lamp. And the in-laws would be shocked at the disrespect for their beloved ancestor.

The mystery deepens.....

The shank is definitely smaller than either a trumpet or my Kanstul flugel or my Yamaha flugel. It fits on my cornets, but is actually slightly large for the cornets. Also, the cup measures about 13.5mm in diameter whereas my Bach 3C cornet mouthpiece measures about 11mm. (My Yamaha 13F4 flugel mouthpiece is also right at 11mm in diameter, very similar to a cornet mouthpiece diameter.) SO.... the rim is larger than a normal cornet mouthpiece and the cup is much deeper than a trumpet or cornet mouthpiece; however, the shank is slightly larger than normal for a cornet but smaller than a Yamaha flugel mouthpiece. However, it is definitely stamped "Bach 7."

Could this be for something like a mellophone or mellophonium or alto horn or something? Photos attached.

Thanks, guys. When I first saw it I also assumed it might be a cornet mouthpiece duct taped to a trumpet receiver. However, when I got it off, I could see that it is MUCH deeper than a cornet mouthpiece. The shank actually fits on my cornets fairly well, but it is clearly not a cornet mouthpiece. I would have expected it to be marked 7FL, or something of that nature. But it isn't. Just plain "7." I'll post some photos tomorrow.

Not long ago, my sister-in-law gave me an old "family heirloom" trumpet that had belonged to a beloved ancestor. The last thing I need is another old trumpet but, not to offend, I gratefully accepted it. I told her that in the trumpet world we have a name for horns like this which is: "lamp." This old "American Leader" was obviously ready for lamp duty about 40 years ago. However, when I looked at the mouthpiece--held on by duct tape, of course--I realized it wasn't really a trumpet mouthpiece, at all. It looks like a flugelhorn mouthpiece, but the shank is too small to fit either my Kanstul or Yamaha flugel. It is marked "Vincent Bach Corp. 7."

I think I have read there are 3 different flugel shanks, and this might be the small one. Are there flugel brands that take smaller shank than Yamaha or Kanstul?

So, where is the USC marching band when we really need them? That Super Bowl halftime show was unwatchable.

@USAFBugler Thanks, USAFBugler. Yes, I use the Yamaha Neo Eb cornet now for almost all Eb parts. I can keep it in tune well enough, but I'm using it for 19th century USA charts almost exclusively.

So, here's an update..... WWBW listed new Hetman #2 as "in stock." So, I ordered 5 bottles. They arrived promptly, but the zip-closure bag inside the box arrived full of oil. The bottles all leaked like crazy.

I was at local shop "Hornucopia" about other matters, and I asked owner Sandy about Hetman. She told me that other players had told her the same thing. The new round-shaped Hetman bottles leak like crazy. Other players also report the product seems different from the old Hetman oils.

I called WWBW and they gave me a refund "no questions asked." They didn't want the product returned. I can see why.

@barliman2001 You could try one of these.....

@j-jericho OK. I'll bite. What is a little humorous about this image? Maybe the new driver is straddling the line, but there is also road under repair to the right necessitating a wide turn.

@bigdub Yogi only said about 5% of the things he supposedly said. The other 95% were made up by his childhood buddy, neighbor, and teammate Joe Garagiola who attributed them to Yogi. Both of them were still alive when I lived in St. Louis and they would occasionally make local appearances together.

Yogi would start out (haltingly): "Well,..... youse knows what..... I always sez. When youse comes.... to the fork in the road..... take it!"

Then Joe would jump in and say: "Yeah, well let me tell you about the other 500 things Yogi said. Blah, blah, blah. Yak, yak, yak...." And Joe would continue for about 15 minutes with more Yogi-isms.