Mouthpiece shank cracks

[Chazzer69]

Is anyone aware of any mouthpiece restorers/re-platers that have a method for repairing or filling in small cracks that can occur at the end of shanks? I gather that 'trimming' the end is not a good idea as it can negatively impact playing with that mouthpiece. I can't find any solid references to this kind of repair or restoration on the interwebz. There was one person who mentioned using a silver alloy (I think) of some type, but it was a one-off reference.

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[tbonesullivan]

What kind of mouthpiece is it? Can it simply be replaced? I'm pretty sure silver soldering or brazing could be used to join the cracks, but it would need to be a method that will withstand the re-shaping the shank is going to need after that kind of repair. Has the mouthpiece ever been replated? It looks pretty thin at the end of the shank.

[GabrielRice]

I would ask Greg Black or John Stork directly what can be done.

[doctortrombone]

I've done it a couple of ways with some of the older Bach New York mouthpieces that have very thin insertion ends on the shanks. On a few, I was able to fill in the cracks with a silver phosphorus brazing compound, and reshape them. Others simply wouldn't take the silver solder. On a few, I ended up cutting off the last 10 mm and butt-brazing the bottom of a shank from another mouthpiece, then filing and sanding to shape. It's a very labor intensive process, so it would have to be a very special mouthpiece.