Buescher Band Instrument Co.
Elkhart, Indiana
Model 280 Fluegel Horn
#181941 c.1925

I missed out on winning a very rare Buescher Fluegel horn at an online auction, but I wasn't too upset since the condition looked terrible. A few months later, a collector friend contacted me about buying the same horn from him, so I took my chances on seeing if I could bring it back to life.

I could tell from the photos that the bottom valve caps were missing, and I was told that one of the valves had a crack between the ports. The positive side was that the engraving looked really nice. Of all the makers that I have dealt with over the years, Buescher does one of the best jobs with gold plating. They must have put it on really thick as they rarely wear thin with use and polishing.

Here are some photos from the original listing. The first and third slides were heading in the wrong direction and the valves are stuck down.

Here is how I acquired it in 2023.

All apart and ready for restoration. I had a nice set of Buescher bottom caps from a parts cornet that fit well. The mouthpiece is marked "A", which is probably for an alto horn, but it fit this fine. Both the first and third valve slides had been pushed toward the bell, causing the valves to hang up.

Here is a period catalog image for the model 280 FLuegel Horn.

All cleaned up and ready for assembly.

Back together and playing again! The alto horn mouthpiece didn't sound that great but a more modern Bach fluegel horn one made it much better.