Posted by John Swensen on March 03, 2000 at 17:43:53:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Custom Mouthpieces? posted by Josh on March 03, 2000 at 17:20:10:
For comfort, you only need a polycarbonate rim; the cup and shank can be plated brass. I cut off the rim on a Helleberg mouthpiece and threaded the cup, then made up a bunch of polycarbonate (Lexan) rims to try with it. I chose polycarbonate because I could cut a new rim shape and try it without needing to plate it, first. I have also tried Delrin (acetal) for the rim; that material is much more slippery than polycarbonate, which feels stickier than either silver or gold plated brass, to me.
Lots of places offer Delrin or other plastic rims, and can thread a mouthpiece to fit screw rims.