Some Welte orchestrions used a rank of free reed trumpet pipes.  Those
reeds were made of steel.  They could be tuned with a tuning wire like
free reed clarinets.  There was a brass plate for the shallot face, and
the steel reed was ground into a T-shape held in place with a screw and
locating pins.  The precision of the size and stiffness of the steel
reeds was critical to their sound. The pipes played with pressure, not
vacuum, and the tongue was shaped and oriented accordingly.

The resonators were very thin brass with bells spun or worked onto the
top of the resonator.  The bending for the fan shape, or in some cases,
just an offset for the bell to have room, was accomplished by filling
the tip of the resonator with lead which was melted out after bending.
The seam was silver-soldered with a high temperature silver solder that
wouldn't let go when the lead was melted. Beating reeds are a lot
easier.

John M. Nolte
Nolte Organ Building & Supply, Inc.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin