[Harp-L] Tools

["John Kerkhoven" <solo_danswer@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello.

I'm new to this list -- I've been listening in for a few weeks now, and
plan
to stay tuned.

I'm at a point where I'd like to learn more about maintaining and
repairing
my own harps. I'm comfortable with taking them apart and doing some
basic
adjustments, like adjusting gapping, or the odd reed tuning. But I'd
like to
get more serious about this and learn to replace reeds -- and, I hope it
goes without saying, to learn to do it well.

For the time being I will be working on primarily Special 20 and Golden
Melody harps.

Presently, I use such tools as I have collected that do the job, and I
plan
to buy the Lee Oskar toolkit. I'm also looking into jeweler's tools.

What I'd really like to know is whether Farrell's tools are worth
purchasing, in particular the reed knockout tool.

By the bye, I seem to recall that Farrell used to offer more in the way
of
tools than they do now. I got their catalog sent to me, but can find no
mention in it of the rotary reed tuning tool which they used to promote.
Have they scaled back their tool offerings?

Farrell also encourages the purchase of Blackie Schackner's book. I
thought
I would check this out. Any comments on this?

Any tips on tuners and tuning would also be appreciated. I've only tuned
reeds when absolutely necessary and only by ear, or comparing with the
same
note on another harp. So, my tuning skills and experience are pretty
basic
at this point.

In sum, I'm prepared to spend a few bucks right now to get more serious
about doing repairs and maintenance and am looking for advice and
suggestions on which way to go. I take full responsibility for the
decisions
I make.

Thanks,

John
Montreal