Re: [Harp-L] Where to purchase comb materials?/OLD Gifted MusicianThread



Thanks for the reply.
   
  1.  Some of the finer woodwind mouthpieces are still made of hard rubber.  There are a few custom carvers out there.
   
  2.  I did read the study here on harp-l about the comb materials.  I'm looking more for feel in my hand and on my lips.  I also have a few ideas combining WInslow's discrete comb with ideas from the Suzuki Overdrive I want  to try.
   
  3.  The reason why I ask about "food grade" bee's wax . . . .  
  A few people locally have directed me toward toilet bowl/floor gaskets made of primarily beeswax. I don't really wanna eat that.
   
  Thanks again!

Vern Smith <jevern@xxxxxxx> wrote:
  
Visit my harmonica website www.Hands-Free-Chromatic.7p.com
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Will Vogtman" 
To: 
Sent: Wednesday, January 17, 2007 9:03 PM
Subject: [Harp-L] Where to purchase comb materials?/OLD Gifted 
MusicianThread


> Hey Folks!
>
> I have a few comb ideas I want to experiment with.
> I am looking for raw bar stock to create the combs from.
> If any of you could point me in the right direction, I'd appreciate it.

If you anticipate that the different materials will produce different 
sounds, you will be wasting your time. If you have other reasons, then have 
at it!

Type in the names of the materials and do a Google search. You can find 
almost anything that way.

> 1. HARD RUBBER (like sax/clarinet mouthpieces are carved from)
Google search gave me a long list of sources. Are the woodwind instrument 
mouthpieces still made of hard rubber?

> 2. BRASS
Ask at a local machine shop where they get their materials. I get my metals 
at Industrial Metal Supply. Because it is so heavy, you don't want to pay 
shipping charges on brass.

> 3. MARBLE (Quite strange, I know . . . but I want to see what it feels 
> like)
A local craft (e. g. Tall Mouse, or Michaels) store will have pourable 
marble...crushed marble in a plaster matrix. Quarried marble is so brittle 
that you will have trouble machining it. I suppose that it could be done 
with carbide router tools (see MicroMark), very high spindle speed, slow 
feeds, and copious coolant. There are machinable ceramics that can be fired 
after machining.

> 4. FOOD-GRADE BEES' WAX (Sealing the wood I've got)
Isn't it all food-grade? See MicroMark. I can buy beeswax from the honey 
vendor at my local farmer's market.

> 5. FOOD-GRADE POURABLE EPOXY RESIN (or equivalent)
AFAIK, no epoxy is food grade. Mechanically, it is nice to work with but 
chemically it is nasty stuff. I suggest polyurethane from MicroMark as a 
substitute pourable plastic. Of course there are machinable plastics that 
you can get in slabs such as nylon, polycarbonate, delrin, etc. You 
probably can find a plastics store in the nearest big city.

You could possibly get a shop that drills and routs printed circuit boards 
to use their CNC router to make diatonic combs of fiberglass-filled epoxy 
PCB material, or even another more-benign type of machinable plastic. If 
you liked them, the machine could rout about 100 of them out of a big 
plastic slab in nothing flat. I have no idea what they might charge for 
programming the first lot, but if you wanted a lot of them, the per/comb 
cost would probably be low.

Good luck,

Vern


> Thanks in advance.
>
> BTW,
>
> Thanks again for the responses to the "Gifted Musician" thread a while 
> back. I was quoted out of context a few times--but this was actually a 
> GOOD thing for me to read. I have always graciously accepted compliments 
> and suppressed my gut-level reactions. Reading the responses to my 
> statements out of context really caused me to wonder about my nonverbal 
> reactions to my fans (few though they may be). What might they be taking 
> from me "out of context?"
>
> I read what I just wrote and it sounds like I'm back pedaling. When I 
> re-read my original post, I don't think I am. Feel free to correct me on 
> that.
>
> Anyhow, I think that whole thread has changed how I react at a 
> fundamental level.
>
> The UPS guy dropped off a few mic clips from Sam Ash the other day. My 
> mother-in-law was sitting my 2 sons. Out of the blue, the UPS guy told my 
> mother-in-law that he thought I was quite a gifted player. When I was 
> told about this, I was flattered--honestly--a good feeling. I'm not sure 
> how I would have taken that before the aforementioned thread.
>
> In looking at the whole of my life, I guess I do have one true 
> gift/curse--OBSTINANCE!
>
> Cheers,
>
> Will
>
>
>
>
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