Re: [Harp-L] Embossing Tool



When Matthew Smart asked:
I once saw a picture of a tool that was esentially a ball bearing on a metal
stick. Does anyone know what this is called and/or where I can get one?
The inimitable Dave Payne replied:
It was a tuning fork.

Tuning forks do have a ball end, but so do these "Reducing Punches" from Micro-Mark, a more cost-effective solution if you are looking for a ball-shaped tool:


http://www.micromark.com/3-PIECE-REDUCING-PUNCH-SET,8010.html

However, I prefer to use tools of other shapes for embossing. A spherical tool like a ball cannot "reach" into the corners of the reed slot, an important area in which to reduce air leakage. A cylindrical tool like a socket (from a socket wrench kit) can reach further into the slot corners, but still the rounded edge of a socket cannot emboss the very corners of the slot plus they are clumsy tools for treating the end of the slot.

I used to use a socket but I found that because reeds are frequently not perfectly centered, I spent an inordinate amount of time "de-embossing" the side that was overembossed and too close or even touching the reed (even though both sides of the slot were embossed symmetrically by the socket). Now I use a precision screwdriver on which I've deliberately rounded all the sharp edges so as to render it useless as a screwdriver but handy for embossing single slot edges, corners and slot ends.

There are lots of ways to emboss a reed slot and you don't need to buy an expensive tool to do it. :-)

Michelle





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