[Harp-L] Blu-Tak or Silver Solder - Staying within the lines

[Robert Coble <robertpcoble@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

If you decide to use silver solder, use an ordinary No. 2 pencil as an "anti-solder"
along the edges and end of the reed. I learned of this directly from Vern Smith,
but Michael Easton (a great harp tech in PA) originally posted the idea to Harp-L
in the 1990s. Michael learned it from his Dad, apparently as part of the dental 
trade.

I've used this idea and it really does work very good to keep the solder confined
to the area that you want it to be on. If you don't use this (or some other trick),
you might end up soldering the reed to the reed plate. It takes a minute quantity
of solder to make a big change in pitch. An amount the size of a small round head
on a pin will probably be too much for most applications. Touch the soldering iron
to the area of the reed to be soldered, and then just touch the REED with the end
of the solder "wire." As soon as the solder flows on to the reed, remove the "wire" 
and the soldering iron. Use a fine file or some other light abrasive to polish the
solder "blob" into a nice smooth rounded shape. I'm partial to Shofu Brownies,
which is another trick I learned directly from Michael Easton.

Crazy Bob