[Harp-L] Another embossing method

[Snaruhn@xxxxxxx]

Hi,

well, I think the thread is worth to stay in the headlines. I´ve carefully 
read the 
numerous comments and Harpie too and he said to me:

Hmmmh, Dad, when I see how the folks are beating the slots with hammers,
cylinders, half-round screw heads or mistreat them with copper coins I ask
you seriously: don´t you have a better idea in the sleeves?

Maybe, Harpie, I have, but the folks probably like it to hammer the reed 
tolerance to zero. Anyway, if I wanted to narrow the tolerances I would do 
it this way:

Preliminary remark.
Some list friends know of my making wholetone chromatics I call Tonies, 
a corruption of "wholetone". Harp factories are not much interested to make 
such instruments on order because their machines are adjusted to the usual
reed layout. All chromatics in any keys have enharmonics and double octave
ends, while a Tonie has none. That means that on a usual reedplate with 
stamped slots a Tonie reed layout can´t be set. For making a Tonie factories  
 
therefore have to use reeds from different chrom models with different 
qualities.

To have reeds in the same quality I choosed a certain 16-holer chrom brand
and changed the plates fitting to a Tonie layout. The trick was to find a 
system
which neglected a slot lengthening. Finally, I found a way which only 
required 
to shorten the respective slots.   

Now comes the point. I shortened the slots by a 2-component metal paste.
At first, I filled the total distance of reed tip & slot end and then filed 
the gap.

I think it is not only much easier and more precise to narrow a tolerance by 
any additional material than to hammer down the slot edge but also easier 
to free again a sticking reed. And: since nothing touches the slot it´s not 
necessary to use a metal paste. Any other workable material does it.

Hey, Harpie, I think I haven´t forgotten anything, what´s the matter?

Yeeh, Dad, what about this? The factory could stamp the slots in the same
width as the reeds and then grind the reed edges by a special machine 
giving simultaneously a little pressure to the reed. In the moment the reed
width is by fractions of "nanos" smaller it dives into the slot. Isn´t that a
good idea?

Not at all. You haven´t considered that almost 50% of the reeds are excentral 

and such a machine has to adjust the reed position before grinding. And then, 

such a procedure would be a cost factor only politicians are able to shift it 
to 
the tax payers.      

Siegfried