Re: [Harp-L] Reed Arcing

["Tim Moyer" <wmharps@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jonathan Metts wrote:
> Reed arcing is something I've tried with little success, and in 
> fact I think I just stressed and fatigued the reeds if anything.  
> Tinus's overblow.com site has some great photos to show his final 
> results of arcing, but it doesn't explain the actual process of 
> arcing.  Is it different from gapping in that you deal with the 
> entire reed and not just the free tip?  Do you brace the reed 
> against something for support?  What tool do you use to straighten 
> the reed?  Details like this would be much appreciated!

I brace the reed against my finger while arcing.  It's a very subtle 
process, and takes a lot of finesse.  It's all too easy to bend a 
reed up sharply, or twist the profile.  I use the bent side of the 
hook on my pick tool to press on the back side of the reed against 
my fingertip, using different fingertips for different radii for 
different length reeds.  I apply VERY little, if any, arc to the 
upper reeds in the plate, like 7-10.  

I have a little tool I made from a 0.002" shim that I use for 
straightening bent ("over arc'd") reeds.  It's just a strip about 
the width of a reed that I slide perpendicular to the reed 
underneath it, so that I can bend the reed back downward in selected 
areas.  

-tim

Tim Moyer
Working Man's Harps
http://www.workingmansharps.com/