Here's another vote for the Hering toolkit over the Oskar one. The brass
reed spatula/hook works just about like the LO one you're used to; the blade end
may be stronger, while the hooked end is longer and thinner. Back when I
still tuned with chisels, I used the small LO one 95% of the time, and the Hering
kit only has a small chisel. The Hering screwdriver strikes me as having a
better tip than the LO one does, more positive engagement on more types of
screws, including the Pozidriv ones. Very comparable brass feeler gauge blade/reed
support shim if you like using one that thick (I'd rather stick a flat wooden
toothpick up through the reedslot, supports more of the reed's length).
My Hering kit has a round miniature file in it right now and I'm not sure
whether that's stock, or a flat file for tuning like the LO kit. The round
file's very useful in doing reed replacements with used reeds--use either the file
or a mini drill bit to countersink both ends of the rivet hole in the
reedplate, drive the reed in with its original rivet using the Hering kit's flat punch
& reed anvil, turn the plate over and spread the rivet tip out with the kit's
sharp punch. Then center the reed using the Hering reed tool, which fits
Hohner reeds more tightly than the LO one does, needs less angle to swing the
reed, but is too small for LO reed bases. It's not as easy as replacing reeds
with the Farrell gear, but the Hering rig takes up less space and doesn't have
the elusive-if-dropped little dies.
I agree with Matt--the supplied Hering rivets-on-a-stick are kind of
daunting; the first one I tried worked perfectly, but I can't remember what I did
right the first time and I haven't been able to get one right since. Add a small
hammer, though, and maybe a very small drill bit in a pin vise for a
countersinking alternative, and the Hering kit's quite viable for installing used reeds
that still have their original rivets on board.
Plus you get some Hering reeds that might fit Hohner handmades in a pinch.
One of the reeds in the little pouch was actually a perfect half of a reed,
split lengthwise. I bet they couldn't do that on purpose if they tried. I would
have been more amused except that it was the correct length for the 5 hole on
a longslot plate, and guess which reed died first on my A 1923? The other
reed that length in the pouch was a full step and a half off.
I'm not sure mine came with an instruction manual, so anyone who doesn't
already know how to work on reeds may be getting everything they need to learn the
hard way, except a tuner and a fist-sized rock (or small hammer if you want
to project the image of a delicate operation). Don't mind me, I think the LO
manual badly needs revision/updating and I just love expressing my creativity
by mashing potential rivets into random artistic shapes, over and over again
till I give up and get out the serious countersink and the 00-90 screws and nuts
and go that route. Probably Hering posts full instructions online, but my
computer does not fit into the Hering toolkit, nor does the Hering kit fit into
any of the openings on my computer. If there were instructions, they were
folded up awfully small to fit into the little reed pouch and thus were fairly
easy to misplace.
Overall, the Hering toolkit seems to be the result of Hering taking a good
hard look at the LO kit and asking what people really used and needed . . . plus
maybe one more item that makes them collapse in helpless laughter every time
they think of people trying to use the rivets. No, honestly, the raw rivets
are long enough to work correctly in the thicker Hering reedplates (Hohner
handmade rivets aren't) and work fine if you do them right, I have to think. I
have another set of accumulated tools for around the house and leave the Hering
kit zipped up with all tools on board, ready to go to a gig, harp club
meeting, etc., which is very convenient if you can afford it. Add the Micro-Mark
sanding wands to upgrade the tuning tools, use your Renaissance as a truly deluxe
hammer, and you're good to go :-). [Note: The preceding joke is furnished
absolutely free of charge so that people at SPAH can watch Bobbie G do a spit
take if she happens to be there, reading this post.]
Stephen Schneider
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