Re: [Harp-L] Tool kits for harp...

["Tim Moyer" <wmharps@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Mike Fugazzi wrote:
> Which is the best bang for the buck, the Lee Oskar kit
> or the Hering?

I started with the Lee Oskar toolkit, but I don't think I have much 
of any of it left.  Initially, I used the brass pick tool a lot, and 
the chisel some.  When I work on Tombos, which isn't that often, I 
use the reed wrench.  Over the eight years that I've been doing a 
lot of harp work, I've gradually accumulated a nice little set of 
tools.  I look for handy things just about everywhere I go.  

I have a nice set of jewelers' screwdrivers I got from Harbor 
Freight for about $3.  My friend G made me a VERY nice brass pick 
tool that I used to replace the rather cheesy LO Toolkit version.  
I've since made a second one for myself, with a longer sweep on the 
tip.  I have a lot of 0.002" shim stock cut into various shapes that 
I use for supporting reeds during polishing, or for running down the 
sides of the reed slots to re-center reeds.  I have a wooden shim 
that I use to support reeds during tuning, and another one for use 
during solder weight application.  I have a couple of sockets that I 
use for reedslot embossing.  I use the Lee Oskar chisel for 
reshaping slots that have been over embossed, or have burrs or other 
defects.  I have a beautiful scraping tool made my Richard Sleigh, 
along with a Hohner reed wrench.  Lots of small strips of emory 
paper of various grits that I use for tuning, and small pieces of 
pencil eraser that I wrap them around.  I have a beautiful tiny file 
that was a gift from Jimmy Gordon at SPAH this summer, along with a 
few of those little "security strip" shims.  About a year before he 
passed away my father gave me a beautiful set of Craftsman miniature 
pliers, nippers and screw, torx and nut drivers that I cherish.  I 
have a couple of fiberglass polishing pencils that I use on reeds.  
I use a small pin punch and a stainless steel hammer for tapping out 
reed rivets, and a larger punch and miniature jewelers' anvil to use 
when I'm putting them back in.  Larger files are useful for rounding 
the corners of reed plates, and round files for enlarging cover 
plate holes.  I use a 1/4" drill bit wrapped with cloth tape for 
reaming and deburring small holes.  I go through lots of 0000 steel 
wool when polishing reed plate front edges, and sometimes to remove 
scratches from plastic combs.  Of course, there's the Peterson 
strobe tuner, the Micro Mark precision drill press, the filing 
machine for reshaping combs, the bench sander for smoothing the 
edges of reed plates, not to mention miniature taps, drill bits and 
about 5000 more things I've forgotten until I need them.  

-tim