[Harp-L] Re: Comb material

[Isaac Ullah <iiullah@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Tom, out here in the Southwest, a lot of outdoor furniture is made out of acacia wood. I in fact have a set of acacia wood patio furnature that I've had outside for two years of 120 degree summers, crazy monsoon rains, and gentler but more sustained winter rains. They still look like new. being an amature woodworker in addition to a harp player and a general tinkerer, I've of course been thinking lately about going down to the local woodworkers source and buying some small stock blanks of acacia wood to try to mill my own combs out of... I am thinking that it would be WAY more moisture resistant than traditional comb materials (ie. fruitwoods) while also being way easier to mill than hardwoods like oak. Of course I don't own any kind of sofisticated milling equipment, so my combs would probably suck (I NEED to get a drill press!) :) If you can't get your hands on acacia, I think teak would probably share the same benefits. Another southwestern wood
 that would probably work great is ironwood, but, as the name suggests, ironwood is considerably harder than acacia or teak... Let me know if you go ahead with this, and if you do end up making prototypes, I would (of course) love to test some out for ya! By the way, if I was to make my own combs, they'd be for MS (copying the Blues Harp comb)...Cheers from sunny Phoenix,Isaac Ullah 
>>On the subject of comb material - I am curious about the pros and cons of
making combs out of different types of wood.  We all know that the wood
combs on Marine Bands swell up when they get wet and become uncomfortable to
play, so we migrate to the plastic combs of the Special 20's or the Golden
Melodies.  But what about other types of wood like oak or mahogany or ebony
or maple or elm or others?  Has anybody ever experimented with using these
or other types of wood?  I know that Seydel has a harmonica the appears to
be made entirely of wood, but I haven't pulled the trigger and purchased
one.  I have also looked at the brass combs made by Chris Reynolds at
builderofstuff.com.  His workmanship is impressive but still I wonder about
a more economical option.  I have a friend that owns a woodworking shop with
some very high end computerized (we are talking $200,000 pieces of
equipment) milling equipment.  I've seen these things in action and they are
amazing - totally computerized, very precise.  He also happens to be a harp
player and an inventor who hold a few patents.  I'm sure I could get him to
make some combs for me.  If anybody has some suggestions or comments I'd
like to hear them.  If I can identify an ideal material and can get this set
up I would probably be willing to send some combs out to those of you who
are interested so you can have an opportunity to try them.  No promises, but
I am thinking that once the computer program is set up the cost of material
won't be much - it's a little piece of wood!  If I can make it happen, and
it doesn't cost me too much I would be happy to send out some samples for
field testing.  I would love to hear from you.



Tom H

Clearwater, FL