Re: [Harp-L] Re: New wind saver valve leather

[Joe and Cass Leone <leone@xxxxxxxx>]

On Feb 18, 2009, at 12:36 PM, Jonathan Ross wrote:
> As for when I first heard about these from Pat it would have been  
> when he was working on my 280.  That was probably sometime around  
> 2000.  I might be able to get a more exact time, but my emails from  
> then are currently inaccessible.  I don't know when Pat first  
> started using this stuff.

Ok, no prob. I was just wondering  :)
> > Some guys lay them on a side. That's bad for the 'other'  
> > side.<snip>The better way is to set them on an END. And with a  
> > chromo, it would be the non spring end. This way, the valves are  
> > sideways and won't droop.
>
> Hmmm...the only problem with this is that it doesn't allow for just  
> laying it on a table, and for me if the harmonica isn't in plain  
> sight and easily reached, it doesn't get played.  But, this might  
> be a good excuse to build a small chromatic cabinet thing.

Murad used to have chromos lying around. They were always on their  
BACK. I asked him why he did that and he said it was because if you  
laid them on either side, the opposite windsavers would droop away  
from the plates. I didn't have the heart to tell him that even with  
the chromos on their back, HALF the windsavers were pointing the  
wrong direction and would droop anyway. He countered with "Yeah, but  
if they were lying flat in the first place, they wouldn't pull away  
from the plate so fast while the chromo was on it's back. Lying on a  
SIDE leaves half the windsavers vulnerable". This logic isn't too  
bad, when you consider all the ramifications, but I think a stagger  
reeded chromo would be more succeptable than a straight reeded model.

In any case, I made him 2 racks out of scrap mahogany & plexiglass  
that held a chromo on END.
> > BEST solution is to use a spring backer. The very fine 'E' wire  
> > from a guitar is still too strong. But you can beat it on an anvil  
> > or vise (or chunk of railroad track  lol), and with practice,  
> > flatten it and get it to where it equates the little bear's  
> > porridge....just right.
>
> I've been meaning to try a spring backing for some time.  I have  
> access to significantly thinner springs than guitar strings, just  
> haven't gotten around to it yet.  I find only the lowest few valves  
> of a 280 need anything like this, and even then it's not major,  
> this the delay.  All the others work fine.

Right, only the long windsavers are touchy. Hohner used to make  
'vaulted' ones for the low octave. You 'could' try this (which I  
suggested to Vern Smith). Very fine wire from the carriage cables in  
the tuner of a radio. This cable is only about a milimeter and has  
several 'hair' sized strands. Once unravelled, the individual wires  
will STILL have the curls in them from the braiding, BUT this won't  
hurt the installation.

There, I've let out a another secret. Shame on Joey

smo-joe        (former adjutant officer to Capt. Louis Renault)
> JR Ross
> > >
>
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