Re: Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Breathy harp?


On Apr 8, 2010, at 3:10 PM, EGS1217@xxxxxxx wrote:

Winslow's answers are always so right-on!

Before writing a response, I usually wait to see if he (or SmoJoe) are
around to give their expert opinions first - since they're consistently the
most logical :)

I hesitate to answer because people are always stealing my ideas. lolol

First thing you want to do with a used chromo is to determine whether the player was a smoker. (or had other ailments)
Tobacco residue has various chemicals which some are allergic to. If you are one of those, you could get sick.

Hold chromo up to a strong light to see if any light is showing around the mouthpiece parts. A 3 piece assembly is generally
(would you believe) tighter than a 2 piece assembly. Reason? The 3 parts are very thin and if they have any curve(s) at all, they tend to cancel each other out because they usually run in opposite directions. BUT, these little gaps can leak a lot of air.

One thing to do is reduce the curvature (if there IS one) in the mouthpiece to about 1mm deflection angle at both ends. In other words if the 2 ends are more than 1mm above a desk top while lying flat, this too much curvature. Some models have NO deflection distance. If you see light. you have several choices. You can tighten the mouthpiece screws a little more (maybe a bad idea) OR take out the curves in the pieces by running them between your fingers until they smooth out.

Another thing is to make gaskets. These are made from construction paper. After the slips of paper are fit, the holes are (painstakingly) cut out with a razor blade, and then the gasket is moistened with water before any reassemblies. I have even used TWO gaskets on occasion. One between the mouthpiece and over bridger u- channel, and one between the comb and lower over the comb shim piece.

Another item is to seal the mouthpiece parts seams with caulking. You can use Bert's bees lip coating, wax, or other THICK material. Wipe off excess until only the seam is holding any. I use regular caulking. A gentle thin bead, then wipe the excess off with a damp paper towel. Let set for at least an hour. Be advised, most flavored lip balms will KRINKLE the wind savers the first time air is put through the reeds.

Another item is to sand the face of the comb as flush as possible. Do this on a piece of flat glass with 450 (or finer) emory contact cemented on. Go slowly and often check by placing the comb on a flat surface and shining a light from the back. You will need to remove the spring to do this.

Moulded plastic combs can craze around the mouthpiece holes. Then the screws don't hold as well as they should. Moulded plastic can also be warped in manufacture. The thicker parts of the plastic will cool slower and pull the whole moulding slightly out of shape. This doesn't happen with milled combs.

Wood combs are made of a material where no 2 pieces are the same. Even a careful craftsman cannot determine if a piece of wood will season straight. Before milling wood blanks usually contain 8.5-9% moisture content. Obviously, the first time the comb is played, the moisture content goes up. To around 13% for dry players, more for wet players. This can be eased by rift sawing the blanks. But I have never seen a rift sawn comb.

Hering used to use a quasi-plywood comb. It was basically a top and bottom of 5mm soft wood with a 2mm hard wood center. This kept the combs from twisting. Most of my Herings are old wood combed models.

Disassemble a used harmonica (both types) and set the reedplates and other metal parts in water with a dash of Clorox. Figure on replacing ALL the wind savers. Why take a chance. Most of the springs I have seen have an angle of 107 degrees set into them. That's a little stiff for some people. I like to redo the spring to 90 or even 75 degrees angle. Reason? With 107 degrees, 2/3rds of the slide movement will be smooth but the spring will start to 'stack' in the last 1/3rd. You feel it happening and if you have a light touch, it can be bothersome. By redoing the spring, 2 things happen. The spring doesn't stack as soon. (Maybe the last 15th or 1/6th) AND a hard stacked spring puts a lot of pressure on the slide and tends to make it arc. Arcing causes the wear marks on the tops and bottoms of the slides where they enter the mouthpiece. Eventually this makes the slide sticky AND wears the chrome or nickel off the slide. Once you wear this off, my advice is to throw the part away.

Ok, the slide has only a 6mm movement on most chromos, but some are long throw slides. Long throw slides get MORE wear than short throw
slides. Reason: More 'throw'.

Finally, on diatonics, about the only leakage you can get is at the reeds themselves. Maybe if the plates aren't set exactly right, but it's usually the gapping. Diatonics are so simple even a c.........oops........can do them. I would have written a book on the subject. it is THAT vast. Like any hobby. Once you get in deeply, you're in deep s**t.

smokey joe

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