Re: [Harp-L] Embossing and customizing

[Michelle LeFree <mlefree@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jerry Deall wrote:
> Great ideas.
> I use two slide viewers, a small one I can put the reed plate on to work on it, a viewer w/ a magnifier I slip the plate into. The second one has a built in back light and magnifier and only lights up when you hold the button.
>    

Ooh, I like it! I have a back-lit slide viewer, but it never occurred to 
me to use it for checking reed plate embossing progress. Thanks for that 
little tidbit, Jerry!

Captain Ron also has some great advise. I would like to add a couple 
little tidbits myself. One, I usually start about 2/3 of the distance 
from the reed tip to the rivet end. That actually pushes the reed a bit 
into the slot at the rivet end, which is a good thing. Of course, you 
have to compensate for it when you set the reed profile. (Don't want the 
reed to dip too far into the slot.) Also, I have found that if I use a 
sort of a "scooping" motion when I start the pass of the socket, it 
helps to avoid over-embossing right at the beginning of the pass. That's 
where I spend the most time correcting for the over-embossed "divot" 
where the embossing actually touches the reed. Seems that this scooping 
motion results in a more even embossed edge along the length of the 
slot. For me anyway. :-)

Michelle