Re: [Harp-L] Re TUNing Reeds

[Joseph Leone <3n037@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Back in around 69? I was new on the job and the 'heads' were coming back from Woodstock. Many many belongings were lost and misplaced by transient youngsters and wound up in our lost and found. After one year, if we couldn't locate the owners, anything valuable was sent to the state auction for disposal. But one bag contained 6 diatonic harps. 1 blues harp, 5 Marine Bands. The boss said they were valueless and to throw them in the dumpster.

I took them home, took them apart and 'cooked' them in a frying pan with a mix of cleaning and disinfecting chemicals. Combs soaked in Lysol and later dried in the sun and soaked in a mixture of 1/2 Vick's Vapo Rub and 1/2 baby oil. All metals were cooked. Up to a rolling boil. Then cleaned with a fine wire brush. Then cooked in peanut oil. Put back together, the harps were fine. The cooking had no effect. Soooo, I believe there is no way you could heat the metal(s) hot enough to hurt them without starting an oil fire or explosion. I was using a GI stove outside and things got preeeeeety hot.

smo-joe 

On May 22, 2012, at 9:22 PM, David Payne wrote:

> When you heat them that way, it discolors the brass, you get various bluish hues. The Seydel Solist and Favorite and Favorite Black from around 2006, have those same hues on the reeds. You don't see those on stuff made later.  I figure Seydel came to the same conclusion I did, too much trouble.
> 
> David
> www.elkriverharmonicas.com
> 
> Sent from my iPhone
> 
> On May 22, 2012, at 0:53, David Payne <dave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> 
>> I did some research on this when I experimented with it, I think Chris used oil to keep it from discoloring. If I had used oil I would have caught them on fire... I was doing 550 degrees for like an hour or something, that's whatever metal book I read or metallurgist I talked to said it would need to relieve stress. I can't remember the exact details but it had to be really hot and it took some time.
>> I got to thinking, say I don't relieve this alleged stress, and my reed breaks three weeks earlier than it would have. How much would that cost?
>> Probably a lot less than it costs to keep an oven at 550 degrees for an hour, plus the air conditioning that's gotta run to cool the house from the oven heat. 
>> 
>> David
>> 
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>> On May 21, 2012, at 19:21, Ken Hildebrand <airmojoken@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> 
>>> The big question would be... what kind of oil ?
>>> 
>>> Corn oil, peanut oil, coconut oil, motor oil (and what weight/viscocity), mineral oil, chain saw oil, baby oil ?
>>> 
>>> And what's the best temperature ?
>>> 
>>> And do you have to remove the reed from the reed plate ?
>>> 
>>> Sound like the job could get messy !
>>> 
>>> :)
>>> 
>>> Ken H in OH
>>> 
>>> 
>>> ________________________________
>>> From: Rubben Emmanuelli <comunadesantos@xxxxxxxxx>
>>> To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx 
>>> Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 9:09 AM
>>> Subject: [Harp-L] Re TUNing Reeds
>>> 
>>> A friend of mine..told me that i should try, to heat the reeds of an
>>> harmonica in hot oil,  He thinks that will retune then east and automatic
>>> 
>>> Crazy Idea??  What would You think?
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> -- 
>>> Comuna de Santos
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>> 
>