Re: [Harp-L] Brass bolts and nuts

[Michelle LeFree <mlefree@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I still wanna know why y'all use brass nuts and bolts as opposed to my 
choice of stainless steel.

Actually I prefer to tap the reed plates and use stainless machine 
screws to retain the new reeds. Why do y'all prefer fiddling with nuts 
and bolts? When you use a screw, with or without a bolt, the reed's X-Y 
position needs to be adjusted so that it fits properly into the slot and 
then stabilized in its final position as you tighten it. (Richard 
Sleigh's new reed wrench is designed specifically to aid in this 
process). That's difficult enough without having to hold down a nut too. 
Or maybe you have three hands? ;-)

Plus, on a chromatic or half-valved diatonic you have to leave a (more 
or less) flat surface on the opposite side of the reed plate from the 
reed to accommodate the valve. With a rivet or a screw that protrudes 
slightly through the reed plate you can punch a hole in the proximal end 
of the valve to accommodate the nub of the set rivet or screw. Obviously 
that won't work with a bolt. With a tapped screw you always have the 
option to either cut the screw to length or to file the nub flush with 
the reed plate.

[Nota Bene: Someone recently reported difficulty cutting screws. It's 
easy. I should have chimed in. Unfortunately as Vern pointed out the 
cutters that are in a wire crimper are too big. For larger diameter 
screws, those cutters work great. With tiny screws all you have to do is 
screw a nut on past the location of the cut. When you are done with the 
cut you can carefully dress the threads with a triangular jeweler's file 
and then back the nut off. Removing the nut will clean up the threads 
nicely for resetting the nut or installing the screw into a reed plate. 
For those of us with only two hands, a vice is handy to hold the nut as 
you back the screw out. :-) ]

Anyway, can someone explain to me why they choose brass screws/nuts and 
why they use nuts instead of tapping the reed plate? I don't claim to 
have the final word with this; there are probably a dozen ways to 
replace reeds. I've just been using stainless screws into a tapped reed 
plate for years with fine results on both valved and unvalved diatonics 
and chromatics.

Thanks,

Michelle