[Harp-L] Embossing is the wrong word...

[Chris Talbot]

For people like me who have very little idea about harp modifications and
tune-ups, could someone explain what is trying to be accomplished by
embossing/burnishing?

Sorry. I only learned what was gapping was this summer during a learning
session at Dunnville Harmonica Retreat with Mike Stevens. I'm clueless
about such things. :-/

Chris


On Wed, Jan 18, 2017 at 3:01 PM, Richard Sleigh <rrsleigh at xxxxx> wrote:

> Hello Harp Tech Fanatics,
>
> After more than two decades of flipping between the terms embossing and
> burnishing, I finally resorted to looking the words up in a dictionary. I
> was shocked at how wrong the term embossing is and how right the term
> burnishing is...
>
> I am making a new tool that makes reed / slot work a lot more easy and
> accurate than ever before and I wanted a name for it that was, well,
> accurate. I’m calling it the Reed / Slot Burnishing Tool.
>
> When I was first exposed to Rick Epping’s concept of making slots
> narrower, the process was described as “burnishing”. This was back in the
> dark days of high frustration and mass confusion about how to make reed
> plates come to life, I dont remember the exact year, early-ish 90s...
>
> I went home from that SPAH convention on a mission - to  find my old
> burnishing tool that I used when I was a printmaking student at Penn State.
> It looks a bit like a bear claw (Jimmy Gordon’s name for it) made out of
> tempered steel polished to a smooth, high gloss.
>
> I used this tool to work on zinc and copper plate etchings and engravings
> to push down the soft metal in areas that were too dark. The shallower
> grooves in the plate held less ink and the area would become lighter when
> printed.
>
> This same tool worked very well on harmonica reed plates to push down the
> edges of the top wall of a slot to make a narrower entrance way for the
> reed. I learned later that most people were burnishing by using some kind
> of tube or round piece of steel that was polished so you could push down
> both sides of the slots at the same time.
>
> The next time i heard folks talking about the process they were using the
> word emboss. That word justt seemed a bit off to me, but I reluctantly
> started using it because most everyone else was using it.
>
> I finally looked up the words emboss and burnish. I wish I had done that
> twenty plus years ago. The dictionary definition of the two words makes it
> obvious that the word burnish is much more accurate at describing what you
> do when you close up slots.
>
> From Webster’s online dictionary:
>
> Emboss (transitive verb)
>
> 1. to raise the surface of into bosses; especially: to ornament with
> raised work
> 2. to raise in relief from a surface
> 3. adorn, embellish
>
> Burnish (transitive verb)
>
> 1. a: to make shiny or lustrous especially by rubbing
>     b: polish
> 2. to rub (a material) with a tool for compacting or smoothing or for
> turning an edge.
>
> To me there is no contest - the word burnish nails it in every aspect -
> you use the tool to rub a surface, it gets shiny when you work, and you are
> compacting it and turning and edge into a new shape. I really don’t
> understand how the word emboss became so widely used.
>
> With the tool I am now using (and offering) you can close the slot from
> one end to the other as snug as you like up to the reed, and also turn the
> lower edge of the reed near the rivet pad closer to the reed plate with
> surgical precision once you get used to the way the tool transfers the
> pressure from your fingers. You just have to get used to using a lot less
> pressure than you use with other tools that don’t transfer effort as
> smoothly - In other words, this thing can get away from you if you start
> off with a heavy hand...
>
> For information on this tool, a new version of the draw scraper (wider and
> easier to use and sharpen) plus a new version of the reed prod / shaper
> tool I have detailed descriptions and some videos to check out here:
>
> http://hotrodharmonicas.com
>
> I’ve spent most of the last year dialing in these tools and getting
> reluctant machine shops to make them. I do all the final finishing touches
> and test every tool before putting it in the store.
>
> Thanks for spending part of your day with me!
>
> Richard Sleigh
> PO Box 23
> Boalsburg PA 16827
>
> rrsleigh at xxxxx
> http://hotrodharmonicas.com
> http://rsleigh.com
>
>


-- 
Chris Talbot
Phone: 867-872-0822
Twitter: @NorthernTalbot
Skype: christalbot