Welcome back Harmonica "Gear-heads."
My last article focused on reed gapping and curling. Although
difficult, once mastered these techniques will reward you with "custom"
harmonicas that will be perfectly matched to your playing style.
I decided to continue my attention on reeds in this issue by
demonstrating a proven reed replacement technique. I mastered this method
for practical reasons. The thought of discarding a set of customized reed
plates, simply because of one or two blown (damaged) reeds seemed
ludicrous to me. In fact, because my reed replacement strategy eliminated
the reed rivet by threading the reed plate, future replacements for the
same reed slot became as simple as bolting on another reed. Did I pique
your interest? Let's proceed …
Anatomy of Reed Replacement
- Refers to the removal and
replacement of a damaged reed with a good reed
- A damaged reed is one
that goes flat and cannot be re-tuned, or does not "hold" it's tuning
(good for maybe one song, before it goes flat again). The most commonly
affected reeds are 4 through 7, both on the blow and draw sides.
-
Reeds are constructed out of spring (tempered) metal, and takes
considerable abuse (i.e. excessive volume of air, temperature variances,
etc.). Inevitably, the reed will fatigue and develop a hairline fracture,
almost always at the heel (base) of the reed.
- See for yourself: with
the cover plates removed, lift the damaged reed with your Lee Oskar reed
offset tool about 1/4 of an inch out of the slot, then release it. You'll
probably find the reed stall while traveling back through the slot. Help
it along by gently pushing it through the slot with the pick end of your
tool, and the reed will most likely snap off at the heel of the reed.
Tools and Materials
Use your tool kit from the last sessions,
and include the following:
- Reed knockout/replacement tool,
sources:
- Custom Craft Harmonicas (http://home.earthlink.net/~romel/)
-
F. & R. Farrell Company (http://www.frfarrell.com/kotool.html)
-
The following tools and materials are available from http://www.micromark.com/
- Ball
peen hammer (#22119)
- Toolmaker's Mallet (#81523)
- Rat tail file
from Micro size file set (#50323)
- Tap 0-80 (#14145T)
- Ratchet
Drive Tap Wrench (#15126) or standard Tap Wrench (#20130)
- 4" Flush
End Cutter (#82828)
- Miniature Brass Bolts 0-80 x 1/8" (#70157)
-
Miniature Brass Washers 0 (#70206)
- Optional: Dremel Rotary Tool with
cut-off wheel
- Donor Harmonica (you'll never throw away a harmonica
after this session) by the same manufacture and key, but not necessarily
in the same model. For example, hand made Hohner Marine Band, Special 20,
and Golden Melody have identical reeds. Hohner MS (Modular System) reeds
are interchangeable between models; for example, Big River and ProHarp.
- I recently spoke to Rick Epping from Hohner, and the Service Center
located in Virginia will be offering new replacement reeds (4 ~ 7) per
dozen, per model. Stay tuned for more information on this …
Procedure
1. On the "host" harmonica, remove cover plates.
2.
Remove reed plates from comb.
3. Mark the area near the flush side of
the rivet to identify the location of the damaged reed; e.g. 4 blow on a C
harmonica.
4. Repeat the above procedure on the "donor" harmonica, with
exception of identifying the location of the good reed, not another
damaged reed!
Tip: Did you know that the same size reed, in the same
pitch (note) can be located in another harmonica in a different key? For
example, the pitch for the 4 blow reed on a C diatonic harmonica is C.
Let's suppose you do not have a C donor harmonica; however, you have a Bb
donor harmonica. Simply remove the 4 "draw" reed, because the pitch for
this reed is an identical C! Refer to Mel Bay's Harmonica Wall Chart by
David Barrett for quick reference (#MB20291).5. With the "host"
reed plated, place the raised side of the rivet into the "open diameter"
die of your Reed Knockout Tool. Carefully align the "pointed" punch over
the center of the flush side of the rivet, then with your Small Peen
Hammer lightly tap the rivet out of the reed. Throw this damaged reed away
(I've learned this the hard way by reinstalling bad reeds back into the
reed plate!).
6. Repeat step 5 with the "donor" harmonica and prepare
the good reed for the 0-80 bolt, by carefully reaming out the hole left
behind by the discarded rivet, with the Micro-Size "rat tail" file.
7. The above procedure will distort the heel (base) of
the reed ever so slightly. It is imperative to restore an absolutely flat
profile before installing the reed onto the "host" reed plate. To remedy
this problem, place the reed onto a hard "flat" surface, preferably an
anvil and gently tap the heel of the reed a couple of times with the
Toolmaker's Mallet.
8. Using your Ratchet Tap Holder and #0-80 Tap,
carefully (and straight!) thread the hole in the reed plate that was left
behind by the discarded rivet. Similar to the reed, the matching surface
of the reed plate must be absolutely flat. Place onto a hard flat surface
and lightly tap flat. This is also a good opportunity to clean the area of
any crud or debris.
9. Now returning to the good reed: slide a #0 Washer
over the #0-80 Bolt, then carefully insert this combination into the heel
of the reed (pad side up, flat side of reed down). Align over threaded
hole in reed plate, then slowly and snugly screw into place. The reed will
rotate slightly to the right of the slot upon tightening. Hold the reed
plate up to the light, and with your reed wrench adjust the reed in the
slot so that you can see an even amount of light around the sides and top
of the reed. "Plink" the reed a few times to ensure clearance, otherwise
your harmonica will play with an annoying metallic clicking noise.
10. Turn the reed plate upside down and cut off the
excess stud with the 4" Flush End Cutter. For wooden or metal combs, it
will be necessary to smooth the stud absolutely flush with the surface of
the reed plate, otherwise this "hump" will be problematic for an air tight
fit. A Dremel tool with a cut-off wheel works well (be careful not to
gouge the reed plate surface).
11. Refer to my last two issues: "Stop those dogs form
howling! Part 2" for tuning techniques and "The Tao of Harmonica
Customizing" for gapping and curling techniques.
Congratulations! Your out of the box harmonica has been transformed
into a "real" instrument that will give you years of enjoyment.
"Sometimes when I consider what tremendous consequences come form
little things …
I am tempted to think …
There are no little
things".
-Bruce Barton
Kinya Pollard The "Harpsmith"
