It's not the first time I've had to sideline a Lee Oskar because it's nut fell off, but I'm hoping it will be the last. (I'm sure I can find a spare.) It's time to come out and say it... this is a design flaw in the LO's. Their screws are just a hair too short so if anything loosens at all it can all fall apart. I've tried looking at spare parts from a couple harps I've got lying around. I've got a post screw that is just a little too wide for the hole and a screw from a cheap harp that is just a little too short.
So, ideally, I like post screws. They look better than nuts and fasten better, imo. Does anyone know a brand and measurement that fits LO's? Heck, I might go after the nuts on my Sp20s too.
That has never happened to me Nate and I have plenty of LO's I use weekly However I do not touch them , I only clean them once in a blue moon in a ultra-sonic cleaner
I liked Chris Michalek (rip) approach to let your harmonicas seal with food bits etc
I am lazy, because I will just buy new now, 20 years ago I would take them apart and scrub and clean..cheers Nick
Harmonicanick, when I left one in the dryer by mistake it actually cost me a harmonica. The cover came off and a reed snagged. I've even talked to the company directly it happens so often. This one at least just got lost on the floor somewhere, so once I find a screw and nut combo that will fit it will be up and running. The first candidate the original screw was even shorter and the nut won't thread on the original screw. The post screw I found was too wide for the hole in the cover, which could be fixed, but I know I have a bag of spare parts around here in one of these drawers.
Bronzewailer, I was hoping the potential for a double (or even triple entendre) would attract enough views to the thread to find a solution.
I actually, at one point was working on a lyric meant to be sung by a female vocalist for a particular riff we had. I pulled of the rare triple entendre in that one. One of these days I've got to finish that one. I've got a local vocalist who I think might sing the hell out of it.
Nate, I inadvertently sent a special 20 through the dryer. Now there is a single coverplate in that mysterious place where all the single socks go. I has on old Blues Bender that had a couple of reeds out, so I took the covers of it and put them on the special 20 and it still works fine.
I found that mysterious place where socks go once. (Not that mysterious place where Sox go. That's to the Yankees). My mother had a dryer that would spit socks out the air exhaust into her backyard.
There used to be an old TV show about where socks go too. Eerie, Indiana. I used to like that show!
I've got a someone who said they let me use their jewelry lathe. I should take him up on it. I'd love to be able to make custom screws. Not sure I've got the fine dexterity to use it well though. I had an idea once for a super high end, purely cosmetic upgrade for a harp, with a jewel stud on the end of the cover screws. I mean, no one needs a jewel studded harp, but if someone will buy one and I can spend the money on more harps, who am I to deny them? :) (More practically you could make custom post screws that would make perfect support beams for harps with opened backs).
With my L/Os i just drill them out to fit small bolts from the hardware store. OK they might not be pretty but in a dark venue you can tell by feel what way up they are and in my experience the only people who care what a harp looks like are other Harpists.....
As an aside fit a pair of L/O plates onto a custom comb .............makes a great, affordable Harp.I think that maybe the comb is more important than the actual machine ie the plates.
Last Edited by indigo on Jun 16, 2016 3:23 AM
I lost LO nuts a couple times when I used LOs as my main harps. I think I didn't have the covers properly seated. Sometimes the front of the covers can be bent out a little, and they don't sit on the body so that there are enough threads exposed to hold the plates well. I started pressing the front edge of the covers on a flat surface and making sure they snapped into place on the harp before tightening them on.
After I lost the LO nuts I bought a bag of small nuts with screws that were slightly longer, and they worked fine, though they didn't look as good and slightly protruded on the bottom. ----------
Doug S.
Last Edited by dougharps on Jun 16, 2016 9:47 AM
Doug hit it right on the nut , so to speak . The only L.O. I had loosen up and almost come apart did so because the front of the cover had hung up as Doug said . Squeezing the harp a bit while playing caused it to pop into place and loosen the whole rig up . Now I am super careful about re-installing covers and screws and haven't had a problem since .
I put 2-56 7/16" long nuts and bolts on all my diatonics that aren't full length cover plates, I can't stand fiddling with the nuts that come with them. They can easily be obtained from Microfasteners.
Lee Oskars are not my first choice of harmonica, but there are the most durable. Most of the LOs I still play are nearly ten years old and have used them recently in a live gig.Again, not the most expressive harp , but these did quite well considering the wear and tear they've had over the last decade. ---------- Ted Burke tburke4@san.rr.com
I'd actually like to find some post screws that fit LOs. (Or, as they are also called, sex bolts!)
I think they give a better looking finish than the standard screw and nut, and they don't leave any rough bit of the screw sticking up into your hand. I'll have to get out my callipers and see exactly what I need. I might as well buy a bunch since I'm probably going to end up spending $5 just on shipping and handling. I suppose it might be an opportunity to revisit my magnet lids too, but I still don't have a way to keep them from pulling off if they are near other magnets.
I have a case full of LO's. Never lost a screw yet. I don't tend them much. Play um and replate the money makers occasionally. A tongue dampened finger is best for holding the nut in place. Good Harp!
Goddamnit Ted let me know when you are playing out so I can finally meet you in person--extra points if it's at the Merrow or on the Vermont Street bridge . . .
I like Piro39s advice. "2-56 7/16" long nuts and bolts." These are great for lots of harps but especially LOs. You don't have to line every single component up and squeeze the harp so it doesn't spring apart in a parts explosion. ---------- Have good day. M.A.P. .
