MP
2021 posts
Feb 18, 2012
4:13 PM
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first of all, i'm glad that 'white men can't sing the blues' thread i started some time ago went away. good riddance! YAY:)
okay, compatibility betwixt HOHER MS and HOHNER handmade harp (HM) reeds is the topic i'll adress my friends.
problem.
you have and MS harp that has a blown reed. you don't want to buy new plates. but...you have tools and lots of HM reeds ( 1896, SPs, GMs etc. stashed for donors.
these reeds are of different dimensions but we'll make the HMs work.
so, we jettison the MS reed after we've found a suitable HM replacement.
afix with rivet or screw your HM reed to empty slot and align.
guess what? your reed is TOO long! no problem. actually this is a good thing. it is only a little too long.
place thick shim support under tip of reed and carefully file tip till it just barely clears end of the reed slot. don't be rough! your reed may pivot if you are.
after it is square and true you'll find you have very close tolerance at the tip end. you want this, believe me.
oh oh! damn! these HM reeds aren't broad as MS reeds.
your light box will bear this out but even my own weak eyes can see that you could through a football through either side of your slot. airy! airy! leaky as a sieve! 'houston, we have a problem.
no worry beef curry! were gonna emboss the sides of the slot.
there are several ways to do this. the UST tool from sjoderberg is a good choice if you don't feel like moving the reed. or, if you are good you can use a slotted screwdriver. you could do a 3/4 embossing with a socket.
if you used a screw and nut you can loosen and move the reed and do full slot embossing. or, w/ rivets,a reed wrench (if you are brave) and pivot the reed for full slot embossing.
i've done this a bunch of times and it works fricken great! ---
caveat.
it doesn't work the other way around. MS reeds are TOO broad- even narrow slot MS reeds- to fit in hand made harps. i use HM reeds for HM harps.
cheers, mark
MP
doctor of semiotics and reed replacement.
"making the world a better place, one harmonica at a time"
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