I recently purchased a MB 1896 on eBay - new, never played. I would guess it to be from the 50's or 60's judging from the box that it came in. White box, blue border. "Marine Band made by M. Hohner, Germany, 1896." The photo was embossed with an ad for a music store in Avon, Conn. After drilling the cover plates for screws I was going to sand the comb. Instead of nails the reed plates were attached with seven 3/32" compression pins. One on each corner and three on the back. I made a vain attempt at removing them but they are there to stay. Has anyone else out there ever seen anything like this? What can you tell me about this harp? It seems to play pretty tight.
I can't figure out how to add a photo here. I've emailed one to arzajac and David. You can reply either here or to my email address if you have ever seen one of these. If someone will tell me how to post a photo here I will be happy to.
Those "compression pins" that you refer to are what others refer to as the "nails". This is the standard way Marine Bands 1896 harps are assembled. The easiest way to remove them is to slip a thin blade in between the reedplate and comb, then gently work your way round the harp prying them loose as you go.
Last Edited by on May 13, 2012 1:22 PM
Once you get a little bit of separation pull them out. Adam's video about opening up harps doesn't cover taking the plates off, but watching it gives you a good idea of how not to bend things by working both ends a bit. Once you get a little separation you can push the plate back down and work on the nails without risking bending the reedplate.
Talk about feeling like a dumb-ass!!! The nails are out, reed plates drilled and the comb is ready to accept its first coat of Zinsser Bullseye. What threw me off were the two extra nails at each end of the harp. None of the videos that I have watched on this subject ever mentioned there being more than three. Thanks for all of your help.
