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Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! >
Tuning patterns help to extend reed life?
Tuning patterns help to extend reed life?
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rogonzab
57 posts
Jun 12, 2012
8:28 AM
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Hi,
I have been thinking about how the way I tune my harp may help to give more internal support to the reed.
The way that the reeds moves increase the tension in the area next to to the rivet end, so, I think, that tuning across the reed (Example Nº1) reinforce this tension, making the reed weeker.
But, how about using other tuning patterns?
I think that the best possible way to "reinforce" the reed is to tuning like in the Example Nº 2, but this is tricky to do, unless you have a special tool.
How about the Example Nº3? I think that this cross pattern increase the strength of the reed by extending the tension to a wider area.
How do you think about this? how about your own experience on the subject?
Last Edited by on Jun 12, 2012 8:31 AM
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barbequebob
1932 posts
Jun 12, 2012
8:34 AM
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Just about every harp tech, be it customizer or the guys in the factory, especially customizers, will tell you filing across the reed will often times severly weaken the reed and shorten its life span. It may tune reeds faster, but you get much less mileage out of them and from personal esperience, I find this to be 100% true. It gets even worse if you file too hard and wind up leaving gouges, which was a problem with the way Hohner was tuning them from 1985-1992, part of their worst years of quality.
The best way is still lengthwise. Whether you use a file, emery board, or rotary tool. lengthwise is still far better than across the reed, and so obviously, across the reed is a REALLY BAD idea.
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Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA
http://www.barbequebob.com
CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
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ElkRiverHarmonicas
1147 posts
Jun 12, 2012
8:45 AM
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When you are tuning at the base of the reed with a file, it's very hard to flatten a reed with a lengthwise stroke - the mechanics of such a stroke are very difficult. So I think most people, including me, flatten by scraping. I also use a rotary tool at times - which was specially made for tuning harmonicas - moved in a lengthwise pattern to flatten.
Of the quality illustrations above, No. 1 is a recipe for disaster. No. 2, it's hard to make file marks like that, unless you're scraping with a drawscraper.
No. 3, despite what you might think, is OK. If you only have a file, that's the way to do it. the destructive thing is horizontal, and in this case, diagonal is just vertical in a different direction - it spreads that cut along the length, even if it isn't perfectly vertical.
On file strokes on the free end of the reed - when you sharpen it - it doesn't matter what you do as long as you don't knock the reed out of kilter. There is very little stress on the reed at that end. Steve Hendrix did a nice drawing - which he posted in the "reed failure by the numbers thread" that shows how stress is distributed along a reed. You can find it here:
Why Reed Go Out of Tune
I've got two drawscrapers, one randy Sandoval made and the other by Richard Sleigh. I use Randy's most, it's the most used tool in my box, but a lot of that is because I'm used to it, it's a cool tool with an American Chestnut handle. THe Sleigh drawscraper is like a very tiny hoe and anybody who tunes reeds should have one.
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David
Elk River Harmonicas
Elk River Harmonicas on Facebook
"It's difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato." - Lewis Grizzard
"Also, drinking homemade beer." - David Payne
Last Edited by on Jun 12, 2012 8:47 AM
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rogonzab
58 posts
Jun 12, 2012
9:02 AM
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ElkRiverHarmonicas(David Right?),
Yes, when I read that thread I begin to thinking about this. I have been using the Nº3 lately and I think that is a good way to do, because it gives you more area to work on, and the posibility to take even amount of material of every side.
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ElkRiverHarmonicas
1148 posts
Jun 12, 2012
9:24 AM
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You can also flatten considerably by scraping off the corners.
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David
Elk River Harmonicas
Elk River Harmonicas on Facebook
"It's difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato." - Lewis Grizzard
"Also, drinking homemade beer." - David Payne
Last Edited by on Jun 12, 2012 9:25 AM
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