The other day I wanted to shine up the cover plates on my Big River, & Blues Harp. I could have gone to the local Walmart and buy a pack of polishing cloths. But I decided to be a know-it-all & used polishing compound on the covers. Nothing got into the comb or reed plates. But for the next few weeks as I play them, my nose will be smelling polishing compound. If being absent mindedness was an Olympic event, I'd take the gold medal.
I had a Elk River comb sealed with poly. The thing is gorgeous, but I didn't put it in a harp for a year because I could still smell the offgassing. (That said, I'd put it up against just about any harp I've ever seen for best looking harp of all time.) It's a Seydel with the antiqued covers, reclaimed chestnut comb. Sounds great too. Low D harmonic minor.
The stupidest thing I've ever done with a harp is leave it in the laundry. Because of the short screws on L.O.s the cover came off and a reed snagged on something and bent past repair.
Also dropped a harmonica on a bar room floor once as a joke. (The guy who had gone up before me's guitar strap had come off and his $2k guitar had fallen on the floor. I announced I was going to do an impression and dropped my harmonica.) Joke didn't go over well and for a couple weeks and a couple cleanings I couldn't bring myself to put that harp back in my mouth.
I sealed a Marine Band comb with hot vegetable oil. The only problem was I heated it in a pan I had cooked quesadillas in and the come smelled like tortilla chips for a couple of years. That's really not too bad compared to polishing compound or polyurethane though.
Hey Nate, I think you're on to something there. Guys like Andrew and Tom already make great looking custom combs. Maybe one of them could come up with a series of flavor infused models . You could do them by nationality. Italian, Mexican, Middle Eastern and so forth. Something like that might make some of us want to practice more often.
Edited for spelling. ----------
I'm workin on it. I'm workin on it.
Last Edited by 2chops on Jul 19, 2016 7:38 AM
Some 10 years or so ago I decided to seal a 270 comb with beeswax. Great idea except that once I'd applied the molten wax I decided to make sure it penetrated the wood of the comb by setting it a 200 degree oven. When I got it out the comb was hopelessly warped. Apparently the pearwood Hohner used for the comb found its way to its original shape, which was a bit twisted. Total loss. Important lesson learned. ---------- Reverbnation
Back in the 80's I read in a book that you were supposed to 'soak' your harps. Another hot tip was that when the wood swelled from the moisture, you could slice off the ends of the comb with a razor blade so it wouldn't cut your lips when you played.
Beeswax can be very dangerous to work with and I know of a customizer who once used it for sealing combs and got burned by hot wax. The other thing about beeswax is that it does NOT do a good job in sealing combs because beeswax can wear down very quickly and it's not entirely moisture proof. Even tho that stuff is relatively inexpensive, it really doesn't do a good job at all and if you see any customizer still using this stuff to seal combs, stay away. ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
Greg, actually, I've thought someone could make some money if they made edible harmonica novelties. It wouldn't actually be very hard to make a mold for chocolate. I've seen harmonica cakes (and benches, not as edible but cool looking). Someone with a bit of confectionary skill might even be able to make a harmonica shaped blow pop. Wouldn't play like a harmonica, but it would play.
Nate...good idea on the lollipop thing. They already make whistle pops. A harmonica pop isn't too far of a stretch. Might sound more like a pan flute though . ----------
SuperBee - You misunderstood my initial posting. What I was referring to was not regretting the purchase of those two harps (I enjoy them both for what they're worth). My regrets were pertaining to the fact that I chose polishing compound to brighten the cover plates rather than just using polishing cloths. At least now I know when I finally purchase a chromatic harmonica, I won't be making the same mistake.
The dumbest thing I ever did was throw out the hundreds of harps I wore out over the years as there was no customizing/retuning/etc going on back then. The most we did was soak them in water.:-) Walter ---------- walter tore's spontobeat - a real one man band and over 1 million spontaneously created songs and growing. I record about 300 full length cds a year in the Tunnel of Dreams Studio. " life is a daring adventure or nothing at all" - helen keller
Back when I was 6 years old and it was actually considered politically incorrect NOT to carry a Zippo, and it was also only a couple of decades from a time when dynamite was used frequently on farms, I found an old yellow wooden box in the back of a dilapidated garage on our farm. In the box, there were some broken rods of a black charcoal like substance. I tried to burn it with my Zippo, but I could only get it to spark a little. Dumbest thing, I told my Mom about it.
I'd like to claim that I was just too young to know any better, but unfortunately, I'm afraid that was just another episode in a lifelong journey.
Last Edited by Thievin' Heathen on Jul 30, 2016 10:30 AM
The "dumbest thing I ever did". Wow. That is such a huge category to attempt to list in some kind of ranking order. I realize the ideal thing is to relate some anecdotal examples, but I don't even know where to begin. I'm overwhelmed trying to get my head around the complete aggregate and totality of my life's "dumbness". I'll have to solicit some input from friends, colleagues, and by all means my wife. Bless her little heart, if what comes out during those occasions of marital speedbump are any indication she has quite a list already compiled. Hard to categorize between injuries, legal issues, and overall failures of adequate consequence projection. Especially when I was younger, she was pretty resilient in fielding the various phone calls.
Actually, I think I'm afraid to bring it up to her as an open question.....
---------- ~Buzadero Underwater Janitor, Patriot MBH poster since 11Nov2008
Thievin, when I was about three I lived in Florida. One day I saw a bug in the kitchen. I went in the other room and told my mother there was a bug. She decided she'd test my powers of observation, so she sent me back out to the kitchen to count how many legs it had. I reported back. She sent me back to the kitchen to ask what color it was. I went back to the kitchen and came back and reported its color. She sent me back to find out more details, but decided to follow me. She just about had a heart attack when she saw me with my face 3 inches away from a scorpion trying to figure out what color its eyes were!
It's amazing so many kids make it through to adulthood.
When I restore vintage harps I use a metal polish called Auto-Sol. I learned about it right here on this forum. The stuff works great. Thanks to whoever suggested it. Anyway, shakeylee is 100% correct. After I get the covers looking all new and shiny I clean off the polish with a toothbrush and toothpaste to make it minty fresh. Zero residual taste of the polish. ---------- Tom Halchak www.BlueMoonHarmonicas.com
