Header Graphic
Dirty-South Blues Harp forum: wail on! > Getting reed plates off
Getting reed plates off
Login  |  Register
Page: 1

arzajac
146 posts
Apr 14, 2010
6:23 AM
I recently bought a few old Hohner harmonicas on ebay. (One of them is a mouse-ear, but I am not touching that one!) I Used a Swiss army knife to pry the reedplates slightly off the comb, and then was able to pry off the nails. The reedplates are a bit warped. I expect that getting them perfectly flat is beyond my abilities...

Nonetheless, they reassembled well and seem to play perfectly.

I have been looking for a better method of getting the reed plates off. I have tried using a razor blade today, and that worked.

I got the razor blade under the nail (*over* the reed plate) and then advanced a miniature flat-head screwdriver to the tip of the razor blade which is under the nail. That lifted up the nail enough for me to get a small wire cutter under there to pry off the nail without prying the reedplate at all. The wire cutters are curved so it makes it easy to wiggle the nail out.

The problem is that I ripped the head of one nail off with the razor blade. I don't know if that would have happened if I had pried up the reedplate since that would have applied force to every part of the nail's head instead of just one side.

There's got to be a better technique.

Also, is it possible to buy replacement nails somewhere? Maybe by using the perfect size drill bit I can drill the top of the nail off without even coming into contact with the reed plate? Then I would just remove the nail stems and replace them with new nails.

Last Edited by on Apr 14, 2010 6:27 AM
nacoran
1659 posts
Apr 14, 2010
9:07 AM
I think for practical purposes most people, once they have the nails out, replace them with screws, although I know in most of the rest of the antique world they like keeping everything original.

----------
Nate
Facebook
CaptainBolide
39 posts
Apr 14, 2010
2:41 PM
I have the same plate bending issue.
I found that if I reverse the bend while using the
location of the given nail that was providing the
counter force to create the bending of the plate,
I've been able to get the plate fairly flat again
without adding additional bends in the plate while
straightening it. I'm thinking of trying to drill
the nails out directly. Just not sure if its a bad
idea, for some unforeseeable reason. I understand
that not all the nails are in direct opposition to
each other, in terms of the two sets of nails for
the two plates. Currently, I'm just assuming that
the screws will force the plate into a position
to seal the comb, regardless. I'm using a classic
box cutter knife w/ the handle. This doesn't allow
the same subtleness as the single edge blade on it's
own, but does seem a little safer to handle, and there
is more leverage to be gained. Which might actually
be a bad thing, resulting in more bending of the plates.
----------


,,,,,,/``,`,``,,`,``,``,,`,``,``,,`,`,`\,,,,,
####[C][a][p][t][B][o][l][i][d][e]####
````\``,`,``,,`,``,``,,`,``,``,,`,`,,/````


Post a Message



(8192 Characters Left)


Modern Blues Harmonica supports

§The Jazz Foundation of America

and

§The Innocence Project

 

 

 

ADAM GUSSOW is an official endorser for HOHNER HARMONICAS