nacoran
3123 posts
Oct 31, 2010
12:36 PM
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My name is Nate, and I like collecting pretty harmonicas.
(Hello Nate)
It's been 5 minutes since my last eBay auction...
Ok, I just bought a cheap harmonica because it looked pretty. I know it won't play well. It's a blue Magnus. I'm on a pretty tight collecting budget and I'm settling in on unusual vintage harps as a non-playing hobby. I can get a vintage harp for under $10. I'm not doing this to play them. This is a decorating choice. But how should I display them? I don't want them to sit around in a drawer. Any DIY guys have any ideas for a cheap way to display colorful harps?
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Nate
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TahoeMike00
119 posts
Oct 31, 2010
1:09 PM
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Make a mobile out of them and hang them from your rear view mirror. Fuzzy dice are old news.
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The more I learn about harmonica, the more I learn how much more there is to learn.
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nacoran
3124 posts
Oct 31, 2010
1:34 PM
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Lol. I was actually thinking for my apartment not my car, but I'll keep that in mind.
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Nate
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shbamac
11 posts
Oct 31, 2010
1:38 PM
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You run a peice of string through them and wear them around you neck... or you could take and old picture frame with about an inch in depth, put in several cross members and put in on the wall...
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eharp
884 posts
Oct 31, 2010
2:04 PM
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i have other ideas for displaying harps, though most of these idea would be just as good with cheap harps.
(notice- most will ruin the resale value of the harp.)
1) refridge magnets
2) pull weights for window shades and ceiling fans
3) door knocker
4) wind chimes (sort of like tahoe's mobile)
the last idea is very creative. i havent worked out all the details.
turn the harps into "shades" or "covers" for those xmas lites that are used for many decorations throughout the year. halloween usually sports these lights but with skulls or coffins as the "shade".
this idea takes some drilling and the idea is for the light to come out the holes.
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nacoran
3126 posts
Oct 31, 2010
2:10 PM
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I live in an apartment, so I'm not sure they'd like me attaching anything to the cabinets, cool thought though. The glass top table is an interesting idea. I need a new desk, I wonder if I got a glass topped desk if I could put another layer underneath the desk surface without compromising knee space.
edit: eharp, I wonder if the hardware store has any less destructive clips...
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Nate
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Last Edited by on Oct 31, 2010 2:11 PM
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BronzeWailer
25 posts
Oct 31, 2010
2:43 PM
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A narrow (rectangular) glass vase so you can stack 'em up, rearrange as the mood suits. No damage to the harps either. We do something like this with seashells we collect.
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eharp
889 posts
Oct 31, 2010
5:11 PM
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earrings!
lol
they do make lamps where the body is glass.
if you take it apart, fill it wit foam or newspaper as filler and put the harps inside between filler and glass...
THAT would be cool. we were saving a lamp for that purpose but took too long. the lamp broke.
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bluemoose
367 posts
Nov 01, 2010
9:24 AM
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Why don't you just do like the rest of us? Have little piles of harmonicas all over the house, the basement and the garage? What's decorating have to do with it?
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Kyzer Sosa
855 posts
Nov 01, 2010
9:51 AM
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if your intentions are to collect to display, are you only doing so for yourself? i have various collections that, at one time, were on display at my home. the ones of value, however, i keep tucked away from decoration. part of the pleasure i get from those collections is on the rare moments when i add to it, and can take that opportunity to look at what i have, reflect, and appreciate... (having not seen them every day)
as for harps? arts and craft stores, and some frame shops, sell shadow boxes. a wooden frame of different size, usually 1-2 inches deep with a glass or plastic front. the interior is lines with dark felt. theyre typically meant for a creative display of a persons keepsakes, a collage of sorts, of a special event. Id imagine with a little bit of ingenuity, you could pull off a very good display case for your harps with one of those.
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nacoran
3130 posts
Nov 01, 2010
10:13 AM
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Bluemoose, well there are two stages to any good decorating project- the aspirational stage, where you put up all sorts of decorations and clean up all your messes, and then the practical stage, where you remake all your messes. These aren't going to be particularly playable harps. I've got a Magnus and a Magnus Jr. and a Royal. There was a Junior harp with Montgomery Wards directions but I think I'm going to pass on it because I one the other ones already and have probably spent enough for this month. (I won 3 Marine Bands and a Silver Star too, for $10.) I also got a little harmonica charm I'll put on my key chain.
If only, wait, my friend has a blow torch... I have a coke machine in my living room... I've thought about making some of those coke bottles that are all stretched out and filling them with sand. Maybe I could cut off the bottoms of coke bottles? I don't know. I didn't get enough sleep to make a good judgement. Thanks for all the suggestions. :) Keep brainstorming!
edit: Kyser, I live by myself in a cluttered but sparse apartment. (Lot's of junk, but not much decorative stuff. I have a coke machine (red and white) a coke sign, a coke clock and some plants (and all sorts of coke nick knacks people keep giving me because they think I'm into coke products (I am, but only industrial ones). Other than that my walls are bare.
I don't have the money or tight focus yet for the sort of collection where I covet a certain piece. It's mostly for decoration, although if I can narrow it down to a small enough sub section that I can really pursue it I may turn it into a more serious collection. Right now all I can think of is to focus on the Magnus. They're cheap and sort of have a neat back story coming out of war shortages. The better art deco stuff always goes out of my price range.
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Nate
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Last Edited by on Nov 01, 2010 10:20 AM
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Philippe
26 posts
Nov 01, 2010
2:24 PM
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Hi Nate,
For collection display, I recommend a small cabinet that is decently sealed so little to no dust gets in (glass door panel). Next, making raisers (eg http://www.americanfreethought.com/images/tellus/18_mineral_display.jpg ) that get higher towards the back, so all harps are nice and visible. They can be made out of wood. If time is an issue, foam raisers onto which you fasten black fabric will work.
After that, the harps+boxes can be arranged for maximum aesthetics and presentation.
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