Replacing reed
Hello Master Kinya. If you had me on the short list for amateur brain surgery please remove my name. When I forge weld in the blacksmith shop, if the welding gods are not with me nothing welds so I usually quit for a while and go weed the garden... Well, the harmonica gods were not with me when I tried to replace my first reed (Key of A draw 5). I purchased the appropriate tools, reviewed the "Master" again and went to work with complete confidence until I tightened the bolt a wee too much and stripped the screw. Confidence went down several notches. I don't have a larger tap or larger bolts (Is that the way to go and what size?) so I used a blacksmithing tech and set the bolt as I would a 1/4" steel rivet with marginal sucess. So then I figured let me tune the reed. I forgot to set the tuner at 442, I got confused as to which end to work on. (I now know which end and why) and ended up having a harp that playes a C# blow and a C# draw. I should have done some weeding As the old joke punchline states, "Can you fix it?. I assume I can start to increase the pitch to a "D" by removing metal at the free end but I would like the hear the "masters" words of wisdom first. Damn, and I'm taking my Technician's Amateur Radio License in a week. Hope that goes better then my first reed replacement project. This is my practice harmonica.....good thing. Mic
Yes, I'm still laughing. Excellent forum reference. I will be ordering hardware now. Since we grow everything organically on the farm there is no worry about using Roundup. I enjoy your humor and Masterful knowledge. I will let you know how things turn out. Thanks. Mic
Sweet, the majority of fruits and vegetables that my wife and I eat are (labeled) organic. Meats (grass fed) and poultry (free-range). Appears to be working 'cause my wife and I are 120 years old, but people say we don't look a day over 65.
Your Harpsmith, Kinya
lol this thread is gold ;P
Hey Mic, I've always enjoyed metal work more than wood work, because you could always use a bigger and heavier hammer ;o)
First of all, I'm really pleased you made these "ba-boos" on your practice harmonica. Secondly, you got those mistakes out of your system--so next time, I doubt you will fall into the same rabbit hole.
In the event, another 0-80 machine screw breaks off inside your reed plate:
As for the tuning, you may want to keep the 5 draw at C# (matching your 5 blow C#). This way you can amaze your audience with your sustained "circular breathing" technique!
After the laughing has subsided... your plan to remedy the issue is absolutely correct--removing weight from the free end of the reed will speed up the vibration and raise (sharpen) the C# pitch up to D. Stop at <-10 cents>.
As for the weeding, stay away from the Roundup spray, it could be dangerous to your health.
Your Harpsmith, Kinya