Embossing harmonica reedplates: does it work for reed shoes?

[Graham Collicutt]

Whilst browsing harmonica tweeking sites I came across ''embossing''. A blunt tool ( eg. 7mm socket ) is used to draw out some brass from the reedplate to close the gap around the reed. They do that until the reed buzzes, they then ping the reed to break of the surplus and then repeat.

 

I have removed reeds from the shoe, then shortened the tip, ground back to size on wet and dry paper, then reassemble and then tune to achieve same effect. It does work but when clamping screws shear off you wish you hadn't started.

 

So has anybody tried embossing?

 

Graham

[Dana Johnson]

Whilst browsing harmonica tweeking sites I came across ''embossing''. A blunt tool ( eg. 7mm socket ) is used to draw out some brass from the reedplate to close the gap around the reed. They do that until the reed buzzes, they then ping the reed to break of the surplus and then repeat.

 

I have removed reeds from the shoe, then shortened the tip, ground back to size on wet and dry paper, then reassemble and then tune to achieve same effect. It does work but when clamping screws shear off you wish you hadn't started.

 

So has anybody tried embossing?

 

Graham

rarely if a reed / window combination has more clearance than I'd like, I'll swage the reed shoe at the tip and root to close the gap and then touch it up. Rarely if I manage to over cut a window corner by a thousandth of an inch or so, I'll push the nearby metal to close it up and clean it up again, Hopefully correctly this time.

I'm not a fan of ultra tight clearances on concertina reed shoes. On accordion or harmonica plates, there is no pressure on the plate to deform the window, so you can make the clearances as tight as practical, bearing in mind that you are adding harshness to the sound with really close clearances. On concertinas, the reeds are mounted differently and there is usually some tendency towards side pressure on the long side of the window which can easily close even a moderate gap and cause buzzing or outright stoppage of the reed. Most reed shoes are slightly waisted so the only contact along the sides is near the tip and root of the shoe, but this is minimal and can be overridden by wood swelling. While it is quite possible to get clearances of less than .001" / side, I find any advantage is cancelled by much less tolerance for a reed that is not precisely centered, leading to blowing flat under pressure. Also very tight clearances can lead to too many calls for help when a customer's reeds start to buzz with a change in the weather.

Dana

[Graham Collicutt]

Thank you for your reply.

 

I have a cheap 30 button Lachenal, maghogany, steel srews and inserts, but generally in good nick and quite quick, no warping ( you can test reeds without screwing down ). There are 1 or 2 reeds that use too much air ( the bellows travel doubles to maintain the same volume ) so I am about to try something. Thank you again for your insight, I will bear it in mind.

 

Graham

[Geoffrey Crabb]

Thank you for your reply.

 

I have a cheap 30 button Lachenal, maghogany, steel srews and inserts, but generally in good nick and quite quick, no warping ( you can test reeds without screwing down ). There are 1 or 2 reeds that use too much air ( the bellows travel doubles to maintain the same volume ) so I am about to try something. Thank you again for your insight, I will bear it in mind.

 

Graham

 

Graham,

 

I am sure you have done this but for the benefit of others, before touching the reeds, do make sure that any valves fitted to the associated reeds of the 1 or 2 you mention are closing properly. Air leakage past the non-playing reed in a pair will result in reduced power (volume) of the playing reed.

 

Geoff

[Graham Collicutt]

'' On concertinas, the reeds are mounted differently and there is usually some tendency towards side pressure on the long side of the window which can easily close even a moderate gap and cause buzzing or outright stoppage of the reed. Most reed shoes are slightly waisted so the only contact along the sides is near the tip and root of the shoe, but this is minimal and can be overridden by wood swelling. While it is quite possible to get clearances of less than .001" / side, I find any advantage is cancelled by much less tolerance for a reed that is not precisely centered, leading to blowing flat under pressure. Also very tight clearances can lead to too many calls for help when a customer's reeds start to buzz with a change in the weather.

Dana ''

 

This got me thinking: Why not just use paper packing for just the reed section of the shoe to close the gap. Seems to work, is very quick and is reversable. Incidently concertina I'm discussing is the one used for this post : http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php...st&p=101246

 

Graham