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Do Tina tuners use a dremel / diamond tip tool, or a file?


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Having read several pages about this topic, I found a video by Seydel on tuning Harmonica steel reeds. They use, and recommend, a diamond tipped engraving type tool.


Now, I have tuned brass type harp reeds myself with various tools, a file, a nail sander stick, and scratched with a mini screwdriver bit, but never had to mess with steel reeds like in a Seydel harp.

 

I am wondering would that work on Tina reeds.


Thanks in advance for answering.

Edited by Notemaker
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I've been wondering a bit of this myself lately.

I use diamond needle files to tune instruments that I make and had been curious about whether its 'safe' to use these for filing reeds. They're probably too coarse to be honest, but still I'd be curious as to what the general consensus is on the matter 

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The mention of a Dremel worries me. I do all my fine tuning with 400 and 600 grit flat diamond needle files. If I need to make a large pitch adjustment I might start with 220 grit until I'm close to the desired pitch, go down to 400 grit for the fine adjustment, then 600 for the final touches. The files I'm using have been 'broken in': brand new diamond files tend to cut more aggressively at first until the high spots have been knocked off.

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Never use a Dremel - there is little control over the cutting - one slip and the reed may be irreparably damaged - and replacing a reed will cost $$$

Personally I use Swiss-made Vallorbe half-round files of various cuts, depending on the degree of tuning required. 

I use the round part of the file to tune the reed closest to the clamp, and the flat part of the file to tune the tip.

I will always finish tuning a reed using the finest cut file.

Vallorbe files are expensive, but are of high quality and will last a lifetime.

Edited by SteveS
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Thanks for the replies.


Just need to mention all those recommending use of the engraver tool instruct to keep the cut in the middle portion of a Harmonica  reed tongue. I guess that is to prevent removing the edge which would ruin the reed.

 

 

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I would highly recommend investing in Dave's book.  It has a plethora of good tips and trick, that can extend to free reed instruments in general.

 

"The Concertina Maintenance Manual" Dave Elliott

 

https://mcneelamusic.com/the-concertina-maintenance-manual/

 

And then you can build yourself one of these nifty tools with a dowel and some 400 grit sandpaper!... My apologies Dave, I actually had to sit and think for a second to figure out where I'd first seen this done.  Haven't needed to use it on concertina reeds, but it worked great on harmonica reeds.

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Edited by Jewish Leprechaun
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When people talk about diamond tipped engraving tools it makes me think of accordion reed tuning, which is often done by scratching out a little metal lengthwise down some portion of the center of the reed.  Not what you want to do to concertina reeds unless it is a hybrid with accordion reeds.  Harmonica reeds are a different animal, since they are ganged together on a single plate making it a little difficult to do anything crosswise on the reeds.  Still if you are just tuning, you should be able to make a very useable abrasive stick out of a wood stick wrapped with a bit of “wet or dry” 400 or 600 grit sand paper.  I use thin flat   roughly 1/16” x 1/4” x2 or 3 “ abrasive sticks in 320, 400, and 600 grit which last me a long time.  I just rub the end on the reed at the appropriate area in the lengthwise  direction for tuning, though profiling I do crossways.  You can just use sandpaper over the end of the stick for a cheap substitute.  Returning removes minuscule amounts of metal, so you don’t need any big guns.

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Something that hasn't been mentioned is that you also need a thin metal shim to slide under the tongue while filing it. I made mine from an old feeler gauge.  Don't try to push it all the way to the clamp. After each filing session before putting the reed back into the instrument it's a good idea to blow the metal dust off with compressed air. Occasionally filing throws up burrs on the edges of the tongue that can interfere with the fit; they can easily be scraped off (I use a scraper tool made from a needle file with all the teeth ground off).

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I use the 400-grit version of these diamond needle files. I'm sure people on the west side of the mid-atlantic ridge can source similar tools.

Mostly I use the flat file in the set. I use these files for mostly for working on melodeon/accordion reeds which are fairly hard steel compared with vintage concertina reeds. Like Alex Holden, I keep an old flat diamond file which is a bit blunt (having filed many melodeon reeds over the last few years) for working on concertina reeds. The old diamond file removes metal very, very gently, with hardly any pressure needed.

 

And yes - I agree with Alex - it should go without saying that the reed tongue should be supported with a shim. I have a couple which I have made from steel strips cut from baked bean tins and ground down to a thin sliver at each end on a diamond plate. The steel from baked bean tins is fairly soft and does not damage the reed tongues.

 

 

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Thank you for the excellent expert replies. From those I managed to easily correct one out of tune reed - it had dropped over a few days -

 

I used the diamond files recommended; 240 grit for a couple or licks got most of the work done, then 400 one lick a wee bit more, and a couple of licks of the 600 grit ; it moved but very little towards the accepted result. That was very close, tenths of a Hz below my comparison reed 'D 4' draw on the C row.

 

D 4 Push LH side from 582.6 Hz to 585.5 H. using Android App Gstrings tuner.

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