Dremels, Chisels and Files - Oh My!

Monster Harmonica Workbench

When cleaning out the bottom drawer of my entertainment center, I discovered cassette tapes of live performances from legendary Bay Area harmonica players Mark Ford and Gary Smith that I had recorded in the late 70s.

It was terrific to hear the seminal music performed 30 years ago that influenced my playing. What interrupted my listening bliss; however, was to hear reeds that were out of tune-particularly the 4 and 5 draw.

As listeners, we expect the musicians to follow the rules of the "Triple T" … have Tone, Tempo and be in Tune!

It has been almost four years since Mel Bay's Harmonica Sessions originally tackled the subject of harmonica tuning. With so many different reed tuning tools available, for this issue I thought it would be a good idea to magnify the four most common choices, including Chisel, File, Sanding Wand, and Dremel. As a reference, please print out the Monster Harmonica Workbench back issues "Stop Those Dogs from Howling" December 2003 and "Stop Those Dogs from Howling Part II" February 2004.

The purpose of a reed-tuning tool is to remove the proper amount of metal from the reed, i.e. speed up (sharpen) or slow down (flatten) the vibration of the reed. Deciding on which tool to use for harmonica reed tuning is a matter of personal preference. I recommend testing out the tool first on your thumbnail to check for sharpness (amount of material one pass can remove) and how comfortable (control) the tool feels in your hands.

	One other thing, remember to place a shim (feeler gauge .002) underneath the reed to protect the reed plate and surrounding reeds.
	Magnified (100x) images were taken from my ProScope digital microscope.

Chisel

My first set of tuning tools (and probably yours as well) were the chisels that came with my Lee Oskar harmonica maintenance kit. Chisels are recommended for beginner tuners because it will cause the least amount of damage to your reeds. Using the smaller of the two chisels, I was able to lightly scrape metal away from the reed.

File

The file removes (mangles if not careful) everything in its path with each stroke. Because of its unforgiving nature, for most people, it can be difficult to master. Having said that, I found it beneficial when raising the pitch (sharpen) on "weighted" reeds (e.g. Reeds #1, 2 on lower tuned harmonicas).

Sanding Wand (Micro-Mark #81471 www.micromark.com)

These remarkable and affordable sanding tools are actually ¼" wide belt sanders available in numerous grits (120 course ~ 400 fine). Sanding wands are popular amongst the harmonica mechanics' universe. Notice how even and fine the striations are across the tip of the reed.

Dremel Rotary Tools (www.dremel.com/en-US)

If you can get past the image of your Dentist drilling into your cavity, the Dremel family of Rotary Tools is my personal favorite. Reed tuning tends to be the least enjoyable part of building harmonicas for me, so with my Dremel tools I can move through this process with precision and speed.

The Dremel rotary tool spins the diamond coated micro burr at high speeds (14,000 rpm) enabling me to surgically cut channels into the reed.

I plotted your course towards harmonica tuning perfection. Now it's up to you to enjoy the journey. "Choose well Grasshopper".

Stay tuned!

Bookmark this article with:

          

Stumble It!     Share on Facebook      Delicious