In recent Zoom sessions, we've had a few discussions about repair and cleaning of our harmonicas ... particularly the disassembly and reassembly of the instruments. As someone with an engineering background, taking stuff apart and putting it back together is not daunting to me. I realize, however, that it certainly CAN be challenging to many!
Yesterday during our session, I noted a few quirks about my instrument (Suzuki G48 w/ wood covers) that sounded a bit "off". I notice this from time to time ... maybe every two to three months. I've learned that, since I play this harp MOST of the time, it gets a little dirty and needs some TLC. This morning, I did my normal "cleaning" of the harp, and I thought I'd share a few of my techniques (some would say pecsadillos
). This demonstrate only one man's way of doing this job. You may find a whole different way of approaching it, but then again, you may find some of what I do helpful.
I find the whole secret to doing this work is being organized and a bit careful. Here's what I did:
First, I have a small towel that I work on. The towel helps me be able to SEE the small parts, and it keeps them from rolling around or falling off the counter. I've included a couple of photos to help with seeing what I'm talking about. I first remove the covers. (Stick with me! My approach can be considered weird!) I put the top cover on the right, and the bottom on the left. I put on set of the male/female fasteners in each cover.
Next, I remove the mouthpiece and slide keeping it's screws and bumpers beside the mouthpiece.
Then, I remove the screws from the reed plates. I loosen all the screws, then remove them and lay them on the towel in the same pattern that they were in the plates. That way, I always put the same screws back into the same holes when I reassemble. Don't really have to do this! Again, I just figure if there's a unique quirk to one of the threads, it'll go back into the same place where I removed it.
Once I get the plates off, I carefully remove the spring from the comb and put it on the towel.
You can kinda see all the "pieces/parts" removed in the photo below.
I use an old toothbrush to clean the mouthpiece, slide, and comb while holding them under a gentle stream of warm water. I then dry them THOROUGHLY before I begin to reassemble.
I use a piece of shim stock to run around each and every reed to make sure no small particles are keeping the reed from freely moving. I use strips of coffee filter to clean the windsavers. I put the paper strip under each windsaver, and while applying gentle pressure with my thumb, I pull the paper out from under the windsaver to clean the underside and the surrounding portion of the plate. I then do the same thing to the "springy" piece of the windsaver by sticking the paper between the two section of the windsaver. (Of course, one piece valves wouldn't have this step. Next, I use my little "reed plunker" to plunk (plink?) each reed to listen for any "dull" or "thudding" sound ... usually indicating there's some dirt still there or the reed is out of alignment. Once I'm satisfied with the sound of the plunking, I can begin the process of reassembly.
The first thing I do is put the spring back in place. That's sometimes a bit of a chore, but a thumb on the coil area and a flat blade screwdriver to push the end back in place usually works. Also, I put a SMALL dab of lube on the coil prior to reinstallation.
Don't know if that's required ... just another of my quirks. Next step is reinstallation of the reed plates. Making SURE I have the right plate in the correct position (believe me, I've put them on wrong before! Harp sounds really weird that way!), I put the screws back into their original hole. I put all the screws back into their holes before I begin any tightening. I usually begin by tightening the center screw ... not completely, but just enough to hold the plates. I then tighten all the screws to that same degree of "kinda tight". Then, I start again with the center screw and tighten it fully and firmly, careful not to bear down so hard that i strip the head of the screw! I alternate doing this from the center to the outside screws. I'll tighten them alternately from one side to the other until they're all tight. This way, I feel that any potential "warping" of the plate will be "pushed" to the outside and I'll have a better seat for both plates against the comb.
Then, I reinstall the slide/mouthpiece. Before I do that, I use a very small amount of lube along the contact area of the mouthpiece, and on the slide itself. I just put a drop between my thumb and forefinger, and run it along the slide. VERY LIGHTLY! I'll then set the slide in place, put the screws through the mouthpiece holes, put the "bumpers" on the screws, and put it all back together. While tightening the two mouthpiece screws, I constantly work the slide to make sure it's not binding.
Finally, the two covers go on. I always put the "female" part of the fastener through from the bottom cover, and the "male" part through the top cover. (Another of my "AR" peccadillos!) When those screws are tightened, I hopefully find no extra pieces/parts left on the towel, and I have a clean, functional instrument!
Hope this LONG explanation is helpful to someone!
