Bluzeman
34 posts
Jul 30, 2009
8:51 PM
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Today I recieved somethin' sweet in the mail! 3 Marine Band harps and 1 Blues Harp that I won on Ebay for $10.49 !
All told I paid a whoppin' $19.69 including S&H for the lot.
The 3 Marine bands are 2 C's and 1 G, and the Blues Harp is a C. They all need some clean up and the comb on the G harp has a small crack on the side where it is split from the nail. 2 of the Marine bands are in really good condition (one C looks brand new!), a C and the G (other than the cracked comb). The Blues harp looks pretty clean. The third Marine Band is in really bad shape. I dunno if it's salvagable, but for the price I couldn't pass em up! Soon as my camera batteries are charged up I'll post a couple pics.
Now, I need to do some research and start figuring out how to get these babies cleaned up and playable! Hopefully I can get hold of a comb for the G harp at a reasonable price since my funds are pretty limited.
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Bluzeman
YouTube:
Bluzeman420
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Bluzeman
35 posts
Jul 30, 2009
9:39 PM
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Ok.. Here's a Pic of all 4 harps. Bottom to Top in order of condition:
Blues Harp (C)
Marine Band (C)
Marine Band (G)
Marine Band (C)
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Bluzeman
YouTube:
Bluzeman420
Last Edited by on Jul 30, 2009 9:39 PM
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Bluzeman
36 posts
Jul 30, 2009
9:40 PM
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Now I just gotta get some direction on where to start gettin my new prizes cleaned up and ready for action!
Any tips greatly apreciated!
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Bluzeman
YouTube:
Bluzeman420
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Bluzeman
37 posts
Aug 01, 2009
2:28 PM
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Cleaning up wood MB combs....
I have these guys apart now and have started cleaning them up. I have access to a nice ultra-sonic cleaner at work so I have the reed plates and covers cookin in there right now. I've also got access to ovens and de-ionized ultra pure water as well for final rinse and fast drying as well so I shouldn't have any trouble with the metal parts.
Now, the wood combs are a different matter.
How do I get rid of the mildew without damaging the combs? I noticed that the combs from the c harps are identical in dimensions to the G harp comb that is cracked so I am going to cannabalized the comb from the worst of the C harps to the G, but the comb is in pretty rough shape on that one.
Anyone got tips for cleaning up these combs?
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Bluzeman
YouTube:
Bluzeman420
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Bluzeman
41 posts
Aug 01, 2009
4:49 PM
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The best of the MB C's came out looking BRAND NEW! I'm pretty happy about that one. It honestly looked like it had never been played, but it was pretty musty from storage and the brass was a little dull. It seriously looks brand new now. I put that one back together and it plays well, just a little leaky. I'll be embossing that one a little and I think it's gonna be an ace harp.
The Blues Harp (C) came out very nice as well from the u-sonic but there is still some clean up to do. I have a nice buffing pad on my Dremel and I'll be touching up the reed plates. The covers look spotless and new now as well with VERY minimal scratches. Pretty happy so far on that one as well.
The MB (G) Reed plates need some serious work with the dremel.
The last (C) I didn't put in the bath at all.
Going to take some photos for before and after.
Still need to find some info on cleaning up the comb I want to use for the G harp. It's very nasty. I'll post pics of it as is shortly.
Maybe no one else is even interested in my little project, ha ha. But this is my diary of my very first Harp reconditioning project.
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Bluzeman
YouTube:
Bluzeman420
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jonsparrow
705 posts
Aug 01, 2009
5:12 PM
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im interested in it. i just have no info cause i never did it before.
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Patrick Barker
372 posts
Aug 01, 2009
6:13 PM
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Awesome! That's a pre MS system blues harp
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"Without music, life would be a mistake" -Nietzsche
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Bluzeman
42 posts
Aug 01, 2009
7:37 PM
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@ Jon
lol. Roger that Jon. I was really wondering if anyone was reading this thread. I'm pretty excited about it since I'm just barely getting started with the harp playing (I bought my very first harmonica June 18th '09) , I'm broke, so can't afford to go buy NEW harps at $30+ a pop, AND I love to tinker with this kind of thing. It appeals to my meticulous nature.
@Patrick Yeah it is... Are they harder to come by? I have been trying to date it but I haven't found any info on the Blues Harps There is tons of stuff I've found to date MB Harps, yet I still haven't figured out what year these harps are from. My best guess is the oldest is early 60'ish and the newest (the MB C that looked practically unused) is mid to late 80's. But that is purely speculation from a completely un educated individual.
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Bluzeman
YouTube:
Bluzeman420
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jonsparrow
708 posts
Aug 01, 2009
7:40 PM
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im gonna be doing this too now i just got a prewar marine band off ebay.
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Patrick Barker
373 posts
Aug 01, 2009
10:20 PM
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Yea the MS system kinda made a bunch of harps way crappier. The old blues harps are supposed to be way better.
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"Without music, life would be a mistake" -Nietzsche
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Mgimino
50 posts
Aug 02, 2009
9:08 PM
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Is this worth going through the trouble instead of just buying a new C and G harp? I would think that buying a brand new instrument would be better in the long run then cleaning an old one, and less work.
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Michael
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Drbeastie
1 post
Aug 03, 2009
7:25 AM
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Anyone cleaning up old harps better make sure that their shots are up to date
Infectious hepatitis is a serious risk
all the best
e
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Bluzeman
45 posts
Aug 03, 2009
8:25 AM
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@Mgimino: "Is this worth going through the trouble instead of just buying a new C and G harp? I would think that buying a brand new instrument would be better in the long run then cleaning an old one, and less work."
I think you may be missing the point:
A) There is a certain satisfaction to resurrecting and breathing new life into a piece of antiquity.
B) Putting a little blood and sweat into your instrument gives you more of a bond and understanding of said instrument.
C) (And probably the most pertinent reason) I can't afford to just go buy new harps.
@Drbeastie:
"Sterilization" is a wonderful new thing in the world of medicine. Many hospitals use new all these fangled techniques to kill virii and other nasty things to prevent the passing of contagious diseases from one person to another. You should read up on it, it's very fascinating stuff.
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Bluzeman
YouTube:
Bluzeman420
Last Edited by on Aug 03, 2009 8:35 AM
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Drbeastie
2 posts
Aug 03, 2009
3:13 PM
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135 degrees c steam at pressure for 6 minutes or more
unfortunately sterilization will trash the wooden comb
The wooden comb of an old harp is a tailor made haven for viruses and bacteria and their spores.
I hope you threw out the solution from the ultrasonic and dried it out otherwise your workmates might not be too happy. all the best e
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Bluzeman
48 posts
Aug 03, 2009
4:25 PM
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The old combs haven't been touched. Just cleaned the metal bits in the ultrasonic. What bugs me the most is the two that have mold on them. I may end up just trashing them if I can get hold of some replacement combs at a fair price.
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Bluzeman
YouTube:
Bluzeman420
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isaacullah
299 posts
Aug 03, 2009
5:28 PM
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Soak the combs in alcohol. Rubbing alcohol will work, but make sure it is a pure mix of iso-propyl and water. You don't want anything with "denatured" alcohol, because it's potentially poisonous. Methanol also will work (can be found as fuel line "de-icing" additive, again make sure it's pure). But in my book, pure Ethanol would be best. 181 proof booze will do the trick very nicely! Soak for at least 15 minutes and then let air dry overnight (here in phoenix, it only takes 2 minutes!). I then use Hydrogen Peroxide and a q-tip to remove any remaining gunk. Let dry again. Then do that sanding and butchers block oil I was telling you about in the other thread... You'll be good to go. Search over on Harp-l for an exhaustive thread about harps and health and sanitization etc...
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The magnificent YouTube channel of the internet user known as "isaacullah"
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Bluzeman
49 posts
Aug 03, 2009
8:58 PM
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Methanol is extremely hazardous. I've been using Methanol and Ethanol for a long time in the electronics tech business and both are pretty bad for you. We have 90% isopropyl at work too for general purpose cleaning. If isopropyl won't damage the combs I'll take them to work and do it. I DEFINATELY want to be absolutely certain any molds are dead and gone before I will use them. We have a really good selection of super fine sandpapers as well... all the way down to 2000 grit so sanding won't be a problem. I'm pretty handy with delicate tasks so I ain't scared of that part.
Drying should go pretty fast here in Utah as well Isaac with the 90+ weather we've been having.
What's that Harp-i you mentioned? I'll definately check it out and do some more homework on the harp restoration before I mess with the combs too much. I don't want to ruin them if they are salvagable.
On another note the best of the harps, a MB C, seriously looked like it had never been played, I sanded that comb and u-sonic cleaned the metal bits and it plays pretty good, just very leaky compared to my slightly touched up SP20. I am going to mod it to screws and emboss the reed slots in the next couple of days.
On a side note I embossed and gapped my SP20 A harp and it plays AWESOME now. Very responsive as far as I can tell. MUCH more so than it was.
Thanks for the tips Isaac..
@DrBeastie. I wasn't tryinna be a dildo. lol I reread how I responded and I dunt think it sounded too nice. I meant no offense. Thanks to you too for sharing your concern and offering a kind warning.
I was having a really bad day and pretty grumpy. My sincerest apologies if I offended.
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Bluzeman
YouTube:
Bluzeman420
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Bluzeman
50 posts
Aug 03, 2009
9:02 PM
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Ahh... www.harp-l.org is that the site you are talking about Isaac?
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Bluzeman
YouTube:
Bluzeman420
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isaacullah
301 posts
Aug 04, 2009
10:16 AM
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Yep! About a year ago there was a very lively and long lasting conversation about this stuff. I think it may have been called "harp health", but the name morphed with the many responses, so it may also be found under "how to sanitize harps", "cleaning harps", etc. You should be able to easily find it in their search engine.
As for the type of alcohol, I use Isopropyl on my harps to clean them up, but I still think regular old 151 proof booze would be better. Also, it wouldn't taste so strange afterwards... (isn't drinking booze Ethanol? Or did I get that wrong?). Yeah, Alcohol won't harm the wood combs, but it will definately sterilize them and kill the mold. It'll dry off quite fast too.
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The magnificent YouTube channel of the internet user known as "isaacullah"
Last Edited by on Aug 04, 2009 10:23 AM
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Bluzeman
52 posts
Aug 04, 2009
4:34 PM
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Yeah, Ethanol is the same Ehthyl Alcohol as is found in alcoholic drinks. Drinking it at 100% purity would probably make you go blind though.
I'll use the 90% Isopropyl we have at work since I can get that free and I'd rather not waste $ dunking dirty harps in perfectly imbibable whiskey :P
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Bluzeman
YouTube:
Bluzeman420
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