jonsparrow
1236 posts
Oct 26, 2009
7:48 PM
|
combs supplied by buddah, had to cut them myself though he cut the tines out., replaced nails with bolts, support bolts, embossed, gapped, arced, etc...
|
RyanMortos
413 posts
Oct 26, 2009
8:02 PM
|
Really nice man! I'm sure you spent quite a bit of time working on them. Hopefully mine will start looking that good :) .
----------
~Ryan
Pennsylvania - H.A.R.P. (Harmonica Association 'Round Philly)
|
jonsparrow
1237 posts
Oct 26, 2009
8:04 PM
|
thanks.
Last Edited by on Oct 26, 2009 8:05 PM
|
Tuckster
245 posts
Oct 26, 2009
8:34 PM
|
Cool! What's the green comb made from? And the most important part: how did they play?
Last Edited by on Oct 26, 2009 8:34 PM
|
jonsparrow
1238 posts
Oct 26, 2009
9:24 PM
|
there both composite. an they play wonderful. nice an smooth, equal breath from hole to hole, overblows. they are a low F and a C
|
KeithE
39 posts
Oct 26, 2009
10:27 PM
|
Jon - any idea how much time this took in total? And what sort of a shop setup did you have for this job?
I think that Buddha mentioned he uses dymondwood, but you would have to check with him to know for sure.
|
jonsparrow
1239 posts
Oct 26, 2009
11:05 PM
|
the sawing, drilling, grinding, fileing, took maybe 4 or 5 hours. the reed work took countless hours. took a few weeks to get em perfect.
machines i used are a band saw, drill press, and grinding wheel. an i used numerous hand tools.
|
Ant138
177 posts
Oct 27, 2009
1:11 AM
|
---------- 
Good job jon,they look sweet. any plans to turn it into a business?
it makes me wanna give it a go but i just dont have the time or patience at the moment. i take my hat off to ya!!!
|
Violin Cat
88 posts
Oct 27, 2009
3:22 AM
|
NICE WORK! Fantastic! Welcome to the club Jon! A new addiction and time consuming harp related activity! Are you married? Maybe not much longer... LOL Fine work sir!
J
Last Edited by on Oct 27, 2009 3:23 AM
|
toddlgreene
62 posts
Oct 27, 2009
4:55 AM
|
Very nice work! That's something to be proud of, and I'm willing to bet that playing your own customized harps will make you play even better. How much were the combs, Jon? As J says and I think he's right, I'd be divorced if I spent the time to do that myself, but luckily my good friend is retired and builds harps all the time for fun mostly-I'd like to get him some non-pearwood combs. You can email me at the address on my profile.
----------
Crescent City Harmonica Club
www.myspace.com/harpboytodd
www.myspace.com/crescentcityharmonicaclub
www.myspace.com/am540
|
Buddha
1104 posts
Oct 27, 2009
5:38 AM
|
yes they are dymondwood combs.
Jon, if you sand the combs with 320>400>600>1000>1200grit paper the combs will shine like they have varnish on them. I don't lacquer up my combs, I sand them to a glass finish so it never goes away.
----------
~Buddha
Pennsylvania - H.A.R.P. (Harmonica Association 'Round Philly)
|
ElkRiverHarmonicas
321 posts
Oct 27, 2009
7:04 AM
|
What Buddha is talking about, some would call burnishing. It won't take lacquer at that point. The pores are closed for business. I use lacquer because I wouldn't be able to put silver and gold letters on the harps (they go under the lacquer) if I didn't. If I didn't put letters on them, I wouldn't use it at all. It's a perfectly good technique. There have been times when I've done that and followed up the polishing cloth with leather.
----------
www.elkriverharmonicas.com
Last Edited by on Oct 27, 2009 7:05 AM
|
Andrew
695 posts
Oct 27, 2009
8:24 AM
|
And what's the technique for gettting the reedplates optically flat?
|
jonsparrow
1240 posts
Oct 27, 2009
9:23 AM
|
first off thanks every one
no im not married, never will be.
no i dont wanna turn it into a business, its just for me. it makes me happy.
an thanks for the tip buddah.
|
Marcelus
1 post
Oct 27, 2009
9:36 AM
|
Really nice, I bet they're comfortable to play too.
I have made knife handles out of this material (might have been a different brand other than Dymondwood) For the final finish I used a buffer and the white (made for plastic) buffing compound sold by Grizzly.
Can anyone tell me, are the spaces in the comb cut out with a router or laminate trimmer and what diameter bit to use on a marine band?
|
Kingley
475 posts
Oct 27, 2009
9:48 AM
|
Well done Jon, nice job!
|
Buddha
1108 posts
Oct 27, 2009
10:11 AM
|
I have a milling machine which is the best way to do it. At first I hired a guy to make them for me but they all had issues and he was a flake. So I ponied up the cash for a top notch bench top mill. At the cost off several thousand its not a machine for everybody.
----------
~Buddha
Pennsylvania - H.A.R.P. (Harmonica Association 'Round Philly)
|
Elwood
183 posts
Oct 27, 2009
10:43 AM
|
Very impressive, nice job...
It must be great to have such a personal relationship with your instrument. And I love the comb color.
|
BillBailey
40 posts
Oct 27, 2009
1:43 PM
|
Congratulations, Jon, real nice effort.
I like the idea of "burnishing" instead of dipping combs in various sealers and mysterious potions. Call me "nature boy."
I make a few harp combs and studio-quality rockers (http://www.baileyrockers.com/) and the trend there is to use light tung oils or no finishes on many pieces. Perhaps part of the trend is "green-driven" and the waning interest in plastic-looking surfaces and shiny furniture.
Most fine hardwoods polish wonderfully resulting in virtually closed pours. Of course, certain species should be sealed if used as combs or salad bowls, etc. I'm not trying to start an arm-flapping discussion on naturally-occurring pesticides, single-celled toxic molds, CCA-treated wood and such---or the health effects of commonly used sealers. Most species, like pear wood, is safe (or poor Dr. Gussow, et al, would be dead by now), just not terribly stable.
Anyway, I use "Rhino" sandpaper up to 1,200G, then I switch to 2,000, 3,000, 4,000 and 5,000-grit Abralon pads (mounted on velcro discs orbital sanders). The flexible, foam backed pads are not woven and micro-buff wood pours and polish wood like nothing else I have found. I transfered the idea to wood finishing when I saw a guy polishing bowling balls with the pads. I like to have a beer at the local bowling alley and the guy gave me a couple to try. I've been a disciple ever since---and converted a lot of woodworkers. But, I quickly admit, it might be over-the-top to polish combs as the 5,000-grit level.
The pads work fine on composite materials and metal that I have tried. I know that high-end car painters use them on lacquer and pre-polishing for gel coats. I paint my old truck with 'Rust Oleum' from WalMart---right over the rust. Yeah, baby.
The pads can also be folded to get between the comb's teeth, corners, relieving edges and any angled surface. They polish covers superbly. Perhaps it's overkill (buffing beyond 1,200G), but the satin finish is worth it to me.
|
snakes
382 posts
Oct 27, 2009
4:28 PM
|
Very nice Jon! After hearing what you guys go through I am convinced I am never trying this. I'd have to give up playing as it is so far from anything I've ever pulled off successfully that I'd have to dedicate my entire spare time to develop the skills. I'm 52 yrs. and still have never been able to hammer a nail straight or saw a straight line in wood. Yet I could hit a 90 mile an hour fastball. Go figure... No joke man I am really impressed. To me this stuff is rocket science. I'd love to see a video of you playing them so I could hear it. Kudos!!!
|
jonsparrow
1242 posts
Oct 27, 2009
6:14 PM
|
well there you go cause i couldnt hit a baseball even if it was thrown by a little girl. cant even throw a football to save my life.
|
harpwrench
113 posts
Oct 27, 2009
6:18 PM
|
Good job, looks like you're an official "file-head" now!
|
BillBailey
46 posts
Oct 29, 2009
10:23 AM
|
Jon,
By all accounts, Dymondwood seems totally stable. Any observations so far?
|
jonsparrow
1249 posts
Oct 29, 2009
4:57 PM
|
dymondwood is nice. its not my favorite though.
heres a new one. genesis comb.
there more to come also in a few days...
|
RyanMortos
422 posts
Oct 30, 2009
4:42 PM
|
Again, just wow. I'm really interested in how these arrive and what you have to do to mesh a marine band to them. Also very curious how many years &/or harmonicas the combs might last. I'm just starting to do drilling, sanding, sealing myself and it's all sorts of fugly.
----------
~Ryan
Pennsylvania - H.A.R.P. (Harmonica Association 'Round Philly)
|
Buddha
1109 posts
Oct 30, 2009
4:56 PM
|
I offer combs in two ways. Raw with just the tines cut out and finished for whatever harp model you prefer.
Most people buy the raw combs and then finish them however they like. There is plenty enough material to do whatever you want with them.
The raw combs are fairly flat but not what I consider precision flat. They work just fine without being precisely flat as they are "flattened" with the flywheel on my milling machine where every thing is precisely level to itself.
----------
~Buddha
Pennsylvania - H.A.R.P. (Harmonica Association 'Round Philly)
|
RyanMortos
423 posts
Oct 30, 2009
5:15 PM
|
So, they have to be cut down with a table saw and drilled for screws? Sounds almost as tricky as working with the comb they come with. How many years have your composite combs lasted you, out of curiosity?
----------
~Ryan
Pennsylvania - H.A.R.P. (Harmonica Association 'Round Philly)
|
Buddha
1110 posts
Oct 30, 2009
5:24 PM
|
I have composite combs from 1992 in some of my personal harps.
The raw combs have to be cut down, maybe that's not for you but somebody really like to customize their harps, their way.
The finished combs are plug and play for the most part but even with a Marine Band, you'll have to drill some holes for screws in the plate unless you want to use nails (yuk)
----------
~Buddha
Pennsylvania - H.A.R.P. (Harmonica Association 'Round Philly)
|
jonsparrow
1254 posts
Oct 30, 2009
6:09 PM
|
"I have composite combs from 1992 in some of my personal harps."
thats satisfying to know.
|
