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MMD > Archives > February 1998 > 1998.02.18 > 05Prev  Next


Rebuilding a Harmonium
By Joe Roesch

To Roger Waring:  I've done one or two harmoniums in my checkered and
disreputable career.  Seems to me that if you can do players, you can
do these little beasties.

Pneumatics you already know, and you're not likely to encounter much
that's baffling there.  Reed work can be a bit hairy if you have never
done any;  but more often than not, it's just a question of cleaning
them -- they will be jammed with dirt, hair and a whole universe of
microscopic creatures!  I use ordinary ammoniated clock-cleaning
solutions for reeds.  Unless the reeds have been tampered with, they
should not need tuning.  A missing reed tongue can be replaced and tuned
in, but that work is a bit specialized.

There's a book on reed-organ repair (I think it's by Art Reblitz) that
may be helpful as you wend your way through the Wood of Doubt, which, of
course, is on the same golf course as the Slough of Despond!  Good luck!

Joe Roesch


(Message sent Wed 18 Feb 1998, 14:23:51 GMT, from time zone GMT-0500.)

Key Words in Subject:  Harmonium, Rebuilding

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