Modifying the Mouthpiece of a Marine Band 1896 Comb

Hello Harp Techs,

This installment is in response to an earlier post regarding improving the comfort of the Marine Band 1896 pearwood comb. Many Harp Tech players enjoy the history surrounding this beloved harmonica, but understandably, don’t appreciate the bloody tongue and lips after a hard night of gigging.

This occurs because the wooden tines swell (from playing, read: saliva), and the sharp edges rise past the edge of the reed plates--effectively transforming the mouthpiece into a rasp file!

In an earlier workshop, Rod Piazza was heard telling my class that, “... blood on the face was part of a blues harmonica initiation” (sic)

Well, for us squimish harmonica types, I have a better solution. This is a 2-step process that I had developed:

(1) The power drill removes the bulk from the corners of the comb tines.

(2) The hand sanding smooths the mouthpiece to perfection.

Original 1970-ish Marine Band pearwood comb (notice the devastating striations left behind by the Hohner saw). Without the reed plates attached, the sharp corners are obvious to see.

The drum sanding mandrel and sandpaper I will demonstrate is from Micro Mark, an awesome supplier of small tools: (http://www.micromark.com/Sanding-Kit-for-Dremel-Trio,11401.html)

Secure the mandrel into the drill press chuck.

Raise the table to reach the drum mandrel.

Stop adjusting the table height when the bottom 25% of the drum sander is hidden inside the table’s center clear hole.

Line up the comb, in between two tines. (shown here is slot #6)

Turn on the drill press. With steady forward and downward pressure, push the comb into the spinning drum sander.

Notice how the sander removed the corners from the two tines.

MicroMark sanding wands. Clever spring loaded devices that hold a variety of different grit sanding belts. Color coded: Yellow, 400 grit; Green, 320 grit; Blue, 240 grit; and Red, 120 grit.

http://www.micromark.com/micro-sanding-wand-set,7760.html

Carefully clamp the comb to prevent from shifting. Lay the Sanding Wand flat to the table surface, then slide the sander forward/back to “round” off the tines, stop when you cannot see or feel the corners. If your fingers can’t feel the corners, your tongue and lips will not either.

Shaping up nicely!

Repeat for the remaining tines.

After you have completed your mouthpiece, you will proceed to sanding both mating surfaces, then finish the comb with 3 to 4 coats of Varathane (discussed in a prior blog).

Your Harpsmith, Kinya