Harmonetta work and repair

[m.marino]

Well folks have finally got the gaskets to be cut consistently and to proper fit for Harmonettas. They are nice and fit real well. Though I am going to increase the thickness of the dividing walls by .5mm so that they lay better and also fully cover where the wall of the upper chamber sits on the reed plate. Next is either getting some thin Stainless Steel (not really looking to going that route) or copper to start working on making valves for them. Also working on the being able to reproduce the action arms on them. The wife is very happy as the one we have is now fully playable again tough I am going to be tuning it to concert pitch before I give it to her to have fun with.

Should be able to be cutting the reed comb and the upper valve plates from acrylic in the near future which will be really great as slowly but surely reverse engineering the beauty and seeing where I can make improvements. Already have found a few points.

Also cutting acrylic with carbide end mills leaves a wonderful finish all by itself and the Mouth pieces and covers should be cut by the end of the week for a couple of clients.

Needless to say I am very happy with the results so far and looking forward to being able to offer cuts combs for folks right now looking at setting up some recessed combs for a couple of different plates I have and see how it comes out.

Well getting the gaskets done and coming out cut proper and repeatable was a really good thing yesterday.

Michael

[Gnarly He Man]

Will you be refurbishing and selling Harmonettas?
Cool axe . . .
Gary

[m.marino]

Will you be refurbishing and selling Harmonettas?
Cool axe . . .
Gary

Refurbishing for anyone who has one and wants it restored and tuned to concert pitch (A4= 440Hz) Equal Temperament. Working on the reverse engineering to be able to build them with improvements in the design, though this part is a long term project between getting work done for clients and building concertinas. I am really looking forward to getting the next stages done and cut to see how it goes.

Michael

[duckent]

This is great! I've been trying to find a harmonetta for quite some time now, but no success...
If someone owns a Harmonetta and is prepared to sell it, please contact me.

Best Regards,
Eric

[Winslow Yerxa]

Are you able to give an odea of the cost for reconditioning or at least tweaking a Harmonetta?

[m.marino]

Winslow,

Currently working on getting the hours a good clean and tuning will cost. Also working parts cost though that should not be that expensive. We are looking at a set of gaskets being ?15. I am currently (when not working on client work) getting the design and CNC code done for cutting the metal valves to tolerances (they will be stainless steel). Right now take down for a cleaning and check over and new valves/windsavers (non metal) is 5 hours with an ultrasonic cleaning and rinse. Valves material is going to be Teflon and a few other materials that I am looking at and working with on the Harmonetta I have, to get the best response.

As time goes on I am using 2D and 3D Mechanical CAD programs to reverse engineer the entire instrument. There is parts that can use improvement and looking at that myself.

Hope some of the above is useful. My hourly rate is ?8 plus VAT for those in the EU. Those outside don't have to worry about that. If shipping from the US you do NEED to fill out a Form 4455 (I believe that is the number) to have proof that the instrument is yours and was sent for repair only. I would really hate for someone to have to pay customs tariff to get their own instrument back to them.

Michael

[Gnarly He Man]

You are a hero just for trying to keep this instrument available in a working fashion.
And BTW, not a clue concerning that SCT-128 corrosion thing.
Keep up the good work and be well,
Gary

[Winslow Yerxa]

For currency symbols my computer is displaying "?" Are your figures in pounds or Euros?

Thanks.

Winslow

[m.marino]

To Winslow and all,

It is 15 pounds sterling not including postage. I will be cutting a couple of pairs for both an order or two that I have and a few for having on hand. Right now I am dealing with getting the merchant account and internet thing set up so folks can pay me for them that way. I will not be using paypal as they have the highest rates for transaction out there and they have their own currency changer which really makes their profit margin. So will be using either world pay or Google pay and sending an invoice via those systems.

Thanks for the interest and will keep moving forward on getting more parts built for this wonderful instrument.

Michael

[Winslow Yerxa]

I'm curious about the viability in general of Harmonetta gaskets.

If you remove the gasketed outer manifold from the reedplate, does the gasket remain effective, provided it is not damaged when it is separated from the reedplate? It would be nice to be able to tune reeds or replace windsavers without having to remove the existing gasket and install a new one.

Also, I have an old Harmonetta in pieces (the button board is assembled, but the "front" assembly (comb, reedplates, manifolds) is detached and disassembled. I plan to replace old windsavers, tune it, and reassemble the instrument. The gaskets appear intact and appear flat, but they are dry. Does this sound as if they may remain viable (by which I mean that they will create an airtight seal when the reedblock and manifold are assembled?