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Thank you all for your kind inputs. Both the tip on brass polish and the book/article. I’ll definitely look it up. I’d read elsewhere that brass polish was a no no, but it’s nice to get corroboration as (at least in the violin world) there’s a lot of misinformation handed out for the sole purpose of leading people astray, cause them problems, then they’re forced to quit or seek the assistance of the professionals. I spent 30 years in violin repair, and while it is obviously not the same, I’m certainly aware of the need for proper techniques, glues, angles, acoustics, etc etc. I was in a motorcycle accident 15 years ago and broke my back in two places and have never been able to play violin since, and I kept this harp as it would always have been my second choice instrument. I still may keep it for that reason. However, financial constraints may prohibit that. we’ll see. Thanks again for all the input. Even yours, Carl. As I said earlier, I understand your frustration with things like this. From what I’ve read on the internet you are certainly held in high regard in the harp world. Kind regards, Jim.
Actually, over the last 40 years of repairing violins I’ve had many dozens of people bring in instruments that had been butchered by ignorance of proper glues, woods, angles, wood types and thickness and wanted me to fix it right only to have them think I was trying to rip them off when I gave a high estimate or refused to do the job because of that butchery. Usually it was someone that bought a ‘fine’ old instrument for $25 only to find out that $1000 of work would make it worth $26; and while I sometimes would cringe at the thought of someone doing some jobs themselves, I cringe more at the thought of someone thinking I’ll only help if I can profit from it, knowing that if they don’t have the info necessary they’re more apt to mess it up than if they knew what they were getting themselves and their instrument in for. They could at least make a more informed decision and if they go ahead and mess it up it’s their own fault . I’ve never suffered from the old “if I tell you what I know then why would you bring it to me” syndrome. I also did not arbitrarily assume that someone would mess it up just because… I certainly understand your position. Never the less if someone doesn’t share your sentiments completely, I would still appreciate the info I asked for if you’re interested in helping me out. If I didn’t live 200 miles from the nearest repairmen I would certainly be more open to take it to them.
