Blue Moon Tool Kit

The Blue Moon Tool Kit includes tools that will help you customize and tweak your harmonicas.  It is not a kit for doing reed replacements.  (That is a tool kit which will probably come later.)  It is my observation that every customizer develops his own methods and techniques, and toward that end, many of them have developed their own tools.  The tools offered in this kit are tools that I personally use when building custom harmonicas.  When you are in the business of building custom harmonicas, having good tools is a must.  Efficiency and precision are absolutely critical. These tools make life a lot easier for me.  I will be posting some demonstration videos in the very near future, but for now, here is a list of what is included in the kit and brief description of how I use each tool.  Many of the tools are available separately.

Tool Pouch

The kit comes in a zippered canvas pouch that measures 6” X 9”. 

Embossing Tool

Perhaps the most important tool in the kit is the Blue Moon Embossing Tool.  It is 6 ½” long and made of solid Stainless Steel.  It has the size and feel of a fat pen.  The heavy-duty construction enables you to smoothly emboss both sides of reed slots simultaneously. 

X-Acto Knife Embossing Tool

This tool enables you to emboss the reed slots near the fixed end of the reed.

Deburring Tool

This tool makes deburring the slots after embossing easy.  It is a strip of 0.015” shim stock mounted on an X-Acto Knife handle.  Included in the kit is an ample supply of shim stock that you use to cut replacement blades.

Reed Wrenches

The kit includes two reed wrenches that double as reed plinkers and reed supports when tuning reed plates.  The width of the wrenches will fit Hohner and Seydel reeds.  If you happen to work on Suzuki harmonicas that have wider reed pads, you can easily modify one of the wrenches to fit those reeds.

Shim Stock

Two pieces of shim stock (feeler gauges) to support reeds while tuning.

Gapping Probe

Used to adjust the gap and shape of the reeds, both while the plates are separated from the comb and after they are mounted to the comb.

Small Precision File

A lot of guys use a small file to tune reeds.  Personally, I don’t.  I use a Shufu Brownie Point on a rotary tool.  But just the same, a small file comes in handy from time to time when you are working on harps.

Assorted Screwdrivers

The kit includes three different screwdrivers – Slotted, PoziDriv and T-7 Torq Drive.  Hohner harmonicas used PoziDriv screws forever, but within the past couple of years, they have converted to T-7 Torq screws.

Needlenose Pliers and Flush Cut Wire Cutters

These tools come into play more when doing reed replacement, but there are a variety of reasons why you should have them in your arsenal.

Light Saber

This is a fun little tool that has saved me a lot of aggravation.  It is a small flashlight with an acrylic probe that enables you to light up the inside of the harp after the reed plates have been attached to the comb.  Frequently, a reed plate that seems to be set up and adjusted just fine before you mount it to a reed plate will give you some trouble. It could be something as simple as a bit of debris lodged between the reed and t the slot, or a burr created while embossing, or an off-center reed.  The Light Saber enables you to see what the problem is and fix it without having to disassemble the reed plates and comb.  It is a big time saver.