General
Depending on playing time and the way in which they are played, reeds have a wear-cycle, which sooner or later will lead to fatigue and fracture.
However, because usually only a one or maybe two reeds become defective at a time, the remaining reeds are normally in good order.
Therefore instead of discarding the entire reedplate you can remove the broken reed.
Tools And Aids
For our workshops a Toolset is available, containing all the tools necessary for replacing a harmonica's faulty reeds.
De-Riveting Tool
To remove a faulty reed Seydel provides a De-Riveting Sponge (5)
It's used to press the rivet out that holds the reed in place.
Remove the Reed
For purists among our customers we added a tuning file (12).
If you plan to re-rivet the new reed it's recommended to remove the rivet head before.
However, if you work with our recommended method of using screws instead of re-riveting the new reed, extra filing is not necessary.
Put the rivet head with the reed foot in the drilling hole of the De-Riveting device. The tip of the pin must exactly fit the rivet head.
Caution !
The pin can press a hole into the plate if you don't work exactly.
The Reed is now free
Alternatively
one can also pull the rivets out with a pair of wire cutters (1) similar to those used in fine mechanics.
There is also a danger here of slipping and damaging the plate.