Autoharp Blog: May 2011

Introduction...

Up until a few months ago I had absolutely no clue as to what an Autoharp was.

Watching a live music show on television one night I saw an artist holding a rather bizarre looking 'box' with strings - later on, after much 'googling' I discovered this 'box' was an Autoharp.

Some weeks later I happen to mention it to a friend that I had a growing interest in this instrument, her father heard and happened to have one knocking around up in the eves of his house and kindly offered it to me.

The first part of this blog will be following my restoration work of this instrument.

I shall also be collating information, news, and lists of suppliers for everything Autoharp; as I am hastily discovering, the Autoharp is not an easy instrument to source parts for and information on.

Sunday, 29 May 2011

Restoration Part I - Deconstruction, Clean & Buff

After the removal of the cord bars I proceeded to remove each string carefully (knowing the strings had been there for some decades with evident rusting). Foolishly I tried to do this using a pair of pliers, with no luck, so I purchased a tuning key for the Autoharp (I found one from Gremlin-Accessories @ Amazon.co.uk as shown in top of picture - right)

After a delicate clean with a mild soap and a lightly dampened cloth.
Buffed with a soft cloth and later a generous layer of furniture wax applied.
Result. A lovely shine and colour revived.