wurlitzer, harp, repair
Harp on Sick Leave
02/20/09 18:39 Filed in: Harp Maintenance
Recently my Wurlitzer, whose name is Goldie, called in sick for work. I guess the problem was just advanced age as she’s now about 92 years old. Last year she got a brand-new neck and soundboard along with some shiny new gold leaf so that wasn’t the problem. The issue was that the glue in the laminated layer on the back of the pedal box had gotten so old that it crystallized and was no longer doing its job to adhere the topmost layer to the the inner core. Pieces of the outer veneer were beginning to chip off around a few of the pedal slots. Shipping the entire harp to Virginia would have been costly and nerve-wracking so instead, I removed the base and shipped just the part that needed repair.
veneer chipping at upper left side of pedal slot
A harp with no base can’t stand up so I pulled out the sofa bed where Goldie reclined for nearly two weeks.
When the repaired base finally came back I put it in place, tightened the four long screws that hold it on...
... and Goldie returned to her full and upright position just in time for a Valentine’s Day outing.
