More On Sharping Levers

The purpose of a sharping lever is to shorten the vibrating length of the string raising the pitch one half step. They do this by pressing a piece of metal or plastic against the string "fretting it" in the same way that you put your finger on a guitar string shortening the string and raising the pitch. The pressure of the string over the fretting point on the lever will determine the tone of the string. Too little pressure will produce a thumpy muffled sound while too much pressure may cause excessive wear and possibly stretch the string out of tune every time the lever is used. The position of the sharping lever higher or lower on the string will determine the pitch of the note. (See Tuning a Sharping Lever)

 

Other Sharping Lever Problems

Lever and string misaligned

Make sure that your levers are all lined up parallel to the strings. If one has been bumped and turned at an angle, loosen the screw slightly and move it back into position and retighten the screw. Make sure you don't slide the lever up or down while doing this or you may have to retune the sharping lever. If this simple adjustment is not enough, keep working your way through this article for additional procedures which may be of assistance.

Lever screw will not tighten

Sometimes the screw that holds the lever may continue to turn and will not tighten. This means the wood around it has been stripped. You will have to remove the screw. If it's a Phillips or flathead screw, place a little wood glue (the yellow Elmer's glue, available lots of places, including all hardwear stores) on a toothpick and insert it into the hole. Cut or break off the toothpick flush with the harp. If glue gets on your harp just wipe it with a damp tissue or cloth. Let it dry for at least an hour and reinsert the screw. If it's a machine screw, remove the screw with a properly sized Allen wrench. (Lovelands need a 7/64" Allen wrench.) Place a drop of Super Glue or the like into the hole. Do be cautious because if you get Super Glue on the finish of your harp, the finish will be damaged. Wait at least 30 minutes and reinstall the machine screw.

The lever flips down at the wrong time

The part of the lever that flips up and down is held on by a rivet or nut. Both rivets and nuts can loosen causing the lever to flip down at the wrong time. A loose handle may cause a buzz or create a less than optimal tone when engaged. The nut or rivet will need to be tightened. (See Loveland or Robinson lever sections below for solutions.)

Stiff Levers

No matter how well engineered or installed, all the lever types with which we are familiar can stiffen over time. This is because most types of metals are prone to some degree of oxidation and because metal joints require some agent acting to reduce friction. Particularly susceptible, will be lever harps which reside near oceans because salt air is especially corrosive. Levers with nuts may just need the nut loosened a little whereas levers with rivets will probably need a little oil.

The best solution for stiff levers is, fortunately, the easiest. Use sewing machine oil or a spray can of WD-40 oil with the red straw attached. (For the WD-40, Install the end of the straw, which comes with the can, in the hole from which the oil sprays.) Test spraying to get a feel for spraying just a tiny, tiny amount. Once you can control the spray, place the open end of the straw or nozzle against the stiff lever and spray oil into the joints on the lever. (See Diagram 1) Use a tissue or a rag to catch drips or overspray. You do not have to worry about the oil ruining the finish on your harp, just wipe it up. After only a very small amount of oil is applied, flip the lever up and down until oil works into the joint and the lever is moving freely. Repeat oiling as necessary. Oiling stiff levers is easy and the potential for doing something which would damage your harp is nil. A drop of light oil (WD-40, sewing machine oil, etc.) usually solves this problem.

Types of Sharping Levers

There are many type of sharping levers on the market and the three we use are - Truitt's, Robinson's and Loveland's. If you have another style, the principles are the same and you can use this information on them as well. There are cheap, crude copies of Robinson and Loveland levers, most of them found on imported, mass produced harps. I have seen 34 string Pakistani harps where none of the 34 levers worked! Poorly made harps cannot be repaired and, unless they are strictly a decorative item, are not even worth the relatively small asking price.

 

Robinson Levers

Robinson levers were one of the first good sharping levers to be made. They are made from pieces of tow brass held together by a rivet. Recently, the folks at Robinson have been considering using a nut. Robinson levers are a good lever and have gotten an unearned bad reputation because many harp builders do not adjust them properly when the levers are installed or when the lever has gone out of adjustment as the harp ages. Additionally, these levers are essentially, a small machine and, like all machines, require a certain degree of care to maintain optimum function.

Misaligned Robinson Lever

Look at all of the levers and straighten them up so they are parallel to the strings, as mentioned earlier in the paragraph on misalignment. When the lever is engaged the string should fit in the groove of the lever fret. Sometimes just loosening the screw and twisting the lever slightly one way or the other will catch the string in the groove. If this does not correct the misalignment, the lever will need to be relocated by removing the screw and placing it in a new location. We recommend that this more complex type of repair be left to a competent stringed instrument (read "violin") repair luthier (Most electric guitar repair persons will NOT know how to do this repair correctly no matter what they tell you). If you have located a good violin repair luthier but they have never done this harp repair, take them a print-out of this article and the one titled "Tuning a Lever". To a classical strings repair luthier, this harp repair will be like re-pegging a peg head but they may like to have the articles for reassurance. If you are desperate, brave and really good with your hands it is possible to do this yourself but again, we don't recommend it.

You will need:

• a 1/8" hardwood dowel (dowels matching the wood of your harp are available through fine hardwood suppliers, see your yellow pages under "lumber")
• a drill with a 1/8" and a 11/64" drill bit
• a saw of some kind (to cut the dowel)
• a rubber mallet
• wood glue (yellow Elmer's glue)
• 400 grit sandpaper
• a slightly damp rag
• masking tape

1. The Phillips or flathead screw you have previously loosened will need to be removed.

2. Measure 1/2" up the 1/8" drill bit and mark it by wrapping a piece of masking tape around the bit so that the bottom 1/2" is exposed. Holding the drill perpendicular to the hole, drill down 1/2", until the masking tape touches the wood.

3. Now, cut the dowel so you only have a piece 1/2" long or slightly less. Clean up the end with the sandpaper. Put a drop of wood glue in the hole and tap the dowel down into the hole with the mallet until the dowel is level with the wood of your harp. Wipe any excess glue off of your harp with a damp cloth.

4. If necessary, use a little sandpaper to gingerly clean up the edges of the dowel so it is smooth and flush with your harp. [At this point most professional repair luthiers will touch up the finish with lacquer but unless you are a lacquer spray expert already, I recommend leaving the dowel end unfinished.]

5. Now, go through the process in Tuning a Sharping Lever to locate the exact position for the removed lever to be replaced.

Straightening a Bent Robinson Lever

Sometimes, just through normal wear and tear, a lever can become bent. A bent lever is plainly visible. Remove it with either a flathead or Phillips screwdriver, as dictated by the screw itself. Using pliers that have the jaws wrapped in several layers of masking tape, so the lever will not be damaged, firmly grasp the bent part and move it back into place. You may need to put the lever into a vice to do this and, again, be careful to see that the jaws of the vice have a protective covering (ours are covered in leather) so that the lever will not be damaged. Reinstall the now straight lever and follow Steps 1 through 7 in Tuning a Sharping Lever.

A Buzzing Robinson Lever

Sometimes a lever may not give a true tone or will have a slight buzz or hum when engaged. When the lever is engaged, proper down string pressure on the grooved lever fret is important. Down pressure is the pressure made by the string tension as a string rests against the top edge of the lever fret. (See Diagram 2) A distance of 5/16" between the wood of the harmonic arch and the underside of a string will generally yield good down pressure. Often, on strings which are 10" or shorter, the lever is so close to the bridge pin that there is too much down pressure on the fret, stretching the string and raising the pitch out of tune. The simple solution to this is to adjust the height of the bridge pin so that it is a hair's breath or two further out beyond 5/16". To get the rest of your bridge pins correctly adjusted, tap them in or pull them out as needed. Use a rubber or plastic mallet when tapping and use pliers with the jaws protected with masking tape to pull pins out farther.

If the bridge and lever alignment on the string which buzzes appears to be fine but you are still hearing a buzz, the problem may be caused by a slight vibration between the brass lever arm and the lever base. This seems to happen more frequently on the longer strings. A small dab of "Goop", a glue found at most hardwear stores, applied with a toothpick on the spot where the pivoting base of the lever arm touched the lever base when the lever is actuated (See Diagram 3) will take care of the problem. Allow the "Goop" to dry over night before using the lever. "Goop" sticks to the metal very well and always remains rubbery, making an excellent cushion between the two vibrating parts. The rest of the "Goop" you can use for shoe repairs and you will find that you can bond almost anything to anything in the house. It's great stuff.

Lever Flips Down Prematurely

If the lever flips too easily and falls back down, the rivet has loosened . The first thing to try is to use your pliers, the ones with the masking tape protected jaws, to reach in and squeeze the rivet tight. If this does not work, you will have to remove the lever from the harp completely. Now for the tricky part.... You need to find a surface that cannot be damaged and which will support the lever while you pound on it. Try the edge of your front steps or some similar corner/edge combo. (See Diagram 4) Place the lever with the fret facing down and over the side of the edge with only the rivet part in contact with the top surface. Using a hammer, hit the back of the rivet, the part which should be facing up toward you, once. Try the lever. Repeat until you think the lever is tight enough. If it gets too tight see Stiff Levers above. Reinstall the lever on the harp and check the tuning. See Tuning a Sharping Lever to be sure you get a clean tone after reinstalling.

Screws for your Robinson Levers

Robinson levers can be put on with many different kinds of screws. Brass screws are weak and the heads twist off easily. I prefer steel screws (either small sheet metal screws or machine screws) with a Phillips or Allen socket head. The Phillips or Allen head prevent your screwdriver from slipping off and gouging your harp. Also, these screws grab the wood better and won't break. I have seen a sharping lever fall off in the middle of a harp performance when the well known harpist had tightened the brass screw before her performance and didn't realize that she had broken the head until it and the lever fell to the floor during the Pachebel Cannon. If you need to replace a screw, it is best to take the one you are replacing with you to the hardware store to match it up or to find a slightly larger one.

Medium Levers on Big Strings

Some Robinson levers are designed with extra wide fret grooves for the large bass strings. I have personally never found these to give a good tone to the bass strings and we use the standard groove size even for the larger strings. This gives us the better tone.

You may order replacement Robinson levers through:

Robinson's Harp Shop

P. O. Box 161

Mt. Laguna, CA 91948

Phone: (619) 473-8556

Lyon & Healy Levers (not their newer Performance levers)

These levers work on the same principle as the Robinson levers. Their original design, made of solid brass, has unfortunately developed a reputation of breaking strings. Lyon & Healy are well known for their pedal harps but, while they make both levers and lever harps, lever harps are not necessarily their speciality. Recently, Lyon & Healy has been using their new and wonderful Performance levers and I have found them to be excellent.

 

Loveland Levers

Loveland's were the next lever after the older Robinson to gain wide acceptance. Though more expensive, they produce a generally fine tone when engaged and require fewer adjustments through the years. Of late, however, we have had numerous lever failures with Loveland's and can only assume that something has changed in their process.

Misalignment of String and Lever Arm

Make sure the string lines up with the groove on the lever arm (also called a cam lever). You may need to twist the whole lever one way or the other. Loosen the screw to do this, then retighten it. Loveland's are usually installed with a 6/32 screw that requires a 7/64" ball end Allen wrench or driver. These wrenches can be found at most hardware and hobby stores.

Stiff Levers and Premature Flipping

The lever arm on a Loveland is held on with a nut. If the lever is either too hard to move or too loose (known in the vernacular as premature flipping) the nut can be easily tightened or loosened using a 1/4" wrench or, in emergencies, pliers with the jaws protected with masking tape. An eighth to a quarter turn is usually enough.

Buzzing Lever

Bridge pin adjustment is especially critical on Lovelands. As you can see in Diagram 5, the string runs between the lever fret and the lever arm. If a string buzzes or rattles when the lever is not engaged, it maybe that the string is vibrating against the lever fret or the lever arm. You will need to pull the bridge pin out or push it back in enough to allow the string to vibrate freely between the two. Usually the best results are obtained by adjusting the height of the string as close to the lever fret as possible without it buzzing when you play the string hard. A distance of 3/8" between the wood of the harmonic arch and the underside of a string is standard with the very lowest bass strings sometimes being slightly more and the highest treble strings being slightly less. Be sure to check the tuning of the lever after adjusting bridge pins. (See Tuning a Sharping Lever)

Ordering a Replacement Loveland

If you need to order a new Loveland lever, find the lever number which is embossed next to the nut on the lever arm. Each lever is designed for a specific string size and you have to match that lever with the diameter of the string. Mismatching can cause the string to voice with a thump or a buzz and will prevent the lever from being correctly actuated.

Loveland Levers

P. O. Box 1011

Loveland, CO 80539

Phone: (970) 532-2249

 

Truitt Levers

Just since early 2002, we have begun to use the Truitt levers as the standard lever on all of our larger harps. We have found them to have exceptional tone and our occasional past experience with them proved them to be reasonable to maintain and easy to service. While the Truitt is an expensive lever, there is no doubt that you will be able to hear your investment every time you use them. We will add detailed care information on the Truitts to this page in the very near future.

Other Levers

There are other levers out there, the new Triplett "Ultima Lever" and Lyon & Healy's amazing new Performance lever being the two most important. I have heard good reviews of both and am working to add the Performance lever as an option on our harps.

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