I have taken apart a few Play A Sax players and have a few suggestions.

First, the pot metal corrodes over time -- some badly, others less so
-- which probably depends on storage conditions.  The pot metal can
also weaken and break.  This may be caused by lubricating oils or other
contaminants or maybe just varies from batch to batch of the metal used.

There is nothing you can do if parts are broken or missing other than
making new ones, which is difficult at best.  It is very difficult to
weld pot metal but soldering with a suitable solder may be possible.
There are soldering sticks made for repairing aluminum and pot metal
which are mainly zinc (I think); it is not easy but is possible.  It
is very easy to reduce the whole part to a puddle.

Removing the top and or bottom parts from the central cylinder can be
difficult if corrosion has 'welded' them together.  The first thing to
try is penetrating oil.  I have had the best luck with either Kroil or
Blaster.  WD-40 seems to be useless.  Apply a liberal quantity and
repeat once or twice a day over a period of a few days.

If the parts come apart consider yourself lucky!  Then you can take
out the harmonica and repair it as you would any harmonica.  There are
check valves made of thin pneumatic cloth that almost always need to be
replaced.  These are there so that both blowing and sucking will operate
the correct set of reeds.

The harmonic is held together with small escutcheon pins.  They may not
hold again after taking the harmonica apart so you may need to fill the
old holes with CA glue or epoxy and drill tiny pilot holes if necessary
before driving the pins back in.  You can also replace the pins with
very small screws; I forget the size needed but it is very small, maybe
no. 2.

If the parts do not come apart after applying penetrating oil and a
little gentle heat, do not be too concerned.  You can cut off the
mouthpiece or the  lower bell using a very fine tooth blade such as
an X-Acto saw.  You can then remove the part that was left inside the
tube with careful cutting and grinding (as with a Dremel tool), etc.

To reassemble you will need to make a connector to re-unite the parts.
How you make this depends on the tools available to you.  I have a
pretty much complete machine shop with lathe, mill, TIG welding, etc.,
so I have a lot of options.  Use some sort of resilient material to make
a gasket so the parts will seal air tight and hold firmly together.
Do not make the fit too tight or the pot metal of the central tube can
break.

You will also need to cut a replacement gasket to fit between the grid
on the central tube and the harmonica.  The original was cork but it is
better to use something softer and more resilient due to the possibly
weakened condition of the metal.  The original cork gasket was probably
very soft and possibly was moistened, compressed, dried and moistened
again after installation to allow it to expand.  Of course it worked
just fine with all new materials.  It is unlikely that you can do the
same with an old weak unit.

I have made gaskets with polyethylene sponge which is easy to
compress and is very durable.  It also slides easily in place.
I used self-adhesive material and stuck it to the tube as opposed to
the harmonica which is likely to be rougher and difficult to stick to.
You can use a thin slip sheet to prevent the gasket from being torn
apart while you slide the harmonica in.

Spencer Chase
Garberville, California
spencer@spencerserolls.com.geentroep [delete ".geentroep" to reply]