Hohner Melodica Replacement Key by 3E8

Last crawled date: 3 years ago

Ever have a mom who was given a melodica by her father as a child that she cherished so much? Did it get smashed by her ungrateful children to the point of uselessness? Well, that was 37 years ago and I was only 5 at the time... but that's no excuse to not right a three-decade-old wrong. If you're in the same situation and have a 3D printer, don't delay! Print this out and fix your poor ol' mum's melodica today!!
Note: Replacing these keys is tricky, especially with that loaded spring under each one but it's quite doable if you fashion the right tool (see pic). Also, the silver wire that hinges all the keys to the body cannot be replaced with ordinary rust-prone metal wire. Polish it as necessary and reuse.
Depending on your quality of printer, you may need to drill out the holes to about 1/16" (or 1.6 mm) to help it slide over the silver hinge wire more easily.
One very last thing, in exchange for not having to use a raft to print this, a little sanding will be involved with the top edge of the key. Be sure to emulate the curve of the other keys as best you can because if you don't, it may conflict with the top cover (the thresholds were surprisingly tight) and cause the button to engage all the time.
Let me know if you have any questions and be sure to share if you happen to undergo revitalizing your dear old mom's childhood melodica.
updated 9-28-2015: added a curved key that requires support for printing, but won't require sanding to be compatible with your melodica