varney

I've sent you a private message.

Looks great...I'd be happy to take it. Will send you a PM.

Looking for a good vintage anglo with genuine concertina reeds, C/G pitch, steel reeds, 30 key minimum. Open to metal or wooden ends, bone or metal buttons.

Hi I'd be interested in the concertina. Am sending you a PM. Michael

Thanks folks...it seems the owner does have a problem with a corrosive quality in their sweat ( I believe guitarist Rory Gallagher had similar and it ate through the finish on his Fender ). Coupled with this the owner also goes out to an island to play in sessions so obviously the combination of both has caused the problems. As an ongoing solution Im suggesting they wipe the instrument with a clean dry cloth after playing. Also keeping silica packs in the case to absorb any moisture. Would fine cloth baffles be of any help to prevent airborne salt from penetrating to the reeds? Am reluctant to suggest this as I wouldn't want the sound to be altered in any way but if they would prevent further problems it might be worth considering.

I've had a metal ended Crabb concertina brought to me which I suspect may be suffering the effects of corrosive sweat from the player's hands. I saw this instrument a couple of years ago just before it's current owner obtained it and the ends were in nice condition with just the typical wear you'd expect to see on a vintage instrument. The nickel ends and buttons now have a slight green hue all over and a rough dry feel to the surface almost like a very fine sandpaper. More of a problem is the fact that this corrosion seens to have infiltrated to the reeds with many of the brass shoes coated in verdigris and some tongues displaying surface rust. I'm not fully sure that sweaty hands could have this effect on the reeds so perhaps I'm wrong. I'm just wondering if anyone else has had experience of this or found a way to cope with the ongoing problem? I'd imagine giving the instrument a wipe with a soft cloth after playing would certainly help but if there's any better approach I'd appreciate hearing details. Michael.

It's a common thing for musicians in Ireland to try other players instruments - especially in a session gathering. With the current strap setup that would require several minutes of unscrewing / rescrewing to adapt to another player's hand size. And the same in reverse to adjust it back....providing you don't drop one of the very small bolts in the process! Having a simpler strap adjustment as on pretty much every other concertina is undoubtedly better, but still leaving the option to replace the fixed screw plate if so desired. I'm still hoping there's somebody with such a setup who could post a picture. I've tried making a couple of close fitting brass buckles to replace the screwed plates and hold the strap at the shoulder of the palm rest. The problem I'm finding is if the guide buckle is too loose the strap pulls away from the palm rest which makes it awkward to play. Too tight and it prevents the strap being pulled through to adjust.

Thanks for that.....so the screwed plates certainly are original. Having looked again at the images online I see both examples with a buckle guide on the metal palm rest are fitted to Jeffries with perforated metal-edged action boxes. I'm now wondering if anybody ever actually changed the screwed plate arrangement to fit a guide buckle on the wooden action box version?

Thanks for that...I'm surprised to see this may have been the original strap setup but it does explain the aged screw plates. That means players would have had to use a screwdriver to unscrew / rescrew the quite fiddly little plate each side in order to adjust the straps. It seems a laborious arrangement for something which could surely have been simplified? Has anybody got an instrument where this arrangement has been made easier to adjust?

I'm trying to find out what kind of strap arrangement Jeffries used for their metal palm rests. This four row anglo has what appears to be an original set of straps which are fixed to the base of the palm rest with a small doubled screw plate. The top of the strap is held by the standard knurled button screwing directly into the wood of the action box frame. At the palm rest 'shoulder' where on a wooden version there would typically be a metal strap guide or buckle, this one has another screwed plate which fixes the strap at that point. I'm attaching pictures to illustrate. I suspect these screwed plates may not be original (though they seem pretty old) and would imagine there was a metal guide buckle which held the strap relatively snugly at the shoulder and allowed it to be adjusted using the brass button on top. I've looked for pictures of similar Jeffries metal plam rests and found a couple that do have the metal buckle, but I cant see if (or how) it was held at this shoulder point. Can anybody supply pictures showing the strap arrangement on these metal palm rests? Many thanks, Michael

I'm looking to buy a 30 key C/G basic mahogany model Wheatstone Anglo. Anybody got one that might suit? Mike.

hi peter, I sent you a PM Michael.

I'm looking for a good vintage Anglo in C/G. Lachenal, Wheatstone, Crabb etc wooden or metal end.

Thanks Alex...a look inside revealed what was causing the problem. Someone fashioned three wire hex inserts and slipped them into the internal bellows folds. I think they were trying to overcome the problem of one corner collapsing inwards on expansion due to the glue failing on the card there. Radical solution!

I have a bellows with a buckle in a couple of the folds. It's only happening on the top side. I've tried leaving it held snugly in a fitted case for couple of weeks but no improvement. Has anyone had this problem and found a solution?

Sorry...message box was full. Reply sent..

Thanks Markk, I should have specified steel reeds.I think both of these are brass.

I'm looking for a good Lachenal anglo 30 key wooden end, minimum six fold bellows, C/G pitch. Fully restored ideally but would consider one requiring some restoration. Anybody have something suitable?

Hello This. ..I've sent you an email about the concertina

Thanks for the replies folks. Bill..Ive seen these locks before and there isn't actually a key. The little pin in the 'keyhole' protrudes and there"s usually a slider attached which releases the metal insert which would be on the little strap end. I don't have the metal insert that would have fitted into the slot. Even if I did I still wouldn't be able to use it as the slider is gone and the pin snapped off inside. Thanks for the tip.. I'll have a look at Lee Valley Tools... Theo- thanks for the pic. It seems strange how the strap is fitted but does seem original. I get the sense it might not be a comfortable way to carry it but maybe I'm wrong. Geoff - I certainly can take the lock out but what to replace it with..and how...is the challenge!

I'm planning to restore a nice old leather-covered Wheatstone case. The original lock is missing its latch and I would have liked to try and replace it only the pin mechanism that should protrude from the 'keyhole' has snapped off inside and is inaccessible. It may be repairable in some way, and I'd be pleased to hear of any successful attempt at fixing one of these. It still seems an odd and slightly awkward mechanism so I'll probably wind up fitting something else that will work better but still suit the lovely vintage look of the box. There are the remainders of a strap fitted to each side. They appear original to the case so I'd like to try and restore this. Problem is I don't know how long the strap was on the original. Was it a shortish one that came over the top but with clearance for the lid to lift, or was it shoulder length? Id love to get ideas from seeing pictures other members may have of old original cases like this with straps or handles.

Thank you for that very helpful information, Jim, It chimes in with what I started to suspect the term referred to: a standard model but with modification(s) at a customer's request ( usually). I suppose it was also used to flag an instrument made uniquely for somebody, but more often just to denote the above.

Has it ever been established what the designation 'Special' in the Wheatstone ledgers generally refers to? I had thought it meant an instrument specially made to a customer's particular requirements. Reading some old threads on ledger terms I'm now wondering if it meant an instrument that deviated in some way from the typical models and not necessarily at a customer's request. Apologies if this topic has been aired and answered previously. All replies gratefully received!

Just PMD you..

All really helpful folks...thanks. I too thought the 3/12/6 was a date but wondered why not '06'. I noticed on the other panel '4/15/-' which to my mind would be old currency pounds, shillings and pence. Maybe these are pawnbrokers markings noting amounts the concertina was bought or pawned for? The scratching out might signify it being redeemed? 'Leather Case' does seem to fit and would make sense to be noted in the above situation. Not sure what the other letters might be except perhaps owners initials?