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Wild-looking One On Ebay


Daniel Hersh

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I see some brave soul has actually put in a bid on this one ...

And in the closing stages there was a flurry of interest (well, two more bids anyway) and that initial bidder was fortunate enough to be outbid on it - sold for EUR 247.50!

 

I wish the new owner the very best of luck with it... :rolleyes:

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Well done Alex, a magnificent display of taste and discernment.

 

I was so nearly fighting your for it it was ridiculous, considering I can't even play the thing. I sat and thought about it for a hard 5 minutes!

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But the bellows are the best part! (I hope that doesn't prove prophetic)

 

I've been assured that it has worked within recent memory - if it needs a complete set of new reeds, it'll remain as a conversation piece - Hmmm.

 

Alex

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But the bellows are the best part! (I hope that doesn't prove prophetic)

But how flexible are they, and are they airtight? (I hope they don't prove pathetic) :unsure:

 

I've been assured that it has worked within recent memory ...

Well I've bought several things on eBay that the seller claimed "Works", including a button accordion that arrived from the 'States in the last few days and turned out to be quite literally falling apart... :(

 

- if it needs a complete set of new reeds, it'll remain as a conversation piece - Hmmm.

The reeds are another big unknown, seeing that the tongues are new steel ones, and replacing ends can be a tricky business too, as the holes for the buttons have to line up perfectly.

 

All in all, it should give you plenty to converse about... ;)

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  • 2 weeks later...

Well, the bellows are actually pretty good. Well made, nice leather (if cosmetically challenged), flexible and airtight.

 

The rest of the instrument (so far) is a mixture. The reason the thing wouldn't play is because all of the pads were stuck to the action - quite a hard leather - the key bushings were leather rather than felt, and the holes in the fretboard were too small for the buttons so the whole thing had jammed up. The pads are interesting - a plywood, felt, leather composite, stuck to the end of the levers with bathroom sealant - quite flexible in its own way but not a fast action by any means.

 

The reeds don't look too bad so far, but I won't be able to tell until I've got the action straightened out. The reed pans were also stuck to the leather on the inside of the bellows; they weren't glued, but maybe some natural oils from the leather had given that effect.

 

I may try to make some new ends - I don't suppose you have a contemporaneous Rock Chidley I could use as a template do you?

 

 

Alex

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