Hello friends, I am lucky to live in a cottage on the beach in capitola california. The sand is 50ft from the front steps.I play a 1885 ish rosewood lachenal For inspiration I am thinking of bringing the tina out and sitting on the wharf and playing sea shanties how romantic to sit on the wharf and watch the boats playing home boys home. My concern is salt air is this a good idea or sit in the chair in front of the window inside the house and play. Any hints or ideas would be great. Thank you Tom

Tom,

Buy an old lachenal with Brass reeds. (Or a Jeffries with Brass reeds for that matter). Then you don't have to worry about your reeds rusting.

Dan

Chances are that you aren't the first owner to take your 1885 Lachenal out for a stroll by the harbor. People have been doing that and worse (ocean voyages) to concertinas for 150 years or more. There is a Jones anglo at the maritime museum in Greenwich that served on several Royal Navy sailing ships in the 1860s, and it is still all in one piece. Have a good time, and just don't fall in the water.

If you Google the Brooklyn Daily Eagle newspaper, and look up the issue of August 6, 1897 (The Sands at Margate), you'll find an article about all the London street performers who became beach performers during the summer there...including concertina and harmonium players.

Wow, sounds nice. Hmmm... looking at Google maps I can see they have a very high resolution photo of the Capitola Wharf... I don't see you there. Come on, wave next time the satellite goes overhead...

Paul

Practically, you just have to watch for the foam. If the water is calm, no splashes - you're fine. If there's water in the air (just smell it), or foam on the ripples, you'll get the reeds rusted in no time. (that's what I was told by my repair guy about regularly playing accordion on the Fisherman's Warf in San Francisco.)

Now, I have some experience here. My family and friends are big campers. We camp at the beach for days and play on the beach for hours. I have also taken my concertinas aboard a couple of cruise ships where we play on board as the sun sets every night. I have done this regularly for years with two of my concertinas. I can find sand in my concertina, but have yet to detect any sign of rust on the reeds. No pitch problems and no bellows problems. My National guitar, however is rusting a bit, but that makes it look better.



Bob

nice, I used to live in Santa Cruz many years ago, great area to be in. I lived right at the border of Capitola and Santa Cruz, 41st avenue was just down Portola ave where I lived.

I think my concern about sitting on the wharf would be accidently dropping it into the water, I lost a pair of shoes that way, leaning over the railing with them in my hands.

Seems like mixed responses on the rust, it would be nice to have a definitive answer with some examples to back it up. The concertina on the ship: do we know how often it was played, it may have had many voyages snug in its box.

I'm going to guess it really depends on where you are, and how much exposure the tina gets. Would a humid apartment or pub also be conductive to corrosion?

I know just the solution

A good layer of this ANTIRUST on your reeds and metal parts should do the trick. Adds years to the life of any concertina!

It's not as much as humidity,I think (that would be more damageable to the wood and bellows), but salt in the air.
Any significant foam on the sea adds salt to the wind But if you are some 100 yards from the surf, and it's not stormy, and you have trees between you and salty breeze, it's like playing in your home or in the middle of the city. I use my Albion every day on the shores of San Francisco Bay, on the swampy side of it. I don't expect any problems. The air is pretty dry. Actually a bit too dry. Bob, are your reeds made from stainless steel?
I think any use will bring damage over time, it's just the matter of not expediting the process.

Since I was the one who reconditioned Tom's concertina I have a little personal insight to add. It is quite a nice 20b rosewood Lachenal with exceptional reeds. While I don't remember the reeds being any more rusty beyond the average 100+ year old instrument I would be conservative in exposing them to sea spray. Something along m3838's advice: I'd pick my calm days to play by the seashore.

Along with exposure to salt spray I think playing a concertina under conditions that allows moisture to condense on reeds is another situation to be avoided. (Cold instrument played in a warm, humid room with no time given to aclimate.)

I grew up in Florida and still remember watching the chrome change to rust on my first nice banjo.

Tom, maybe you want a Stagi to play on the beach. Take care of that Lachenal.

Greg

PS. No "Oil Guard", please!

Hello friends, yes the concertina is in remarkable condition and purchased from Greg jowaisas. I was concerned with salt air on the bellows and wood and reeds. All of your responses have been great. But I think I will keep the lachenal in door's. Greg worked really hard to get me this concertina and did me right.I would hate to ruin this concertina, Sounds like maybe a cheapy tina would be the answer for on the beach or on the wharf sea shanties. Thanks guys, Tom........

I used to know someone who busked on the Cliffs of Moher with a Wheatstone. After a few years corrosion was rife inside it.

Be honest - could you spend several months cooped up in a ship with no other entertainment, and have a concertina in your sea-chest, and NOT play it frequently? I couldn't!



The youngsters in accordion clubs hereabouts (southern Germany, a long way from salt water!) are discouraged from taking their accordions to barbecues. The bad scenario is that you play outside until it gets too chilly, and then you move into the house and keep playing. Your reeds have been liberally supplied with cool, dry air, and the moisture in the warmer inside air immediately condenses on the cold reeds. (Like on your glasses when you go from the cold street into a warm shop or pub.)
That's why portable instruments should be carried in insulated cases or gig-bags, and allowed to acclimatise to the new surroundings before playing. It's not so much the environment as the sudden change in environment that could be detrimental. The same rule applies to stringed instruments, but for different reasons.

Cheers,
John

In addition to the Wheatstone mentioned above, I have a picture here of a stainless steel outdoor light that sits on the Eastern gable (protected from the winds from the ocean) of my house, maybe three miles from the ocean. The first patches of decay started appearing after two months, summer months that is. The stainless steel reached it's present state in just under two years.

Cheesh....watta buncha nervous nellies!!

If you are a collector worrying about the value of your antique investment, by all means get a second instrument for bopping around...a good stout hybrid or even a Rochelle. But play it wherever...they are meant to be played.

Sailors did not ship these around boxed up under their hammocks....they played them while under sail, especially at night for dances under the stars (and damp). Those Sally Army anglos that keep coming up for sale were played in street rallies outdoors in all sorts of damp Liverpool weather. Concertina bands marched thorugh the streets with them....what do you think the chances are that the weather in northern England was always sunny for those parades? The Victorians played concertina mostly outside, in the streets and parks....busking, dancing, parading, whatever; their homes were too small for their neighbors to put up with much practicing indoors. They loved going to the seaside....Brighton, Margate, wherever... and they brought their instruments with them. And somehow, your old Wheatstone or Lachenal or Jeffries survived all of this. The lamp pictured in the above post was out 24/7 in all sorts of Irish weather ....not just out for an occassional few hours of sunny weather once in a blue moon. Take some reasonable care, then enjoy it. If you are too worried to play it outdoors, then get one you aren't worried about playing outdoors.

Have fun,
Dan
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Sea air must be more dangerous than I thought.

Look what's happened to the concertina being played by the guy on the left at the front !

OK, Dan, If I understand it correctly you will be picking up the extended warranty on Tom's reeds and concertina. Yes?!

Green perhaps, but not from envy or sea spray.

Greg

Thanks, Stephen. I rest my case.

And Greg, what are you 'bellowing' about? You'd likely be the one paid to fix it!!

Oh, I think making this instrument playable and in doing so discovering that it was exceptionally good, and selling it at a fair price was ample reward.

You couldn't pay me enough to keep me from crying if i had to fix it again and found it had compromised, rusty reeds!

Your point of playing the instruments for enjoyment and fun is well taken. Too often they are used as investment vehicles or status symbols.

I also hear a lot of complaining that good instruments are expensive and hard to find. I've placed a little gem in Tim's hands. It is now his to play and enjoy. I'd like to encourage him to also take care of it for the generations to come.

Greg

Greg,
Points well taken. I'd expect no less from you, fine craftsman as you are!
Cheers,
Dan

This discussion made me curious enough to email the only person I could think of (based on this interview): who actually played a concertina aboard ship for some extended time – Stormy Hyde. Here is his reply. Thanks, Stormy.

G'day Stephen

I carried my C Jeffries around with me at sea for around 15 years and
spent a lot of time each day being played, most days I would try and get
2 hours practice a day if I could. After all that time when I took it
apart to tune there was hardly any rust on the reeds at all. The most
ridiculous picture I did ever see was in the Concertina and Squeeze box
magazine (2nd edition I think!) that showed seaman around the helm of a
sailing ship with a following sea, wearing oilskins, singing, and
playing the concertina. "all a little silly"