Milesy

Keep emails brief and to the point (advice from Mark to me). He gets lots and doesn't get to them if he is busy building bellows etc. I, too, phone him (from Australia) as a follow up.

Hi All I have just received a Lachenal #50133 for some TLC. Inside on each action board is a pencil "scrawl" that may be repairers or owners initials. Does anyone recognise it (you might need to rotate the photo). The instrument has had new pads and valves somewhere along the line. Any information gratefully accepted - I would like to add more to it's story for the owner.

Bought an EC from the UK a few years ago with the same smelly problem. The cigarette/pipe tobacco smell only lingered for a few weeks once the instrument was out of it's case..........unless my nose became insensitive to it! Let it breathe some clean air for a while.

You will need to figure out what glue was used originally (or most recently if any restoration has been done before). Some glues will not stick to surfaces with traces of dried glue. Hide glue was used when the instrument was first built and that will attach to older versions of itself. Before you have to take apart the entire frames, make sure to mark the corresponding corners so you can re-assemble correctly.

I have a Lachenal Anglo dating to about 1860 which has original red leather baffles of the "horseshoe" shape described by David. I haven't opened it up recently, but I am pretty sure the shaping avoids the leather passing over the support posts, so does not create the "gap" issue. The red net is an attempt to prevent carpet moth laying their eggs on the tasty (for them) woollen felt in the pads. I would imagine that any fabric fine enough to stop dust would reduce airflow significantly.

I suspect that the leather used to make the bellows is vegetable tanned, which has a brown colour. Some leather dyeing processes (after tanning) only colour the surface layer and with wear, the colour can wear through, revealing the "natural" leather colour beneath. I would not recommend boot polish - it is a surface wax which will soon transfer from the bellows to you!!! There are leather dyes available, but the surface needs to be cleaned to remove any oils and waxes before applying the dye - and the colour may not match perfectly with the original. If there are no h

Interesting thought Paul. There is an earlier form of the lower case n in early Latin Italic script which was effectively a reverse of the capital letter, and earlier written or carved scripts have a similar "letter". Whether it was still in use in the 1800s is debateable. When teaching primary school kids to write, I often saw various letters written in reverse, so maybe it is more likely a mistake when the letter stamp was being made (and by the Canadian soldier). A faulty letter punch might have been used once or twice then discarded when the error was spotted, resulting in just a few examp

Trying to perfect "Devon Bellringing song" on Wheatstone baritone after listening to the lateTony Rose album "Exe". Repairs to a 30 key Lachenal anglo and Amelia (my unknown maker EC) on hold as I wait for parts from the UK.

Might be just me, but the link doesn't work.

Could this be your man? https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/an-irishman-s-diary-1.377416

Intrigued by the posts, I did a bit of searching and found this: https://www.horikin.co.jp/english/powder/85#:~:text=Metal Powder-,Gold powder and other types of powder,called « Kindei » Gold Powder. Could this be what you have?

In case anyone else in Aus is looking, this link gives some contacts. http://jam.org.au/moxie/folkmart/9_3/concertina-services.shtml

I agree with Don - every player should have a copy of David's book. Basic care & maintenance is not challenging for anyone with basic competence in "tinkering". There are a few things to remember, but David's book covers the lot. Happy to share a few tips if you'd like to email me: richard.miles@westnet.com.au .

Thanks for all the thoughts from members. I have been studying the instruments at the Horniman (online) and I am aware that the slotted pillar/brass wire action was used by Scates, Nickolds and Austin, but the point I get to is: Scates used this action in #451 but typically stamps serial numbers on action box frames. No serial numbers on Amelia action box frames. Also the Scates instruments at the Horniman appear to be of higher quality. Nickolds used the action, but used open sided cross pieces on the reed frames. Cross pieces in Amelia are closed end. Au

Interesting! I had looked at other Scates instruments at the Horniman and discounted them - the action was not the same. Must have missed this one. Scates seems to have used 3 or 4 different actions! Also the connection between Scates and Austin my be a clue, though my instrument doesn't have any of the typical JA impression. Long time since I was in Gateshead. Did my teacher training in Ponteland and loved the Newcastle music scene way back in the 1970s!!