Lars Hansen

Not really, as it will only work in straight lines. Hinge function only, so it needs something to take over in the corners, i.e. the metal corners of a 90 degree accordion bellow.

An idea: As for bellows, it might be worthwhile to look into accordion-style bellows, like Harrington did for his square concertinas. http://www.concertina.net/guide_herrington.html If you want durability, stability, and fairly straightforward construction, it might provide a good starting point. The folded cardboard could be substituted with a more durable material (or be coated prior to assembly), and the corner gussets be made from a flexible artificial (I said it!) leatherette material. Given the rather small pieces and having no structural purpose apart from being flexible and airtight, you could get away with most types of material. You might not be able to skive these materials as fine as real leather, but all corners would be covered by either the cloth cover, the bellow tape or the metal corners. The metal corners, the cloth (you could use a non-cotton one for durability and damp-resistance), and the bellow tape (the current types available are quite strong and plastic-based) would provide you with some additional strength, compared with traditionally made bellows incorporating various plastics and leatherettes. Norwegian diatonic accordion maker Olav Bergflødt has a series of photos on his facebook profile https://www.facebook.com/olav.bergflodt that shows the construction of bellows from scratch to finish.

Are you referring to the top of the walls between the chambers (the part that goes against the bottom of the endbox), or the 'valves', that cover the small air-hole that leads air through the reed? If the first, then perhaps a picture would help in getting an answer. It does sound strange. If the latter, then it's normal of the highest pitch reeds not to have a valve at all.

What you have there is an accordion, not a concertina. Different instruments, and though related, beyond the subject of this forum. You'll probably find more response in other forums directed towards accordions and melodeons rather than this rather concertina-specific forum. However, a few comments: It's not uncommon to see 1/8'' of wax - the technique of applying reedwax and the quantity used is often debated, and is generally a matter of preference of the person working on the box. The wax should cover most of the side of the reedplates and a similar portion of the wood, but it's a matter of taste whether the wax should fill up the gaps completely or be angled off, so it sort of 'slopes' downward from the side of the reedplates. I prefer the slope, as too much wax is redundant if applied properly, and a good seal is made. Cleaning off the wax is a matter of scraping, and finishing up with a few strokes of sandpaper, so you have a nice and clean surface with all the old wax removed. Again, try searching for accordion forums online, and I'm sure you'll find plenty of information. Best of luck, an old Galanti really is a nice piece of kit once properly restored, serviced and tuned.

Here's a commonly used technique for supporting 'draw' reeds when tuning accordion/melodeon reeds waxed in place. A 0.3 mm brass triangle (about 2 cms wide at one end, 10 cms long) ending in a fine point is inserted at the end of the reed slot, and used as a 'lifter' to pull up the reeds. The friction between the lifter and the end of the reed tongue will pull the reed, making it "click", and allowing you to hold the lifter like in attached picture. This will support the reed for scratching (lowering), and for careful filing at the tip (raising). It takes a while to get used to, but after a few thousand reeds, the fingers will do it more or less automatically;) Please note, that the steel tool is only there to lift up the valve - it serves no purpose in the process, and it for clarity of the process on camera only. Like Theo said, tuning reeds without removing them from the blocks is the norm, and if using a sharp scratcher, lowering is possible without using a lifter. I tend to go by feel. You can feel it when the scratcher works just right, and when it needs sharpening. As always, scrape once, check twice.

The internal walls are vertial, yes. the build is still in the head - It'll happen, but not for a long time I think, too many melodeon-based projects to try out first. But the general impression with the reeds is good, especially considering the pricing. Not in the class of good hand-made concertina reeds, but like someone said earlier in this thread, they're likely somewhere between accordion (hybrid) reeds and true concertina reeds. I have only tried them on a tuning-table, and the results were promising, when the tongue was set correctly.

Price for 62 reeds for a C/G anglo was around 170 euros including tax earlier this year. The reeds I got are both tapered (from rivet-end towards tip) and the sides have a beveled angle to clip into the slot.

I recently bought a selection of reeds from Harmonikas Cz to try them out. I got a set of their cheapest reeds for a project box, and set of their highest quality reeds for another box - as well as a number of concertina reeds. The accordion reeds were for diatonic boxes/melodeons. I found the cheapest reeds to be 'okay' - but not something I would try again. That being said, I think they were excellent for the ridiculously low price of around 50 euros for a full set for a two-row eight-bass box. The best quality reeds are superb, and I would not hesitate to use them again for high-end boxes. The concertina reeds were bought to see what they were like - with the intention of having them around for future use, either as donors for a project concertina, or as a set to use in a build project. The price would be around 150 euros for all reeds for a 31 key anglo (62 reeds on individual plates). Now, three points with this post: 1: The reeds I got HAVE angled sides of the shoe, to fit dovetail slots. 2: The windows of the reedframes are not angled/vented, and they have one strange issue to them: At the corners, they are not completely sharp, but have a rounded profile, probably a product of the process of cutting it out - imagine drilling four tiny holes, and then connecting the centres with straight lines. This means that there is an escape-route for air, which perhaps is intentional to allow faster starts, or more likely a way of keeping production costs down. 3: I had no issues with their communications, and using clear tables and explanations I got the right notes all around. For the concertina-reeds, I simply made an excel-sheet with two rows, clearly marked "NOTE" and "HOW MANY", for example "A4 - 3". I found that their replies took a few days, but price and payment details was clear from their side, and delivery was spot on time, with a reliable courier. The concertina reeds were marked "DIX - CONCERTINA" on the wrapping, and that's what they are. While they may not be as good as a proper clamped reed with tighter clearances, I think they will be a good alternative to hybrid reeds. Also: The riveted reeds 'could' be twisted out of the way and a vent-angle filed to the sides, if you're not afraid of the idea of setting them back in place and tightening the rivet.

Well, the short answer is, that the reed would not 'start' in one of the directions. The reed tongue starts to play by being sucked into the slot of the shoe by the flow of air, then bounces back, and thus vibrates producing the note until the airflow is cut off again. This is why the setting of the reed is crucial for having a good responsive instrument - too low and there will not be enough draught under the tip (between the tongue and the edge of the slot in the shoe) to start the swinging of the reed, and if too high there will be too much air being sucked under the clearance before the reed starts vibrating. Thus, the reed only functions in one direction - air flowing the wrong direction simply would not start the reed - and it's therefore not possible to have the reed operating for both bellows direction.

I have seen this concertina in the flesh, and will be happy to comment here, if it is okay with Peter. Lars