Tiposx

A home brewed bitza. I supect that a spare set of bellows has been spliced into the original ones. This would be to accommodate leaks rather than fixing them.

I don't think it is a good idea to avoid separating the bellows frames from the action board. The Scholers I have worked on were easy to part. Some had paper tapes along the internal joins to seal the assembly. If this tape is split already then you will have poor bellows pressure. When reassembling you can use masking tape, thin packing tape or similar. When looking for leaks I use a bright led (l.e.d.) torch inside the bellows in a dark room. You may be surprised at where your leaks are. An artist's paintbrush and a few dabs of pva adhesive should sort it out.

Steve usually declares in his posts that he is a proprietor of Red Cow. He must have forgotten to say on this occasion. 😊

I bought two sets of these (They are presumably from the same source as yours) just over a year ago to fit on english 'tinas. They were a very good price and well made to my request for a seventh fold in very quick time, only 2 weeks. I noticed that they were quite springy, but definitely made to a high standard with seperate bellows cards. Yours sound much harder work than mine were, perhaps that 7th fold masked it. I felt that they were probably more suited to anglo than e.c. but at around half the prices I had been quoted from other makers. I sold one of the 'tinas to someone who

Is is just tradition that we are expected to fit those “standard” style of concertina valves I wonder. I ask because I use leather accordion reeds, which are around 1/3 of the cost and work well. I mainly restore old wrecks where the cost of valves is significant to the value of the instrument. They are not as pretty as concertina valves but seem to do the same job, given that the reeds are fine tuned after installing the new valves.

It is very pretty both outside and inside. I wonder if there is anyone around who could play it though. It would be lovely to hear it in action.

Try C.A. Cornish https://www.cacornish.co.uk/

Some rough measurements of overall dimensions would be a start for prospective builders.

A friend has a single action bass concertina with “gills”. I haven’t seen it in use but I asked him about it in relation to this thread. He says it is very quick in use, with all the notes on the push, and is much quicker than a double action bass. He is a prominent player of itm and knows a lot about concertinas.

Yes I agree, was just being tactful! 😇

I always think that my ability to play in itm sessions at a good sounding pace has improved since the previous session. What I find though is that everyone else has upped their pace since last time, and I can't keep up! That is what it feels like anyway. I think that players can get carried away when they are having a good time.

Update - I managed to agree a fair price with the dealer, and have bought that.

Hello I am looking for the treble aka tenor version, preferably in cherry finish, but that isn’t a deal breaker. I don’t want the hassle of importing one at the moment. There is one at a UK dealer but I am hoping to find one privately. Tiposx

I see - you don’t have to punch any holes, just cut then fold back. I would guess that after you have carried the operation out 2 or 3 times it would become quite easy and quick.

I saw this on a lachenal that had wooden ends, but the bushing material was chamois leather. I would just replace like for like, after working out the best way of punching the holes. It would be much less hassle and it seems to have worked for a few decades or so!