rcr27
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Posts posted by rcr27
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I’m wondering if it’s possible to add some sort of padding to the leather and make it kind of like a padded accordion strap, has anyone tried that before?
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24 minutes ago, alex_holden said:
I have the same leather multitool thingy. I had to sharpen the edger with a diamond needle file and smooth the edge of the creaser but it works well enough.
I brand the straps (unless the client requests a plain one) with a stamp that I engraved from brass on the CNC mill. If you want to have one professionally made, Chalco Stamp & Die are very good.
Great thank you, and what knife or scalpel do you use to cut the strap out of the leather with such precision?
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19 minutes ago, alex_holden said:
I currently use this leather for my straps.
It helps with comfort if you round over the edges; there is a special 'leather edging tool' for this purpose or you can just use sandpaper. You can make them look more professional by indenting a line a short distance in from the edge; again there's a special tool for this called a 'creasing iron', or you can make do with something like a blunt knife.
Thank you, do you cut the leather with a scalpel or do you use some special knife/leather cutter? I have bought the creaser/groover tool to crease the edges on my english thumb straps: https://www.ebay.com/itm/7PCS-Leather-Craft-Tool-Edge-Stitching-Groover-Creaser-Beveller-Punch-Sewing-Set/401912998301?pageci=b9abfa2b-c873-43d8-a83c-52d3422a727d I’m guessing that’s the one. I’ve seen that you stamped your name on your straps, what tool did you use for that?
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29 minutes ago, Frank Edgley said:
Tooling leather is used. It is a tough cow hide. It will need to be dyed and a finish applied. Thicker leather certainly last longer, but is stiff and not comfortable. Thinner leather is much more comfortable, and lasts long enough. I have been playing my Heritage concertina for 5 or 6 years and have years to go before they are worn out, and they are very comfortable, allowing for easy movement of the hands. If you want to get a bit fancier, there are tools you can get from Tandy leather which will allow you to customise your leather. Just dampen the leather before tooling and let dry before dying and finishing. Another thing..... you must determine the grain of the leather. One direction stretches more than the other. If you cut the leather going the wrong direction your straps will stretch.
Thank you! By the way, is the thickness the same for all 3? (Anglo english and duet)
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6 minutes ago, Rod Pearce said:
Have you thought about the kit available from Mark LLoyd-Adey at Concertina spares?
I have ordered a full set of spares from my anglo from Mark back in January, unfortunately I have not yet received them. I emailed him 2 or 3 twice but still no reply whatsoever...
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I’m thinkig about making my own leather straps for both anglo and duet concertina (and might as well make a pair for my english one). What is the best leather type to use? Does the comfort depend on the thickness of the leather?
Thanks
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Just found that Wim Wakker advertised an amboyna EC Edeophone few years ago:
How rare is that!? I can only assume Lachenal didn’t make many of these with the fear that they would roll and fall of the table! (not uncommon with Edeophones really) Who knows...
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35 minutes ago, scoopet said:
Thanks rcr......is that not a tenor treble?
No idea as I don’t own it and neither have I owned a tenor treble or baritone before so I couldn’t tell from the photo (All I know is that they are big!). I guess judging by the size of it it must have large reeds, so perhaps a baritone?. I own an Edeophone duet 63 key which is obviously bigger than the standard Edeophone English size and has very low notes on the left side (can’t remember what the lowest notes are), wouldn’t that fit into the tenor treble/baritone range? It’s known that Lachenal made a LOT more concertinas than Wheatstone, so no reason to think why they wouldn’t experiment with different octave ranges.
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I have seen big size English Edeophones such as this one below. I assume it’s a baritone treble, not sure about bass Edeophones.
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Lovely tina I wish I could afford one of these. I was wondering if the ends have been sanded with sandpaper?
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17 minutes ago, d.elliott said:
I have been doing work with C A Cornish, testing and trialling different leathers as as one type moves out of availability. balancing stiffness, cut direction and thicknesses. Talk to Lynda Cornish she is most knowledgeable, say Hello from me.
Dave
Thanks I will, I’d imagine they have pad material too.
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Yes it’s s a scam
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2 minutes ago, Sprunghub said:
I have.....but......there is a bit of a 'tale' to that, I have a pal who lives pt time / works in the States and who I thought it would be good to get to bring them home with him to save me the postage which (a) it did and (b) he did.....except he was there "weeks" after he got it, because it was the run up to Xmas. I should have just paid for letter post.
As for quality, I would say, it is pretty "exemplary".
Their ordering process is 'quaint' ( which suits me ) in a world of instant, high tech "on-line" shops, Darlene takes your order via an email and then sends an invoice back for you to pay once they have put it up. You do still need to ascertain the 'direction' of the grain/stretch in the leather, as you would anyway. It may be the along the 'longer' or shorter length. You can not take it for granted that it is longways.
Oh I see, that kinda lets me down a bit. I would have bought all my valves from concertina-spares.com but unfortunately it takes too long as Mark Adey is I’ll I think. I ordered some spares in January and still haven’t received it, hence I’m forced to look elsewhere and make my own materials. I have 4 concertinas which need new pads & valves and want to get them done asap, but I don’t want to risk and use cheap material either. Thanks anyway.
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19 minutes ago, Mike Acott said:
If the leather used is curling under gravity , the concertina s being kept in the wrong plane . When at rest the valves should be in the vertical position.
Regards.
Mike
Yes I’m aware, but when I’m replacing the valves on the chamber side, the valves on the opposite will start to curl, so it has to be a problem of valve material in this case. My concertina is a Wheatstone English that comes in its original leather hard case.
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1 hour ago, Sprunghub said:
On advice from a successful Uk artisan, I used Columbia Organ's Leathers. I bought the H, XH & Valve in their 12" x 6" approx panels. The XH & Valve were most useful......you could utilise the H for pad facing. It is excellent, they are very good to deal with. There is enough leather in their panel's to do several instruments. A concern that the 'panels' might be lower quality "off-cuts" was not evidenced. It just appears to be a sensible volume for non-pro's and smaller instruments.
It was for a Jeffries who were obviously innovators because they used straight lines! to that end I used a Rotary cutter and ruler as opposed to worrying about long oval's with reducing width.
That looks great, I need to make pads too. As long as the leather is good quality and doesn’t curl, it will do. Have you ordered from them? I see that they are located in the US, I wonder how long the delivery takes.
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1 hour ago, Don Taylor said:
How do you cut valve leathers?
Do you have to make a set of dies or can scissors and knives do the job?
I used small sharp scissors. I removed the original valves (one at a time), and outlined it’s shape with a pen on the leather hide (hairy side), and then gently cut it. My other concertinas which are already restored (not by me) have slightly wider valves, but I preferred to keep the same width and length as the original valves.
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26 minutes ago, paaudio said:
https://www.cacornish.co.uk/musical-instruments/
does the whole range of concertina leather bits..... Gerry
Thanks a lot! I’ll have a look
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Hi, anyone in the UK knows any good leather supplier or website where I can find the right leather for concertina valves? I bought a sheep hide from ebay to cut and replace the valves myself, but they curl up too easily. I trimmed them to the same size and chose the same thickness as the original ones, but they tend to curl rapidly just with gravity. I’m guessing it’s a matter of stiffness and flexibility? It’s the first time I’m cutting them myself, if anyone has found the right leather I’d appreciate a bit of help. Thanks.
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I see, thanks for the information. It does makes sense because the bushing board is paitend with gold paint on the other side and yes definitely a poor work done. As for the bellows, do you think it will be better a fit new set of bellows or just work on this one? They air airtight but too thick
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I have bought this concertina last week from ebay and I’m not sure whether it’s a Lachenal or Wheatstone, or has parts from both? The serial number that I see inside is 19059. I would imagine the ends have been replaced at some point. It has got mainly steel reeds with some brass replacements, and it plays decently well to say it’s extremely dusty inside since it has been stored for about 70 years or so. At first I thought it was a Lachenal as the 3 screws in the finger rest are not perfectly in line just like my other Lachenals, but then it has riveted levers, which I think was unique to most Wheatstones?
For some reason the manufacturer name has been peeled off from the reed pan.
Any help I’d really appreciate it.
Thanks
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18 minutes ago, Alex West said:
I spoke with Mark just after the New Year about an order I'd placed a while ago. He was back in action and delivered it promptly so he's recovering although you might have to be patient
Thanks for letting us know, I placed an order a month ago and emailed him today but haven’t received a reply yet. Does he work on his own? It would be great if someone could work along with him while he is off.
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11 minutes ago, malcolm clapp said:
A newspaper photo of a Jim Gale of Kings Cross, Sydney, in 1949.
Might be our man.....
Jim Gale, must be him! It would make sense since this concertina arrived in England after the war, I guess 1945 onwards. Thanks for the link.
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47 minutes ago, malcolm clapp said:
Would not surprise me; you would think that a locksmith would have the metal working and fine work skills for fixing concertinas.
True, perhaps that’s how my concertina is tuned to A=440Hz and not old pitch.
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Interesting, thanks for the information. Indeed, very little about him online. I wonder if he was a repairer too.
Making hand straps
in Instrument Construction & Repair
Posted
Thank you alex_holden I will have a go at making mine.