Buckram Bill

Thank-you . i just realised that that is what my knives and forks are made of.

Stupid question i know but what is nickel silver actually made from? it is quite soft

I bought an old Barnett lachenal 20 button Anglo wreck a while back. I have managed to get it airtight and playing OK I had to make a few reeds from old accordion reeds. Whilst tuning it up I have worked out that there are at least 4 different Reed types in it now and I am curious as to what they are 1 easy ..... old accordion reeds (I put them there) 2 bronze reeds dark and soft as putty 3 very slightly goldy silver reeds which are quite soft to file but not as soft as 2 4 steel reeds which aren't as hard as the accordion ones What are numbers 3 and 4 and does anyone know what would have been the original type for this little box?

Thanks for the replies With the help of these and an old thread i reckon i am good for replacing the gasket now. I want to get this playable for now so i can live with a little bit of gasket showing, i can always colour match the edge to the green leather of the bellows. The action box is held in place with wood screws on this one so would i be better replacing these with bolts whist i have the box in bits? assuming that these are available . micro engineering may be a little beyond my skills

Back for more advice i have gently flattened the bellows edge, there were a few very high spots. i havent gone too far as i am unsure whether i am better off stopping at just flat even with some of the old chamois still attached. should i sand further or stop now? The old chamois is quite hard and there are gaps between the pan and the bellows edge. Should i 1. Add more chamois using the existing as padding or remove the whole lot and start again 2. fold the chamois over the flat edge As in pic 3 or just have the strip around the inside and should i use 1 piece or six pieces "mitered" on the corners? I have gently flatted the top edges of the pan, there are a few splintered edges which i will need to fix so a bit of progress there. The underside of the action box is not dished but does have a slight warp with the grain but this straightens out with slight pressure so i think i will leave this alone for the time being

It looks good but I will check that before i get started, best to know what you are up against in advance!

the pan is a bit wobbly . i was going to have a gentle go at it with some 240 wet and dry over a sheet of glass to try to flatten the top edges.

Thank you I am glad I asked, that makes perfect sense Would it be best to replace the gasket around the inside of the bellows frame as well? For the gasket between the pan and the action box should this be cut from one piece of chamois? This one is badged Barnett samuel (and son)

Firstly hello! I am completely new to the concertina, I am mainly a melodeon player but have recently bought an old 20 button anglo Nickolds 365 for my wife to play (badged Samuel Barnett and probably a lachenal from what i can glean from the internet) Apparently this little one hasn't worked properly since the 1970s. I am pretty adept at fixing up melodeons but have never delved into a concertina before. It had a couple of snapped reeds so i have made it some new ones from old accordion reeds and am fairly pleased with how they sound. What i am not sure about is how to stop some of the leaks. The bellows are really quite good but it is the seal between the reed pan and the action box I am not so sure about (please forgive me if i use the wrong terminology, this is all new to me) when the pan is pushed down against the little wooden stops in the bellows assembly the top of the reed chambers are not flush with the top of the bellows . there are a couple of millimeters difference between the two. Should i pack the underneath of the reed pan to level these up? What is the best material to form the gasket between the pan/bellows assembly and the action box? should i cut a complete gasket from a sheet material or use the type of strip bellows gasket i use on a melodeon (3mmx3mm neoprene strip) Sorry lots of questions! but it would be nice to get a tune out of this little box