Seth

That’s a nice die you have built there. I’ll probably go with something a little more basic so I can make sure it works the way I want it to. I’m laser cutting the end plates so I’m going to have to crimp after the design is cut. Using the hand rest holes and the button bushing holes I plan to bolt a plate over the end plate leaving the outer edge exposed to be crimped. Cheers, Seth

That last photo was a pocket cut of the full inside to the edge of the crimp, testing the fit before I commit to making parts in metal.

When I acquired the Herrington workshop it came with few end plates that were crimped. I’m now at the point to where I’m making my own end plates and am prototyping crimping dies. I understand the basic layout like Henrick Müller made for his crimping tool. The only issue is using the Herrington style design the end plate bolts are in the corners so instead of a flat crimp all the way around the area where the bolts go are curved inwards, see photo. I’m guessing the crimping jig just needs to incorporate his curve into the lower stamp plate and the upper press plate. I’ve drawn it in cad and cut a few wooden prototypes to see how it would layout. I’m open to suggestions or ideas. End plate seen here on the last set I made. Cheers, Seth Hamon

I have some self adhesive Eva foam that’s 0.5mm thick if you could use some. It’s super thin. i like the idea of this discussion. I put a D-17 drone button on the 5” mini Anglo I recently finished and it’s pretty loud, not quite overpowering, but very present. Seth

I recently made a 5” Anglo with 15 buttons with a single 3rd row C# that goes both ways. My main interest in concertinas started with mini’s and semi-minis. Not sure why I can’t upload photos. Seth

Seems it’s hard hard to find a name not already used. The late Herold Herrington who’s shop I’ve inherited used that very name for his concertinas.

Any updates on the bellows? I’m on about my 8th bellow set and my last one was really springy. I think the issue was not having it fully opened when I glued the gussets on. Seth

That looks nice, didn’t it work well? Seth

Yes, several weeks ago.

I normally list things worldwide on eBay but ebay gave me a message that said the item I was selling was possibly made of a material on the Cities list and it wouldn’t be let me bypass this option. eBay should address this issue.

I recently got this to use as a template for drawing up some plans to make an Anglo mini. It’s a nice instrument but I have different ideas about the way I want to design my mini than how Stagi does it. The thing looks brand new and was recently bought from another member on here. All the notes play fine and everything just looks new. Comes with a case and a note chart for the button layout. I have it on eBay now Seth

I’m always leery of any eBay seller selling high ticket items with zero or only a few feedback ratings. I like to see close to 100% feedback with 100+ buyer ratings and an account that’s been around for a few years at least. Seth

PM Sent

I see the issue, you gave the wrong serial number in your original post. In your original post above the serial number given was14,949 which is a very early serial number and what my replies have been based on. I see you have updated this since my original post with the correct serial number. Being off by one digit makes a huge difference. Seth

Yes, my Lachenal is an Anglo like yours but with 20 buttons instead of 30. I actually have several Lachenals and a few others, duets and Anglos, no English systems.

Yours is surly much older than that. My 79,001 is supposedly 1886 I believe without looking. Seth

Any condition is welcome as I intend to use it for inspiration on a mini build as well as a template for size, etc. Cheers, Seth

That’s a great idea. Thank you for the suggestion. Cheers, Seth

“Choking” is the word I was looking for, Thanks Dave Elliott. I have 5 Lachenal’s in the shop and this is the only one that seems to be like this. The reeds act the same as any other on the tuning bellows. There is no baffle, and I haven’t checked the key travel as Dave suggested but when I replaced the pads and grommets I don’t remember seeing the pad elevation height being an issue but I’ll double check. Maybe I should swap some out from another set of the new valves doesn’t speed things up a bit. I haven’t had time to change the valves yet as I’m finishing a 7 key Northumbrian Smallpipe first. I’ll let you chaps know how it goes. Cheers, Seth

The Riley stamp is barely noticeable now which is unfortunate but it appears to have been mostly a stamp in the finish layer. Seth

I have several Lachenals and you would be surprised at how the bottoms size varies from one to the next. The English ones have even smaller buttons. This Riley Lachenal has the largest buttons I’ve seen on a Lachenal comparable with a Jones set I have which also has 20 buttons. That Swan looks nice, are the bellows all leather? Cheers, Seth

The first couple sets I made had the white edges when cut but I went around it with a black sharpie and it worked great, looks uniform, and wasn’t messy at all. An ink pad was very messy as it doesn’t dry fast but a good permanent marker like a sharpie works. If someone would make papers with solid black papers I would buy them but they all seem to be made from white paper. Marking the edges is quite time consuming. Seth

The Riley / Lachenal is restored. You might be glad you didn’t get it if you were set on a C/G instrument as it’s tuned to A/E. The Riley stamp is barely visible after restoration and I just stripped the finish, no sanding, so it mustn’t have been stamped after the instrument was made and finished. Anyways, it’s a nice little box and was fun to restore. The tuning was a complete surprise too which threw me off for a bit when I started tuning.