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Squeezebox Of Delights

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  1. Squeezebox Of Delights
    Hi Geoff, I have a Wren 2 which I play as my only playable concertina. I swapped it on gumtree a while ago in return for a piano accordion which I had been keeping at school and not using very much. On receiving the concertina, I was very pleased with the tone and build quality, but I found that a few of the buttons were sticky. They would stay down for a few seconds then either: slowly slide back up; pop up unexpectedly with a *click*; just stay down. I took it apart, and promptly discovered that the buttons are stuck to the thingies that slide into the rods by a tacky grey sort of glue which had seeped out around the edges and was causing the buttons to stick to the sides of their holes. It was fairly easy to scrape off the excess and now the issue is fixed. Could this be the problem with your concertina? Thanks, Oskar
  2. Squeezebox Of Delights
    Thanks! That was easy... Oskar
  3. Squeezebox Of Delights
    Yep, if you are talking about the ones in C. You can find them on Amazon, Ebay, and most music shops. I have a broken second hand one and despite some missing reeds etc. it is a surprisingly well-built instrument with a sweet sound. Oskar
  4. Squeezebox Of Delights
    I picked the following piece of music up a while ago from a video of a mechanical accordion. Unfortunately the video did not give the name of the tune, and I thought Concertina.net might be a good place to find answers. Does anyone know what the tune is called, or any more information on it? (I know it's played on a piano accordion, but that is the instrument I can play it best on!) Thanks, Oskar
  5. Squeezebox Of Delights
    In my house, I am afraid so! : )
  6. Squeezebox Of Delights
    Yeah, there's hardly a fold that isn't cracked or ripped. I am going to try and learn to build new bellows, but I don't imagine it's as easy as it looks (and it doesn't look very easy!). Thanks, Oskar
  7. Squeezebox Of Delights
    As I mentioned before, my 30 key Lachenal has steel reeds which are rather rusty. Since sealing the constantly playing notes with sellotape, it has become apparent how bad the reeds are. Does anyone have any suggestions as to cleaning the reeds and getting them back to playing condition again? Here is a video outlining the current condition: Thanks, Oskar
  8. Squeezebox Of Delights
    Luckily our guinea pigs don't mind my music. In fact, mine actually actively enjoys relaxing to the wheezing honks coming from my second-hand out-of-tune Hohner Double-Ray Black Dot...
  9. Squeezebox Of Delights
    A quick search reveals that Campbell's were dealers, not manufacturers, so that's probably exactly what they did. Maybe 'improved' just refers to the fancy ends...?
  10. Squeezebox Of Delights
    Yeah, that does look very English at first glance, until you look at the bellows and the construction inside. It almost looks just like somebody's just stuck some metal fretwork into a Scholer or Commander...
  11. Squeezebox Of Delights
    Hi Phil, I am going to order the book into my local Waterstones as soon as possible. I am also planning on going a quick update on the concertina very soon! Thanks, Oskar
  12. Squeezebox Of Delights
    Hi Mike, I’d love to join in (as long as we are free on the day). I already play piano accordion at the Lindum Accordion club, so I am used to playing as a group, but I play almost completely by ear. My Lachenal is currently beyond playability, but luckily I have a Mcneela Wren 2 which I got back in September, and it is in perfect working order. I will bring both on the day, in case I can get any useful advice. Thanks, Oskar
  13. Squeezebox Of Delights
    I will definitely try and come, and will bring one working concertina to play and one broken one to pick up advice about!
  14. Squeezebox Of Delights
    Hi Steve, I am in Lincoln itself, so a bit of a drive, but we have relatives in long bennington, so are down further south fairly often. The squeezeast thing looks very interesting, and I will definitely try to go. For now I am going to focus on the cleaning and polishing side of things, as opposed to the tuning and patching and stuff, at least until I am more experienced in that field (I have several broken accordions to practice on!). More pictures coming soon! Thanks, Oskar
  15. Squeezebox Of Delights
    Hi Frank, I meant to upload some pictures of the inside but didn't get round to it. I agree about the bellows, they look like they need almost completely rebuilding to make it a useable instrument again. The reedpans don't seem warped to me, the action boards may be a little warped depending on whether what I think you mean by action boards is correct ( the thin bits of wood with the hinges and springs on); and I am fairly certain the chamois on the gaskets needs replacing. It had become so hard that it had stuck itself to the reedpan and required about 15mins worth it gentle wiggling to remove it. The fretwork at the ends is intact, but a bit messy and could do with a polish and some nice fabric behind it. Thanks, Oskar
  16. Squeezebox Of Delights
    Hi Dave, I'm in Lincolnshire. My family and I have been talking about trying to get into contact with an experienced musical instrument restorer-fixer-doer-upper for a while, to talk about concertinas, accordions, player pianos, harmoniums and the like, but we haven't got round to the actual contacting bit yet. My grandad introduced me to a friend of his who does fixing string instruments, but that's not much good if your main interest is free-reed. But yeah, I will try and find someone local-ish. It'd probably be a big help.
  17. Squeezebox Of Delights
    Paaudio thanks! I'll look into it.
  18. Squeezebox Of Delights
    Hi, This Christmas, a friend’s dad gave me an old Lachenal 30-button Anglo that had been in his family for generations. Unfortunately it is in a pretty sorry state, but as an aspiring musical instrument restorer, I have decided to have a crack at mending it myself (with the help of our friend's tools and DT experience). It is a beautiful instrument, with hardwood ends and bone buttons, steel reeds and a 5-fold bellows. As the photos show, it is a bit dirty (nothing some good cleaning can’t handle) and has had the bellows poorly repaired in the past with what looks like plasters…? Inside, the left hand reeds are quite rusty, while the right hand ones seem alright. The buttons also seem to be popping out of their guide holes, so they have to be wiggled around a bit before you can press them down. It also has some writing inside, saying it was tuned by a Wooding of Newcastle-under-Lyme in 1897, and an address that is only legible in bits, but appears to say: (something something something) 170 (something) road Cliff Vale Stoke-on-Trent Dec (something)/96 The main problems will be de-rusting the reeds and patching up the bellows (which have got more than their fair share of holes in). If anybody out there has any ideas or advice they could give me, whether that’s on the history of the instrument or how to repair it, it would be greatly appreciated by both me and my friend’s family. Please find attatched some photos of the instrument. Thanks! Here is a video of the state of the bellows:
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