Jump to content

David Lay

Members
  • Posts

    80
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by David Lay

  1. Frank, What I find is that if 50% of the cost of your concertina is Canadian including labor, Canadian materials, and components you have manufactured .....but not imported components (ex. reeds), then the concertina meets USMCA rules. (It would be best if someone else also checked, of course.) This would mean no tax/tariff. https://hts.usitc.gov/. (Gen. Note 11) https___usmcaform.net_.pdf
  2. With respect to free trade between our countries (US and CA), government websites are not great. NAFTA was apparently superceded by USMCA and the rules are written for big importers which I find difficult to weed through. I do not understand why when I have bought instruments from Germany and Ireland, they were simply delivered, but twice now from just inside the Canadian border, UPS has demanded import tax payments.
  3. Beware UPS and their guessing about import fees. Get your paperwork in order before shipping to qualify as a free-trade item with no fees. Last I looked, with at least 50% of its value being Canadian labor/ materials, it qualifies but the package must have the forms completed when it goes through customs. If you decide not to go for free trade status, give UPS the code rather than let them guess. Perhaps the second of those marked here.
  4. I switched from one layout to the other. I had to re-learn some tunes, of course, mostly those I played in D/Bm. One option might be to ask Frank to send you a reed pair to trade the first finger pair to play C# on push and pull. This will delete the push D#.
  5. I thought this page was informative regarding PLA. https://all3dp.com/2/what-is-pla-plastic-material-properties/
  6. I tried to research the archival qualities of PVA on-line without much success. Are there age effects that might show up long-term with this plastic such as plasticizer loss? Is it UV stabilized?
  7. Perhaps, with P. McNeela identifying the album as one of the best to own of concertina recordings, it will sell. (I would think that traveling to performances, sleeping in hotels or a bus, etc. is much more of an expenditure of effort to connect with fans than the simple act of offering an existing album on Bandcamp.)
  8. Tried that some time ago. I will try again. Anyone who knows him, please ask him to offer it for sale on Bandcamp or elsewhere.
  9. I would like to find a copy of Tim Collins's album: "Dancing on Silver", download or CD. Any help would be appreciated.
  10. It reminds me of my (small) experience working on cars. (I knew I was not really interested in pursuing that kind of work.) The work is sometimes simple, sometimes not, but with frequent barriers to overall success. These include missing special skills, missing special tools (!), but primarily missing experience to know what is likely causing a problem. Patience and perseverance are highly valuable. (I have this one, very small reed that sounds every time I try it in-hand or in the reed pan, but not after I close up the concertina.....??🤔)
  11. It has been a few years since I got mine. Jurgen was on-schedule with what he showed on his website, which at the time was 1 year.
  12. https://reverb.com/item/38141128-new-mahogany-stagi-w-40-ms-anglo-concertina-cg-m-40?bk=
  13. You could get a concertina with more buttons. You couldn't go wrong with a Suttner. His page says only an 18 month wait period. (I don't know if the fingering chart is what he currently offers.) http://suttnerconcertinas.com/projects-item/a4-jeffries-type-anglo-concertina/
  14. You might get lucky! Liberty Bellows does not give reed frame dimensions here. Maybe more searching will get you dimensions: https://www.libertybellows.com/shop/c/p/34-or-31-Button-Diatonic-Accordion-Treble-Reed---Fits-Hohner-Corona-Anacleto-x43045638.htm
  15. Some reed frames in hybrids are the same size making some changes possible. Wax should not intimidate you. The real problem for you is the fact that in a hybrid anglo, each reed frame has two reeds with different tones (bellows in and out). These could only be modified by retuning unless you found a set that matched your intent, or you were OK with moving both tones associated with a button together. Hybrids are made with factory produced accordion type reeds because this makes them less expensive. Customized accordion-type reeds for one instrument are not likely to be found. Even if you had concertina reeds, you would find that tones with interchangeable frames are limited. Otherwise, the reed pan and the concertina would need to be quite a bit bigger - a very custom model. An Edgley hybrid comes close to your desire but only if Frank happens to have the reed pairs you need. Still, possible changes will be limited.
  16. Ethanol /Ethyl Alcohol is hydroscopic and will absorb moisture from the air quickly. Manufacturers distill it to get to 95% alcohol/water (190 proof) easily. Getting out that last 5% is difficult making 100% ethanol quite a bit more expensive .....and it will quickly become less than 100% after being opened. Keep your stock in a closed container. (Also, don't drink it even if it's not "denatured" unless you add at least an equal volume of water. It will be desiccating your esophagus otherwise.)
  17. Also, here is one source for manufactured individual reeds https://www.harmonikas.cz/en/uvod-english/. If you search the name on concertina.net, you can find discussions by others about their experiences buying these reeds. https://www.harmonikas.cz/en/product/dix-concertina-original-2/
  18. Here is a website with details of Henrik Muller's journey into making his own. http://concertinamatters.se/page2/page2.html I have found his information and Alex Holden's to be most helpful (both of which have so far convinced me to stick to basic repairs). Both are members of concertina.net.
  19. Dave Elliot's repair book explains that a reed tongue at-rest position can cause the symptom you are experiencing (gap too great). Perhaps it's this simple.
  20. I have read here that air leaks can cause reeds to sound weak or not at all. Searching for the cause of this with this concertina, I believe I found the problem. After I seat the reed shoe in the dovetail slot, if I push down on its ends, it rocks. The reed shoe is flat, so the dovetail slot bottom is not. If I seat the inside end, I measure up to a .030" gap at the heel, though .007 is more typical. I expect the wood has changed shape since milled. I have not decided yet what might be the best repair solution. Suggestions are welcome!
  21. I have always taken comfort in having a concertina shop available in Sunderland, MA should I need help. Someone here mentioned that Bob Snope may stop, though I have not had this confirmed. I think I know who the new instrument makers are on this continent, but not the experts/shops who will help with repairs. Please identify our options for getting help on any maker's concertina for a "tune-up" in North America.
  22. This is the spray shellac I see most often. It says it is a 3 pound cut, so a bit heavy. https://www.amazon.com/Rust-Oleum-Zinsser-408-Bulls-Shellac/dp/B0009X8HWG/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?crid=KNHM9DLG159V&keywords=shellac+spray&qid=1679529912&sprefix=shellac+spray%2Caps%2C158&sr=8-2
  23. I agree that the pores are too small. This chart shows that even a B6 has a wavelength of about 6".
×
×
  • Create New...