d.elliott

When I first met Colin, his parting shot as he walked out of the building was along the line of: given an aeola and a comparable edeophone, which would you choose? I told him, he then asked why, I told him, he just smiled and left for his vehicle. I still don't know if I passed the test, or even if that is what it was! Dave

Following enquiries, from April 1st, any new instruments that I may make will have the option of a fitted waist strap for hands free wear and/or proximity sensors fitted to the rear of the bellows which will lock the latter in the open position to prevent possible crush injuries. Geoff Crabb Would this new waist strap be called a Conc strap? Surely lights as well Geoff for late night work or even flashing!! Al I think 'C G string' more appropriate, and new signature tune for Bradfield: "Just a thong at twilight....." I also say well done Mark (and Joan), and we should recognise the good cause aspect of the calender D

If you do select an edeophone, then like all Lachenals, remember that the action is a 'hook and appeture' type, not riveted. Have the action checked for wear by a competent person. Often those arms which are bent to go round other buttons wear on their sides, where they pass through the pivot post. This causes the whole arm to twist axially. The net result is an odd pad action; buttons seeming to sit lower and lower, and an odd feel to the button action. This situation is repairable, but it is messy. Edeophones seem to be more prone to this than other lachenals. Dave

Chris, I have some sympathy with Mark here. I only live a mile or so away from Mark's concertina enclave, and this event always clashes with the works holiday weeks! so I always miss it too. You cannot please all the people all the time..... I am just pleased that Mark is providing such a venue in an area of the country where there is little else quite like it Dave

If the bellows are glued in place, and the lumps are under the leather, then its a bit too late now, sorry Anthony. Dave

I have often been asked for insurance valuations as part of a restoration exercise, I ensure that the amount I give is a little in excess of the potential re-sale or dealer purchase price. The value at the point of a claim has to be enough to command the market place, to ensure the claimant's being able to get the closest 'fit' to the insrument lost. Photo's are good, showing unique or defining characteristics, and serial numbers! Dave

Couple of interesting points made recently: Good quality reeds are loud! setting aside resonant chambers, I think that the reed tongue hardness has a lot to do with this volume issue, my Rock Chidley with nickel silver reeds has a very high quality reed set and soft and mellow to play. Thermal changes cause buzzing! given that most reeds are less than 40 mm long, and tongues are less than say 4mm wide the relative differences in expansion over say a 20 deg C max temperature could well be measured in microns. The issue is far more likely to be accompanying changes in humidity causing wood work to move and apply, or release, pressure to some reed assemblies, as Frank has already said. Dave E

There are various options. the objective is to make up for shrinkage in a structure that is in itself stable. If you try and move the framing around to close gaps (internally) or improve alignments (externally) you will end up with a kit of parts and bolt holes that will not line up!. options, subject to your own skill and value of the instrument In all cases rake out the old glue from the gap- and don't be concerned that you appear to be making the situation worse! option 1 a wood filler: either plastic wood, or a mixture of glue and fine sawdust made into a paste. dont be bothered about filling over the screw hole. compress the mix in tightly and keep finger prints off polished surfaces. option 2 card, pared to what ever tapers, and lots of wood glue. option 3 (my preferred method) soft wood shim, wood shaving, pared to fit, & wood glue in all cases, sand flat and re-drill hole through usually after 24 hrs glue glueing, and ensure that the pad board flatness is not affected. The obvious visibility of the misalignment shown in the picture in the link you posed above will be reduced by the fact that your new black bellows end wrap will fold over the chamoise by a mm and make the bright strip you can see dark and less obvious. The actual correction would be fraught with danger, but could have been improved prior to fitting the bellows. Dave

nice job pete, give 'he who must not be named (in case he charges too much)' my complements and best wishes for the new year! Dave E

Becky, I am not sure what you mean by ' Transponder' in this context. As an Engineer the word has a specific technical meaning, and I am at a loss to follow your meaning. my little gift of the local carol appars to have been well appreciated with over 70 down loads now. Geoff is Wright (sory right) the SYM is a symphony, an instrumental link between verses. A hang over from the quires (not choirs as we know them) where the village band played for worship in the west gallery of the church. Do a google on the 'west gallery music association' in the UK. West gallery music has a parallel path to the American shape note movement. Often there is symbol of two parallel line and two dots beside a point in a stave which de-notes a repeat of a line of lyrics, but I never thought to put it in on this score, sorry. My pdf writer software has decided to mess up, otherwise I would re-post it for you with lyric repeats marked. So: Following the melody line: There are several repeat sections, 'Good tiding, lo, I bring' is repeated 1st system, 6th bar D quaver to D minim. The last line of Lyrics forms an other chorus line. starting A quaver 2nd system bar 5 to dotted G crotchet in bar 7, The last two lines of Lyrics are then repeated from the to the start of the symphony. To help a little bit more: the Bto C semi quavers cover the word 'In'; D minim covers 'Davids City'; and the 'lies a babe' is covered by the C minim. If I can get my pdf writer working again, does anyone want another local carol? Dave

Next time you go to say the Whitby Folk Festival, remember that the Press Gang laws do not appear to have been repealed.... Practise those shanties... 2-6; 2-6; ! Dave

As usual the residents of the village (Oughtibridge) gathered around the Christmas Tree on the Village Green to sing carols to the music of the Oughtibridge Brass Band, after which the Chapel Choir walked round the village to sing the local carols to some of the community's elderly, and the infirm, the old people's home, and outside quite a number of private houses. As usual we ended up at one house where we got hot pork sandwiches and warming beverages???.... I provided starting notes (and sang Bass), or playing support on my Rock Chidley. Finishing around 2:00am! This tradition goes back to around 1850 and many of the carols are written locally. Attached is a concertina arrangement in two parts of Mount Moriah, a little present from us to you. Dave

This miss-match in woodwork is not uncommon, often resulting in different woods shrinking (with dryness and age) at different rates, glue joints failing and some times the resultant misalignment is 'frozen' by subsequent re-gluing. If you look at the underside of the pad board you may well find an enlarged gap in the glue line between the pad board and the hard wood action box framework, can you confirm if this is true? Dave

They say humour does not travel, I never saw anything disparaging, elitist in quoting an 'off the cuff comment'. If others do then I am sorry for any offense that may have been percieved, certainly it was not intended. I appreciate the use of the innovative use materials and undoubted craftsmanship embodied in all the modern reproduction instruments. I have not handled one of Frank's instruments, so I cannot comment on his concertinas specifically. I can also appreciate the high level of 'ownership' on behalf of the people who have put so much of their lives into developing their products, and that this will inevitably make the intended humour less than acceptable. I should have thought of that. Dave

This comment has been removed by my own editing as some members of the forum found it (unitentionally on my part) disparaging Dave

Try singing 'While Shepherds' to the tune, 'House of the Rising Sun' Dave

What glue did you use? Dave

Gum arabic, gloy, works very well. I use nothing else and don't have a problem. its also easy to soften off and remove papers if you need to. The reed pan looseness, may be gasket but also check the reed pan support blocks, one or two may be missing or loose. Dave

I have had good thick chamois from David Leese. All I had to do was specify the size and depth of the bellows frame. I have seen ordinary leather but it was badly torn where a reed screw had caught it. Dave

I was taught to use wood to press on the reed, steel on steels (or worse still) brass can slip and cause the reed to bend. A 90 deg bend on a reed is a bit of a bu**er to sort out. Admittedly the risk greater is on small reeds. Dave

Our cat sees an instrument and flees, no not fleas, FLEES. If she cannot escape she attempts to bite or spike either the instument or player, hence my developed repair techniques on bellows. Actuually the problem is not her being a feline, but the feline being a her.... My daughters tend to react the same way to my playing. or perhaps its my playing???? Dave

I would go for the reed set first (raised tip) but beware, if you bend the reed back to reduce the set, remember: no gap = no sound at all. Small gap and the reed will sound but be muted in volume. Also repeated reed bending will flatten the reed pitch slightly Dave E

Don't forget that part of the function of a case is to keep the bellows supported an a fully closed position without, as Rich comments, pressure on furniture or keys. A good case should always ensure that the bellows axis is kept horizontal. Dave

Paul, I tried to post a topic with a pdf file, only 64k big. The site rejected the attachment as being too big, is that part of the server issue? Dave Elliott

Agreed mind you I hope lucifer doesn't let him loose on the furnace bellows! Dave E