SteveS

Fill with slivers of veneer gluing into place with hide glue (makes for a reversible joint). Use a sharp knife to level the slivers of veneer. I prefer not to use filler for this kind of repair.

Good idea to convert by building new ends. The original ends will need to be clamped up after swapping out for the Crane ends so as to prevent warping. I guess a flat board into which suitable captive nuts, similar to those on the original 'tina, would do the job.

I use upholstery velvet for case lining - here

bump?

I had a look at the listing - this is what Chris says: "The odd thing about it is that it has a factory made set of flat ends -not raised as you would expect. It was either a special model or it has had the ends replaced at a later date-but they are beautifully made."

500,000 rubles = £6478 or $7424

I'll be spending some time in the Turin area of Italy. Are there any concertina players in and around Turin?

IMO this is good advice - I tend to imagine that the buttons on my EC are glowing red hot to help me hold them down long enough ensuring I release a button in good time - adjusting of course depending on the demands of the music being played and the note duration.

Thanks for the tip - the links do indeed work. I had no idea about the existence of these books - there are plenty of great tunes in them I see.

There maybe something in what you say - my most recent conversation was with a couple of Italians, and last summer, with Swedes. I recall seeing pictures of Swedish salvationists with concertinas in old pictures in Sweden - but the concertina, as far I know, was never used for playing folk music, although the 1- and then 2-row melodeons have extant traditions - but then these were arguably cheaper, and available by mail order from dealers in Sweden.

I think what is was that as balfolk dancers they'd danced to more usual instruments - accordion, fiddle, etc - and hadn't previously encountered a concertina playing balfolk & Nordic music for dancing - the 'tina being an instrument they'd previously associated with clowning or as a toy. OTOH I have a cheap Chinese Hero melodeon - I've fettled the reeds and sometimes bring it out for a tune or two.

I play mostly Nordic traditional music - I play in sessions, festivals and for dancing. I play some balfolk, and some song accompaniment.

I was at a party over the weekend where I found myself playing for dancing - later I got talking to someone about my concertina (Aeola, 56k, TT). Their perception of the concertina was that it is a child's instrument, a toy, or played by clowns. I had a similar conversation with a guy at a festival in Sweden in the summer this year - again he associated the concertina with clowns and as being simple instrument of generally poor quality. Indeed some 'tinas are no more than toys, and of course clowns did play them (eg. Grock). In both cases I was able to demonstrate what the concertina is capable of doing as an instrument for playing for dancing, and that it is serious instrument - and certainly not a toy. I gave on both occasions a short history of the concertina, it's uses, details of materials used, ages and vintage. I hope I left them with a suitably re-evaluated opinion of the concertina.

Hi everyone I've been thinking about getting myself a Crane/Triumph duet for some time. I'm looking for a distressed Crane in need for restoration and tlc. My ideal instrument is: - minimum 55 keys - wooden ends - Lachenal new model or similar spec Wheatstone Since I can undertake all repair operations the state of distress of the instrument isn't so important, but it must be complete in its parts.

it's a 12 key English