SteveS

I developed my MIDI concertina back in early 1990s - I never used electromechanical switches for precisely this reason. I used optical sensors to detect the button movement - they worked well, but were a nightmare to set up since each sensor required its own circuitry. But since they had effectively no moving parts, they were good for many 100,000s of button presses.

This is exactly how I play the bass concertina. It's impractical for my style of playing with my TT.

I play EC with the left end resting on my left thigh. I always use a very soft cloth (a yellow duster) between my clothes and concertina so as to try a mitigate any wear from rough fabrics to the bellows. Incidentally, I have a couple of former band concertinas in the resto pile with wear to the bellows at points closest to the body - my theory is that they've been held against say a uniform whilst standing or marching which has subsequently worn the bellows.

Very true - conversely, I've seen too much shimming destroy an end.

I have repaired a similarly damaged end, where for the lack of a long screw, the end was irretrievably damaged.

Hi Robert I've sent you a PM.

Here's a previous article on the Linton system. The left hand side has too few buttons for the Linton system, compared to the right - looks to me like the left is bass notes. My suspicion is that this is a big Anglo.

It's been well played too judging by the wear to the ends.

Playing for dancing is good discipline - coordination with dancers, playing at the right rhythm and speed, and with the correct swing.

I have found that glue alone does not adequately fill these kinds of cracks. In the past I've used thin slivers of veneer to fill the gaps - glued into place using hide glue. For rosewood I've used rosewood veneer, and for ebonised ends I've used pear veneer which I've then stained black. I also consider refinishing the ends to make the repair nice and neat. Sometimes, depending on the width of the crack, I've used a scalpel to open up the gaps so as to clean them and to make wide enough (approx. 0.6mm for modern veneers) for the sliver of veneer to fit in the gap. Sometimes it's necessary to support the back of the repair with veneer, with the grain running at right angles to the grain of the end.

Many thanks. I play almost exclusively Nordic music on concertina - especially for dance. I'm hoping to play for dance at a festival in Sweden in a few weeks time.

It's been a long time since my last posting. I played for dancing the other week, together with Gill Redmond on cello. This track also features my new Shruti box. Mockfjärdspolskan I used a Roland R-07 recorder on stage - ideally I'd like to have taken the feed from the mixer desk so as to get the Shruti box nicely in the mix.

glad it worked out

There are several options here: 1 - cut out the offending bad wood and put new piece of wood in - something like sycamore - this will be at least as secure as the previous fittings - use wood screws 2 - use a bolt with a modern thread, make a retaining hole for the nut in the bellows frame, and securely glue in place the nut - the bolt may not match the remaining wood screws 3 - fashion a rectangular retaining plate, drill and tap it with a modern thread, cut a slot for it in the bellows frame and secure the retaining plate with small wood screws. Personally though, I tend to shy away from using modern threaded bolts unless I'm replacing all bolts and retaining plates - which I've done on a few concertinas.

Yes - that cover is chamois leather - remove the reed pan - the chamois can be lifted from inside the bellows. The chamois should be glued back when you complete the job. You can try concertina-spares.com for an end bolt (and maybe its respective retainer plate). The Concertina Maintenance Manual by Dave Elliot may help you (I don't have my copy to hand so can't check if this issue is covered).