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Alex West

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Posts posted by Alex West

  1. LR71

     

    The vendor sent me some additional pictures which - to my eyes at least - confirm that the base instrument is a Lachenal with their typical gate and lever action rather than a riveted lever.  The stamp on the fretted ends looks like the C Jeffries font, but the ends themselves aren't as finely detailed as you'd expect from a C Jeffries.

     

    Restored, it might be worth what a typical 30 key Lachenal would be, but the vendor didn't tell me (or didn't know) what keys the instrument is in

     

    Alex West

  2. McCarthy, I have a 62 key Lachenal New Model Maccann which I'm looking to move on as I'm principally an anglo player.  It's been fully restored and I can send you some more information and pictures if you're interested.  I'm looking for around £2,000 plus postage/courier

     

    Alex West

    RHS Finished.jpeg

  3. If I'm removing old chamois to replace with new, I always clean off any old glue so that I'm glueing directly to wood.  In some cases, this has meant re-fixing the triangular reed-pan support blocks so that the height matches.  I've never had a problem cleaning up either the PVA or Titebond (which sets brittle and can chip off easily) but I'll happily give fish glue a try.

     

    I like animal glues in general, but I'll give Gorilla glue a miss...

     

    Alex West

  4. 1 hour ago, Jeremy said:

    What type of music do you play on concertina?

    I mostly play English/Scottish tunes with occasional forays into Swedish and Quebecois. I mostly play a G/D box, but yes, I use the thumb like a normal button as an addition to chords.  I rarely (well, never) use it as a drone - though I can see if you're playing Irish style concertina you might find the D (or even a G?) useful

     

    Alex West

  5. 4 hours ago, Don Taylor said:

    I imagine that you can probably get a suitable reed that will fit, but even if it is tuned to D then you are likely going to need it touch tuned for your instrument. 

     

    If this is something that you are prepared to do yourself then you could try Concertina Spares in the UK or Greg Jowaisas in the US. 

     

    I can also recommend Greg if you need the job done for you. 

     

    I think that there is someone on the forum in Toronto who does repairs, but I cannot remember the name right now. 

    Paul Read.  Nice bloke, on this forum and good for this job

     

    I'm not sure why you're in such a rush to make this change though.  On a typical 38 key Jeffries, you have D in both directions, but the C/F thumb button gives you a C on the draw and an F on the push which you otherwise don't have at that pitch

     

    Alex West

    • Like 1
  6. Jason

     

    I don't know the specific button diameters of the Clover and the Morse, but I've measured button diameters between 4.1mm (metal) from a vintage Jeffries to 7.9mm (bone) for a vintage Lachenal.   The 4.1mm buttons can feel needle-like and quite painful until you get used to them, but they do allow for very precise playing.  The large buttons are easier to hit but can feel a little clumsy and difficult to move from one button to the next.  I tend to prefer the smaller diameter buttons around 4.5mm - 5mm diameter with a small amount of rounding to the edges but others will, I'm sure, have different opinions. 

     

    Once you compare one button with another, it's possible to get bothered by whether they're flat topped with very straight edges, have very rounded edges or in the extreme are very domed (like some of the "metal over a wooden core" button typical of a Wheatstone).

     

    It's possible to get used to any button in my experience.  It also depends on how the instrument is set up and whether there's a long travel or whether they sit flush or proud of the fretboard when depressed.

     

    Alex West

  7. I recently acquired a fairly basic but well put together George Jones Anglo with serial number 28049.  I've done a search of cnet but can't find any trace of Jones dates, nor of Wes Williams' history files.  It has a mixture of steel and brass reeds - but some of the steel reeds look to be replacements.  Interestingly, the case has the card of Arthur G Jones attached to the lid.

     

    Anyone have any idea of dates of manufacture of Jones anglos?

     

    Alex West

    IMG_0594.jpeg

  8. Jake and Dave have summarised the thought process rather well.  My own thoughts as a repairer/restorer are a touch medical - first do no harm.  End plates are not (unlike pads, springs, valves, bushings and even bellows) consumables so unless they're so badly damaged as to need extensive repair or replacement, I tend to leave them alone apart from a gentle polish (and typically reinforcement behind the bolt holes).

     

    With Lachenal wooden ends, I sometimes take a more aggressive approach since the original laquer was IMHO rather ugly and is often chipped, so I will strip it right back to the original attractive rosewood or mahogany and French Polish from scratch - with all the caveats that Dave has over matching local repairs, losing detail etc

     

    Alex West

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