Jake Middleton-Metcalfe

I really have to get to that festival some day it sounds very good

I have never purchased from them but I know Murray Grainger who runs the reed lounge, he is a competent musician on the accordion and has a lot of experience with the various brands of free reed instruments - be they accordions melodeons, concertinas, he used to work for the music room before they sadly closed. He is an all round good guy and I would vouch for him as an honest trader. I hope this is helpful

Alex that is great. As an EC player you will be better able to understand Henrik's design than I was, as I play Anglo I was not really able to make much of it when I had a go - other than "this feels comfortable" *plays a few random notes*

Well done, it is great to see how the design seems to have developed alongside your playing, and how the design has been subtly developed with regards to key spacing. It was great to have a go on this at the last consairtin. I tentatively suggest... Perhaps other people might also benefit from playing an English concertina of this design.

"BZZZZT!!!!! *lightning noises* explosions, eyes double is size" I really wish I could afford this, this is one of my favourite historical designs.

The core appears darker than sycamore - and the grain looks like it could be beech. Stripping the veneer from both sides is an option I'm prepared to consider - but as a last resort (trying to have an easy life ). I've found a source of some rather nice legal Indian rosewood - so I may go with something like that if I have to strip the veneers off both ends. Or maybe some other wood since I'll no longer be restricted to matching the current veneers. wood veneer hub are very good. They aren't so far from me so I went to look around, if you get the chance visit their warehouse I would recommend it, they are prepared to show you around and look at different woods. They have some MIND BLOWING woods to look at! As well as some more normal ones. The thing is their premises aren't like a shop per se - just a huge industrial hangar with loads of pallets of veneer - nice to see their website now sells smaller pieces as well though.

great videos, great playing. Does look a bit like his bellows are collapsing in the first video!

I have no idea about the exact breed. I did wonder if "vintage wood" was exempt - I know there is a similar thing relating to ivory over a certain age being legal. Though I will read into it. Dana - that is what gave me the idea, my friend chris has a concertina supposedly made from that old cabinet. Some of the pannels I have would be suitable in size and cut for action boards or even reed pans perhaps.

Its a commercially available lacquer simply called "ebonising lacquer" I apply it by spray.

At the risk of going too far off topic I have edited the original post. Here are some of the hand rests which were made from the wood, these will be ebonised. Its quite a nice wood to work with actually, the grain is not too deep.

I think its a more obscure spelling though either is correct apparently, I did look it up, it's a bit of an odd word. Anyway I will post some pictures of the other things made from the buro or bureau.

no buro is a correct english spelling, I think bureau is the original french spelling though, which is a nicer spelling. I did not know a Burro was a donkey until now though, if I had one of those the fun would really begin.

An interesting thing happened to me recently: I went to a local auction house for fun (with no actual intention of buying anything) and ended up buying a hideous mahogany bureau. No one else was bidding on it and it was going for £15 "hey that is solid mahogany!" I thought. Despite the nice mahogany the bureau was so hideous that purchased it and I plundered it for wood. You can see in these image how one drawer front was divided up to make blanks for many anglo concertina hand rests. Though I do not finish my concertinas in mahogany these blanks are going to be used for ebonised hand rests. Reuse and recycle! The concertina pictured has some hand rests made from this drawer. It is a Jeffries which had solid metal hand rests (also pictured). The owner of the instrument found them to be uncomfortable so requested some new ones to be made - a completely reversible procedure which caused the original parts no damage. Less can be said for the bureau. Jake

I have been waiting for years for someone to do music like this. Very nice.

great tune