Wally Carroll

It may or may not be a problem. A vintage instrument is just more prone to certain types of problems because of how it is constructed. I’ve had mine outside with no problems but there is always a risk. Knowing how to quickly (5 min) reseat and shim a loose note is a useful skill for a vintage style owner. I’d bring the Morse as a backup in case of an emergency and fix the new one during a break.

Accordion reeded instruments, like the Morse, are less at risk in this kind of situation. Vintage style instruments have reed shoes that are imbedded in the wood and which are held in place by friction. This can result in notes becoming loose or too tight depending on which way the humidity goes. I don’t think I would be concerned in your case.

I wouldn’t worry yet. Give it another couple of days to see if things get moving. I had an instrument come in from Canada through UPS for a repair and it got held up in Louisville, KY as they wanted to charge me import duties on the full value of the instrument. The person I worked with sounded new at the job but was willing to work with me and get it cleared duty-free. I think they initially reached out to me. Here is the contact info for the entity that I dealt with. Not sure if your package is being handled by this group: UPS Customs Brokerage Rep II Global Small Package Brokerage Office hours: T-S T-F 8:00am - 4:30pm EST Sat. 7:00am - 3:30pm EST +15028614777

If the frames were being squeezed you would hear a harsh metallic sound. Very small reeds are very difficult to make so that they have a good response. Using a thinner valve can help, removing an existing valve can help, or even adding a thin valve (if one is not already present) can help. It will all depend on how the particular note was made. The tongues might also be able to be filed thinner though this is a very treacherous path to go down with really small, high pitched notes. I'd look at the valves and if that doesn't do it, then consider either contacting Wim Wakker or just living with it. Most players never actually use these notes all that much so it might be more trouble than it's worth.

I was thinking this might be the case. You can try temporarily installing the push side low A in this slot to see if you have the room for a proper low A. However, probably easiest to give the soldering a try first.

Just saw this. Very sad. I met Dana back in 1998 or 99 at my first Noel Hill workshop. He had an early version of his instrument and I was blown away that he had made it all himself. He was certainly an early inspiration for me but he was also a kind gentleman who will be sorely missed.

I’m a big fan of PVA glue to attach pads to levers. Hard to see what you have going there but it looks like maybe hide glue was used. Not sure how PVA would stick to a hide glue soaked leather spud (leather bead in your terminology) but you might consider running a strip of leather or fabric over the top of the spud and glued to the pad on each end to create a sort of seat belt to hold it together. We add this extra layer of security on all of our pads. Tandy Leather makes an excellent PVA

I think it is a great service you are providing Matthew. There does seem to be a good deal of hesitancy among concertina owners to open their instruments in order to make simple repairs. For many it is a lack of confidence and workshops like yours are incredibly useful in this regard. I have told clients that if they are not willing to open the instrument and follow some basic repair instructions, they should not buy a concertina. Stringed instrument players have to regularly change their strings and no one complains about it. Concertinas, though usually requiring less overall maintenance, do need to be adjusted from time to time, and once an owner gets a little instruction, they usually get over their fears, learn a bit more about how their instrument works and gain the confidence to roll up their sleeves and make the repair. So thank you for helping educate the owners out there!

Sounds like the valve is bad. Replace the valve that is in the same chamber as the note you are playing. Even new valves can make this sound. Sometimes we have to try 4-5 valves before we get a quiet one. Low notes are particularly prone to this.

Hi Kikka If I find a buyer for my equipment I will pass on your information to the new owner and you can purchase from them. I have had a couple interested parties but the equipment is still for sale.

Trying to decide if I'm going to unload my reed making equipment or take it with me to my home after I move out of my commercial building later this year. It will be difficult, but not impossible to run this equipment from my home garage though it will certainly take up a lot of space. At present I am making enough reed sets to complete 75 more instruments which I'll do at a more leisurely pace over the next 10 years or so. My current plan, after completing these sets this fall, is to sell my equipment (Wire EDM, CNC Mill and CNC Surface Grinder) but I honestly hate to see all of the work I've put into designing the reeds and the process for creating them simply go away. If there are enough potential buyers I may consider continuing this part of my operation (either at my home or at a very small commercial space). I am estimating that it will be worth it for me to do this at around $30 per assembled and tuned reed (includes the shoe, the tongue, the top clamp, 2 screws and 2 alignment dowels). Other options would include a reduced rate for unassembled and untuned (maybe $25), or even just reed shoes and clamps (no tongues) for maybe $20 per. These prices are all estimates but if anyone is interested if you could respond or PM with a rough estimate of what you would be interested in purchasing (e.g. 5 reeds one time purchase, 1 set one time purchase, 10 sets per year, etc.). Just to be clear, right now I am not offering reeds for sale. This is just to gauge whether there is enough interest to continue with this aspect of my business. Alternatively, I am also considering selling this equipment with all of my programs and a bit of training to someone who is interested in taking this on as part of their existing business or even a new business altogether. To do this with new equipment, it could easily be in the $175,000 range without the programs, training, etc. I haven't worked out a final price yet but it will be at a substantial discount from this and you will get all of the hundreds of hours I spent figuring out the dimensions, programming the machines, and creating the process along with it. Let me know if anyone is interested in either aspect of this proposal. Thank you, Wally Carroll Concertinas

Spoiler alert (two weeks back)

Hi Jim, Whenever I have an instrument that seems to get stuck in the USPS system, I call to file a claim. They always get back to me and then magically the package starts moving again. Sometimes they don't realize that the package is in the safe at an intermediate facility or at the destination. It's a very unpredictable system in terms of delivery but I find it to be both the least expensive and easiest service to use. For instruments over $5000, UPS requires that it be dropped off at a Customer Service Center (not a UPS store) which adds a bit of a burden, so I only use UPS for international deliveries as there is better tracking and they will serve as your customs broker for a very small fee. Anyway, if you still haven't received it, I'd look up the Customer Service number and file a complaint.

For ribs, we start with a Fortuna type machine to remove the bulk and to create the tapered profile but then finish with a Scharfix to get a finer skivved edge. For gussets we only use the Scharfix. I’ve found it too difficult to get a consistently fine edge using just the Fortuna type machine. For someone new to bellows making, I would start with a Scharfix (not sure about Chinese knock-offs as I have no experience with them) and the blades recommended by others.

Yeah, I think she may have been thinking a “concertina” was like a “concerto.”