Theo

It is a Jeffries. I've worked on it.

Worth a look but it has accordion type reeds, not traditional concertina reeds.

Pleased to hear I’m not alone! This method is possibly a little slower than using the traditional concertina bellows where you can file the reed in situ. On the other hand I think that tuning in the reed pan where the reed is in its own home gets the pitch closer to that inside the instrument.

I work on accordions and concertinas. I have a simple tuning bellows with a couple of holes on top where I can place an accordion reed block. When tuning concertinas I place the complete reed pan over the hole and close the side of the reed chamber with a finger. It works well, but I don’t know anyone else who uses that method.

That’s certainly one possibility: the reed tip may be set too high or too low, may be obstructed by dirt, may be off centre in the frame. It could also be valves that are curled and stiff and don’t open and close as easily as they should.

It's hard to offer good advice just from a photo, but I think what I would do would be to remove the smaller piece of wood, then clean off the old glue from all surfaces, clean up the edges of the split so they fit closely together and then glue the piece back in place with good clamping so that the glue line beneath the piece and across the crack are both tightly closed. For glue I would use hide glue, but I know that's not possible for most people. Liquid hide glue or fish glue would be good substitutes, both are readily available by mail order. Whatever type of glue you use will be most effective only if you clamp the joints firmly.

I think you should ignore the crack for now. It’s not a structural issue, and it won’t cause an air leak. It’s also not a good idea to use a permanent adhesive like epoxy on concertina repairs as it may make future repairs more difficult. I speak as a professional. The jobs I most dislike doing are those where well meaning but inexperienced repairers have used unsuitable methods that are difficult to undo. I recommend that you start by getting all the buttons, levers, pads and springs back into working order. Some of the levers appear to be ok - you can use them as a model to put the others back together. Replacing springs is not too difficult, and you might find that some or all of the pads need to be replaced. That should be sufficient to get your concertina working. You are then in a better position to assess what further work might be beneficial.

That is not an anglo, it's a rather unusual English with fewer buttons than usual.

If your plan is to keep costs down then new reeds should be the last thing you consider, they are the most valuable part of the instrument. If the rest of the instrument is beyond repair, the reeds are the parts most worth keeping as spare parts.

I just wonder why you would want a new set of reeds. Are you thinking of building a concertina?

Charlie Marshall cgmmusical.co.uk sells it I think, and in smaller quantities than you can get from Fletcher and Newman.

It sounds like valve noise. But since it is a new instrument you should contact the shop who sold you the concertina for their advice. They will be familiar with your model of concertina and should be responsible for advising you and carrying out repairs should that be necessary.

Agree with Frank. Also check that the reed is a firm fit in its slot. Too loose or too tight can both cause problems.

You could try Simon Brock at https://leatherforfolkies.co.uk/

The anglo is simply a Lachenal, and one of their better models. Including Wheatstone on the title may confuse some buyers. Would be worth editing the listing if you can.