Theo

“Original”. Depends on the context. Many Jeffries concertinas seem to have had rectangular valves originally. The quality and thickness of the leather are far more important.

I have 29406, which appears to be one of a batch of two, one ebony one nickel.

This can happen if the pivot post pulls out of the wood of the action board. This reduces the pressure on the pad and can lead to leaks.

I’ve sent you a private message about a Suttner I’m selling.

Another piece of advice - go for bright nickel plate rather than chrome. Virtually all metal ended concertinas were nickel plated. It has a warm creamy colour. Chrome by contrast has a cold bluish colour which I find a bit brash on a musical instrument.

I don't think so. In my experience most Edeophones are either very good or superb, even the late ones. While more basic ECs and anglos made in the later years often have really dreadful reeds. With Lachenals you really have to assess the individual instrument.

Those buttons look like bone to me.

The solvents in cellulose paint bonds well to celluloid if a re-spray is the way you decide to go. Available from vintage car parts suppliers.

Any accordion repair person will know how to deal with wax set reeds.

I've successfully used thin CA to repair hairline cracks in wooden ends, and in action boards, where the cracks are too small or too inaccessible to fill. If the edges of the cracks are displaced it takes some care to get them held on the correct position before applying the glue. On end frets I usually apply the glue from the inside, but it can bleed out onto the face surface.

There is a gap in the scale in this tuning plan - missing G# on key 9. I would expect there to be a G# Press on Key 9 and all the other press notes moved along one place like this: Key 8 Draw A Press F# Key 9 Draw C# Press G# Key 10 Draw E Press B Key 11 Draw A Press D Key 12 Draw C# Press F#

Oh yes so true, I see this far too often. My personal pet peeve with inexpertly replaced valves is when the "repairer" removes the old valves without replacing the old glue. As a result the glued end of the valves sits on a little hill of old glue (sometimes more thin one layer) and its hared than it should be for the valve to lie perfectly flat. Sorry I can't express this so poetically. Dave - please feel free to write a second verse!

These reeds have the remains of a single rivet to secure the tongue. I think (but not sure) that early Wheatstone concertinas with square end reed frames usually had two screws and a clamp bar to secure the tongue. If I’m correct it’s more likely these reeds are from a French accordion.

The ultimate prime concertina would have the notes tuned to prime number frequencies, but no human would want to listen to it.

Hi Tori, I’ve sent you a message. You can contact me by email to Theo.gibb@gmail.com if you prefer.

have a listen to Cohen Braithwaite-Kilcoyne for a masterclass in Baroque music on the Anglo

Some general pointers. Reeds are not all the same size, lower pitch reeds must be longer than higher pitch. The size difference is approximately in proportion to the musical interval, so changing by one tone the size difference is small, but changing by a large interval the size difference is correspondingly large. Obtaining the replacement reeds will not be easy. Reed makers will usually only sell reeds as a complete set, and may even have a minimum order of several sets. Reeds for diatonic accordion are usually the same size as reeds for hybrid concertina. And from another point of view: after only a year of playing (unless you are a musical prodigy) you have not explored the full possibilities of the existing layout. The common layouts have stood the test of time, both Jeffries and Lachenal/Wheatstone layouts have their origins in the nineteenth century. There are good reasons why they have endured. Edited to add: Another way forward might be to find an anglo concertina app where you can alter the note layout through the software, or even a midi concertina may exist where you can try this.

Contact Steve Dickinson at http://www.wheatstone.co.uk

That is a repair that looks to me like the work of Colin Dipper. He explained this method to me some years ago as a method for stabilising a warped reed pan. Since the restoration was done by Emmanuel Pariselle it is very likely that Colin helped him.

The end bolts are probably 2.5mm, which is a standard size for a metric thread. The description you will usually fined would for these is M2.5 x 40mm machine screws. For example on Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/sourcingmap®-Stainless-Steel-Phillips-Screws/dp/B012TE1W4C/ref=sr_1_3?crid=VQ8X9KJQ2SVO&keywords=machine+screws+uk+M2.5+x+40&qid=1687100576&sprefix=machine+screws+uk+m2.5+x+40%2Caps%2C73&sr=8-3

Why would you want to do this? You have sone wear on one area? So repair and strengthen it. If you turn the bellows you will wear a second area and need a second repair.

Or you can make valves like Jeffries did. Just simple rectangles. You just need a straightedge, and a cutter. A roller cutter with a circular blade is better than a scalpel for cutting soft leather.

You might be able to contact the maker through this earlier discussion

B & W Type 2000 case, unused and in new condition apart from being a but dusty. It includes a full foam filling with is pre-cut so you can make a cavity to suit the contents. For concertina it would be better to block it internally to hold the instrument. Internal dimensions (see photo) 247 x 175 x 153.8mm which makes it slightly too small for a standard 6 1/4″ instrument which is 158.8mm across flats. Would suit a small size concertina. Price £20 + £6 UK delivery.

The busing felt I use came from Fletcher & Newman. Leather - you might fond something suitable from Pittards in Yeovil. They do a very good mail order service, or you can browse the skins in the showroom. I use their goatskin for repairs.