Theo

Yes its a 48 key treble English concertina. Metal buttons mean that was better than the basic quality versions which have bone buttons. Completely flat wooden ends suggest it's of an early date, later models usually have some moulding to the wood round the edges. It's probably a Lachenal, or a Wheatstone from the period when Louis Lachenal made many of the parts for Wheatstone. If you visit Tyneside I can have a look at it and advise you.

Sorry for any misunderstanding Malcolm

Malcolm appears to have missed the least “3” from the serial number. this is the page you want: http://www.horniman.info/DKNSARC/SD03/PAGES/D3P0910S.HTM

You should not be embarrassed, its the maker who should be embarrassed. Send it back.

Not that I'm aware of. Playing style has a much bigger effect. If you regularly play at maximum volume you might break the occasional reed.

I can't speak about the particular reeds used by The Button Box, but I can give you some general idea of the differences. Italian made accordion reeds have a confusing array of names for the different grades, and there are differences in the manufacturing process, especially in the amount of hand work versus automated work. In recent years there has been great innovation by the makers to enable higher quality products by investing in better machine tools and automated processes. At the same time the makers are finding it more difficult to recruit people with the skills to produce the traditional hand made reeds. That's the background. The key differences between quality grades of reed are: the clearance between the reed tongue and the reed plate, the lengthwise profile of the reed tongue, and the type of steel used. Smaller clearance means less "wasted" air and so a better response at low pressure, higher maximum sound level, and lower air consumption. As a very general approximation the lengthwise profile of higher quality reeds is thinner than in lower quality reeds, which also improves responsiveness. Both these also tend to give higher quality reeds a brighter sound with more high harmonics. The type of steel in all but the cheapest reeds is very much the same. I've summarised and simplified things in this description. If you want more details you can look at some of the reed makers websites – Cagnoni, VA, Artigiana are the main ones.

I don't know. I used tool steel as supplied which is not to hard to drill. If your old drill shaft is carbon steel you can soften it by heating to red and cooling slowly. If it's high speed steel I don't know.

I took a short length of round tool steel, drilled the centre to the diameter of the guide pin on the button, then filed a few cutting edges on the end. I have it somewhere. If I can find it I will post a photo.

I made a hollow cutter to go in the tailstock that cuts the guide pin without any sideways force. Its like an end mill with a central hole.

A complete set of new buttons is an excellent idea. Crabb used Al buttons on some instruments, so there is a precedent, but aluminium does react against some peoples sweat and skin leading to grey marks on the finger tips.

Definitely worth some effort. There is a similar one for sale for £3000 in the UK, fully restored, new bellows, metal buttons

I think others are being over cautious about this. The amount of rust on the reeds doesn’t appear to be enough to compromise them if they are cleaned carefully. They will need tuning, and new valves, some buttons and new bellows. If my understanding of the purchase price is right you don’t have a big investment in it so with a full restoration you would probably spend a similar amount to the price you might have paid for the same concertina from a reputable dealer.

This type of reed is quite common on late period Wheatstones.

I think the pads are the thing least in need of replacement!

This is my preferred material for cleaning the top surface of reeds: Polishing block it's worth getting the blue one and the next finer grade. You will also need a thin metal support plate to slide under the reed while cleaning it. To clean the edges of the reed tongues scrape with a scalpel. To clean the underside place the reed tongue side down on a flat surface. The tongue needs to be supported along it's length, so either allow the fixing to project to lie over the edge of your work surface, or make a small hole to accept the fixings. Once in place use a miniature screwdriver to carefully scrape off the rust. Go gently to avoid removing steel. After the cleaning the reeds will be well out of tune! You will also need a new set of bellows, though you might be able to patch these as a short term fix. New buttons could be turned out of Delrin

Relisted again, price down to £1200 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/384459205201

There is also a hefty crack on both left and right sides.

At best it's a seller who is not knowledgeable about concertinas. At worst it's a scam, but it doesn't have any of the usual features of a scam, apart from the zero feedback. The seller has relisted this item numerous times with the same Buy it Now price but gradually dropping the opening bid.

The only way I know of to get spare parts, like buttons, for this sort of concertina is to find another one you can take them from.

If those reeds are all next to each other on the reed pan then it could be a reed pan support has failed in that part of the reed pan.

Yes both valve and height of reed tip are important to getting a good sound. A few days ago I investigated a similar situation on an EC where a push A sounded weak and tended to go flat and the draw note was fine. The valve behind the push reed had been badly fitted and was glued down all along one edge. All returned to normal after cleaning off surplus dried glue and fitting a new valve There are other possibilities too. How well the reed frame is fitted to the reed pan, and air leaks round the edge of the reed pan or between reed chambers. Or if it is in draw only it could be a loose pad which is helped to open by airflow on push, but not on draw.

Been there, done that, got the teeshirt!

I've only seen staples on 20 key anglos that may or may not be Lachenal.

Photos of the action and reed pans could be more diagnostic of the maker.

My guess would be that on a new Stagi an air leak is more likely to be from a badly fitted pad, than from a defect in the bellows. Listen for leaks as Chris has suggested, but also listen for leaks from each end. A leaking pad is usually fairly easy to hear while closing the bellows, though not while opening.