RustyH

Good question. But upon consideration I get overwhelmed with reasons. I guess it more or less add up to, this being, me, simply enjoys it.

They should make sure they centre it in the lense, and aren't using a wide angle.

The one in Oregon.

Thanks Chris, I'm interested, and we usually spend 6 weeks attending to aging parents, so would have time to organize something I'm sure. English is no problem, I'm open to it! David, good post. I have tried everything, tight straps and loose, and currently I'm just a little looser than snug, with about 1/4" showing on the pull. I noticed when snug I had to get my palms just right to be able to get at all the buttons, with this current setting I can move around more freely, and with a slight pressure on the strap with the thumb, tighten it all up if need be. I'm still open to experimentation and will probably adjust as I go through various instructors. I'm booked into the Noel Hill classes in August, and I'm looking forward to learning his system and taking his advice. I just hope the Rochelle lasts that long...lol Rusty

Well maybe not the president, but certainly a member in good standing.... It did produce "manly scratches" on this simpering wimp, but somehow it just doesn't have the same ring to it as "manly scars". Chris, we've traveled to Leicester often, as my wife's parents and brother live there. We aren't planning a trip this year unfortunately, as the economy will probably (we aren't taking any chances) have an impact on our income (craft based, sales already in decline). But we'll have to go the following year, perhaps we could meet up. It was there last spring that I started my search for a concertina, what a comedy of errors that was.....if only I'd known about this site then, and had the time to read it all. I would have been much better informed.

A few.... My little avatar pic shows me paragliding above the farm. What you can't see is the lower bluff as it is just outside the lower frame. The lower bluff is covered in 10' high rosa rugosa. I was ridge soaring it a couple of years ago, when the breeze quit. I was fighting to maintain altitude (about 10' above the little darlings) but no go. I settled into the roses just as the breeze built again, dragging me across the tops and tumbling me into a little hollow. It took 5 hours to carefully extract my glider, as the roses underneath had to be cut away along the bluff face. Sweaty and not in a great mood, I went home to have a hot shower, as I was feeling more than a little sorry for myself. I think they could hear me screaming at the top of Everest, as all the hundreds of little rose scratches got treated to hot salt sweaty water and soap. I looked as if I'd been mauled by a cat, my wife had no sympathy and kept bursting into gales of laughter, and believe it or not, I'm just leaving this second to fly there now, the fogs cleared......

I like to think of it as unplanned body sculpting.....

War Stories:..... I felt I needed to raise the handles as my left hand has been through the tables saw twice (a year to the day apart, I no longer work in the shop on Feb 3's) I kept getting bad hand cramps when I first started playing and couldn't get to the G row at all. I'm probably still holding and playing incorrectly..... First accident, the tips of the first three fingers got cut a bit (about 1/8"deep) from cutting 1/4" thin boards to repair the paint bucket platform on an old wooden ladder. Late on a February day, very poor light (at that time, as the shop was just getting built), frozen hands, waiting for a certain someone to show up with the car to give me a lift to the house we were renting, and thought I would do one of those nagging little repair jobs that usually get ignored. The second time knuckles got hauled in when I was doing a plunge cuts and a person (not the same one) came into the shop and yelled, startling me, the wood jammed and shot straight out towards me, pulling my left hand back through the blade. That caused the first knuckles to get fused on the first two fingers. It was the thirteenth board of a run of 26 cherry spindles to be turned for a bannister.... The blade in each event was proud of the work by about 1/8" and certainly saved me from much more serious consequences. With the handles raised I can push down and reach out as I can't physically do it if my palm is close, which is why I stopped playing guitar (I tried reversing the strings and switching hands, but brain just couldn't/wouldn't re-organize, no neuroplasticity here, and then the years just seemed to slip away). Most of the time I don't notice the handicap, playing the concertina does make it quite noticeable, but I'm happy and do my best to work around it. Heck, if anything it gives that hand a pretty good workout!

Well I'm not a proper player as I just began last June, however my Rochelle does this as well, but it seems to be intermittent. By that I mean I think the reeds self clear at times. Don't be afraid to take it apart, as a matter of fact, I'd recommend it. There are dust screens that on mine were not totally glued down so I used cynoacrylate #2 (spelling?) and finished the job. Another thing I found inside was small bits of shredded plywood slivers and hot glue bits which I just brushed out (used an artists paint brush). Take a look at your bellows inside as well, mine were/are split on a lot of the inner folds, doesn't seem to be a problem, but I now get in there and look every once in awhile to monitor and see if they are getting any worse for wear. Another thing that was in there the last time I looked was chrome curls shedding off the bends of some of the lever arms. Taking it apart is interesting, you will get a much better understanding of how it all works. The way the reeds are set up you can really only get to the outer sets, but cleaning and checking that things are in running order is a pleasant experience, at least for me. Putting it back together I had penciled marks and you will want to have a box or something similar to place the reed pan on so you can align buttons. When putting the screws back in do it gently and just snug them up, it's easy to tear the threads in the wood. I originally took it apart to build new handles as the stock ones were just too low for my hand size, so you may want to look into that.

This has been pretty informative as I'm in the same position as Gusten. However, I'm approaching 63 and waiting for a 4 year list to clear would make me around 70, so I'll purchase a "hybrid", which may be only 3 months. Another consideration is the Canadian dollar, import duties and shipping. For these reasons an Edgley works best for me, I just have to earn the capital (oh those pesky bills, bills, bills....) I feel the time is right to get things underway. I have enough experience with the Rochelle to know I want something better. It's been a total value experience but the limitations are becoming more apparent and I'll pass it on to an interested party when I receive my eventual hybrid.

There can be quite a quality difference in these type of punches. The steel thickness of the handles/frame seems to be the most important factor for longevity, and of course the quality of the punch steels as well. I would think that if you paid what you did, you probably got a higher quality and as a consequence will be able to produce leather belts for thousands......

I'm green......with envy, not New Years over indulgence....ready to sell my first born......

Tried but the snow was too dry, then later in the week it got wet, and finally last night it froze. More on the way tonight. Already lost the grape arbor, and a roof beam over my tractor shed has broken. Hasn't really snowed here in years, apparently Canada has a white Christmas all across the country for the first time since recorded weather (something like that). Cleared a spot at the end of the driveway for a fire pit and put up benches. There is a very steep hill that begins there, and children and parents come from all over the island to sled. The hot chocolate for the kids is running low and the hot cider and rum for the parents is long gone so we are onto mold(?) wine. What a great Christmas!

Season's Greetings from Hornby Island. Guess what I've been doing for the last week.......

Snowed about a foot night before last, and it's -5C, a rare event here on Hornby Island, considered a "modified Mediterranean climate". However, today the sun is brilliant, the war office is out x-country skiing, and I'm going to practice, practice, practice....