Jon C.

Hi, I am selling my skiver on eBay. This is a great little tool for skiving the leather for the bellows. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120750449846&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

What for? And who is "we"? But all the same, if you need me, you know where to find me: just send a PM through C.net. That is okay, "we" don't "need" you after all...

Bellows as well? The bellows seem to be in surprisingly good shape (compared to everything else). The ends of the reed plate supports are pretty chewed up where the reed plate must have been jammed down into them when the ends were broken. The left bellows ring fits exactly onto the jig, so I may have lucked out there. I've only opened the left side so far and have been building my way back from the metal endface as that seems to have the least distortion. Looks great so far Jack, I wish I had a lab to work in, like your shop! Must be slowing down at the metal coating biz. Leonard, you could always join facebook, we need more concertina people over there...

I have an English concertina with 48 keys with a label which reads "THOMAS DAWKINS & C°, Manufacturers, 17 Charterhouse Street LONDON". I am a beginner in Concertina history, but I was told it is maybe a Lachenal since it has the same wood design on the ends than the 1880's cheap Lachenal's. It is in rosewood. Could someone help me to date it ? it has a number inside the bellows : "23678". Thanks ! Mid 1870s. I have a listing that he was a flute, MIs, Flagalots, and claironet makers. so he probably was a dealer. The Charterhouse address is listed from 1884-1905, the buisness was from 1851-1925 according to The New Langwill index. It is funny as I just looked it up, regarding a Dawkin 7 key flute on eBay, just a hour ago... Wierd. Jon

There are a few suppliers of small brass flat head rivets online, but they are mostly in the UK, I am still trying to order some myself. The ones that I saw were 1/6" dia. If you are going to go with the 1/4" round stock post, you can get some small brassing rod at the local weld shop, or the K&S supplier at the hardware store. Good luck! Jon

powdered ivory + CA? I tryed it, cures to dark. As Dana mentioned, there are very good dental fillers used for tooth re-construction that are UV cured, but you have to find a willing dentist to buy it for you, as you are required to have a dental practice to get it. The material comes in several colors to get a exact match. Jon

Thanks, that makes more sense. I couldn't see it in the other photos. Jon

Where should it be located? I would think it would be on the bottom, but it would have gravity working against it..

Hi, I am constructing a tuning bellow. I have made the bellow, but still have to make the top and bottom. Do I need to put a valve in, or will it just vent through the reed? Thanks, Jon

Thanks for the great ideas! I have seen the mesh at the jewelry supply house, but I have not tried it yet. I also like the idea about the baking soda/ca glue. With a very large pile of flute restorations to do, I will try this out. All my ivory buttons on my two concertinas are in good shape. I would probably just turn new ivory buttons if I needed them. Jon

Hi, How is the reed pan seal? Are the valves sealing? Are the pads sealing? Are there air leaks in the bellows still? Are the end plates warped? Are the screws tight? Your reeds may need to be adjusted, if the tounge has to much of a gap, it will make a slow reed. Depending on the size of the reed, the smaller ones have the tounge almost level with the shoe, where the larger reeds need more of a gap. So many problems to choose from! Good luck! Jon

Hi, I just finished repairing my Jones bellow, I used thin leather .02 purchased from the ever helpful David Leese, to repair the corners and edge. I doubled up the corners, worked great. What should I use to coat the leather on the repair? Spray shellac, or some sealer? Thanks, Jon

I saw it yesterday, and told the seller it was a Lachenal. there wasn't a buy it now, but someone must have offered the $250 for it, then the seller changed it to buy it now... Jon

Hi Michael, That sounds like a big project! Lots of parts on those English concertina's, that is why I am rebuilding a 20 key, less parts! That would be interesting to talk to a harmonica reed maker, small reeds!... Interesting about rusting reeds, the Jones reeds, don't have a speck of rust on them, I guess if you are near the ocean, you would have more problems, then someone in a dryer climate. I guess you could keep some desicant in the case to keep the moisture down. Looking forward to seeing photos when you progress in your projects. Jon

Adding solder will only allow you to take the pitch lower, so that is not an option. I think I would look at moving the reeds along one position so as to avoid most retuning except C to C# and F to F#. You may have to shim some of the reed shoes it get a good fit, but that is a relatively simple task, and completely reversible. That approach would be fairly quick and would enable you to try the D/G system before making the major investment of time in making new reed tongues. You are right, my bad! My last tuning job was to bring my English concertina to 440, from SA tuning, and that was taking off the belly of the reed. I don't think the higher reeds would take that much tuning. Since I am building new reed pans and action boards, I can just make a board that fits the nw arrangment. The concertina is far from playing condition, I am also rebuilding the action, and the bellows... So it will be a while before I can test it. That makes sense to move the reeds up one. The C# would have be new, as it doesn't have one now. Does anyone have a idea what the key layout would be? I guess the lower row of the 20 key would stay in G, and they upper would start in low D instead of C, then up the D scale? Thanks Jon