Jewish Leprechaun

If I can hold the end with my thumb and pinky, I will not need palm rests and strap. When I use hand straps, I imagine it will be more comfortable with palm rests. I think it is also related with button rayout. According to the photo, air button of the Tedrow mini can be played with index/middle/ring finger, Norman is not. Cheers, -- Taka Thanks, that sounds good and logical to me. -Lep

Sorry if there's some confusion about handles, I'm talking about the palm rests

Personal opinion/ practicality. Should miniature concertinas(4.5in or less across the flats) have handles? I've seen some with handles and without, for example Tedrow's minis don't have handles, while A. C. Norman's do. -Lep

As far as a cheaper concertina goes, you get what you pay for. If you're worried about a the concertina eventually collecting dust, buy a cheaper one and upgrade to a nicer one later on when you're sure it won't collect dust. If you end up not liking the concertina then you haven't lost much. I'm still playing a Rochelle, which is somewhere in the $300 price range. It works, it's gotten me to love the instrument, but naturally it isn't anything like a Suttner (my dream instrument ), or a Carroll (An easy substitute for my dream instrument ) (You can check these makers out on the buyer's guide), or any of the nicer instruments above a $1000. Hope this helps, Lep

Hmmm, doorstep you say. Ok, thanks.

Thanks, those are the kinds of ideas I was hoping to get. -Lep

I really like the song the Irish Rover, but since the melody is sung what would be the best way to play along with the song? This is the sheet music for the song. http://www.8notes.com/scores/5024.asp?ftype=gif I'm looking for any suggestions or techniques that I might be able to apply to other songs like this too. Thanks, Lep

I'm trying to successfully make bellows. Now, I have skived leather (0.025in or 0.5mm thick) . Is it necessary to skive further for the gussets and other parts or can I go ahead and just glue at this thickness? -Lep

I guess that that is the reason I was having so much trouble, I wasn't supposed to move my pinky. Oh, you're right, Paul, this is Mark.

Yep, I tried doing as Paul suggested, using the low G as a drone. I still haven't gotten it. I have a hard time keeping the melody going while moving my pinky back and forth between the push G and the pull G.

Ok, I think I understand how it works now. Thanks for all the help.

Gum Arabic will glue it in, as for the rest it's about time you invested in a copy of Dave Elliott's book and all will be revealed. ...or follow the thread "HOW I DID IT" which shows in detailed pictures how the bushings are done. What's not in the book, and which I learned when I had felt bushings retrofitted into my first concertina, is that they sometimes need "ironing", if they are stiff around the buttons. You do this with a metal rod a bit smaller than the hole, which you heat up on the cooker, and then manage with some object that you can hold it securely with, like a mole wrench. I used the "wrong end" of a drill bit, a convenient source of metal rods in variable diameters. It retains its heat long enough to do about 5 or 10 dozen bushings. Probably a soldering iron would be too hot. I describe glueing & burnishing the bushes into their shape and to achieve clearance. I do occaisionally 'iron' the bushes, but only as a last resort. Because with hot ironing it is so easy to ruin the work, I did not include the technique in the book. If the felt strips are sized correctly, and the key hole is properly prepared, ironing should not really be needed. Dave E Does this mean that you don't even glue them in?

I saw Bob doing the ironing with his bushings in his "How I Did It" What I don't understand is do you also need to glue the felt in and iron it or will ironing hold it in?

I'm trying to figure out how to put felt bushings around the buttons. What is the traditional way or just a good way to do it? My big problem is how to get the felt to stick to the wood.

Well, I'm trying to make my own concertina and I was trying to decide how low the buttons should get when they're pushed in.

Thanks for the tips, those formulas are exactly what I was looking for. -Lep

To most this survey probably seems random and pointless, but to me it's very important. I'd like everybody to lift up their concertina and push any button down that you wish, but you need to push the button all the way down. Now here's what I need. How much of the button sticks up still? 1mm, 2 mm, 1/16in, 1/32in, more or less or possibly none at all. The more exact you can bee the better, but eyeballing it would be great too. Thanks, Lep

Ok, so I'm still working on making that concertina. I'm stuck on trying to figure out where the pivot points need to go for the levers. I know I need to get the pads to move around 5mm while the buttons move somewhere between 3-4mm. Right now I have the pivot points centered so that both the buttons and the pads move around 3-4mm. I know I need to move the pivot point closer to the button, and I know that I need to move the pivot point a different distance for every lever, since each lever is a different length. Any suggestions? (Some complicated mathematical equation would be good, a simple mathematical equation would be better ) -Lep

Thanks for all the great tune suggestions!

Thanks, Larry.

Thanks, Steve, but I can't find what I'm supposed to be finding at the website, do I need to click to a link or a different part of the site.

I'm looking for simple tunes that are more or less commonly played in sessions. By simple I'm thinking of more tunes like the Armagh Polka (Ryan's Polka). Any tune suggestions would be welcomed and places where I can find the sheet music and/or a recording of the song would be even more welcomed. Thanks, Lep

Thanks for the tips. I was going about the whole thing the wrong way. Though, I've got an idea of what I need to do now... I think.

I'm trying to put some levers together for my concertina. What does everybody use to rivet levers? What size (thickness) are they? And most important where can I get the rivets and a riveting tool for them? Thanks, Lep

This is going to be my first time going. In fact, it will be my first time actually meeting anybody else that plays the concertina . By the way, what's needed for the classes, that is besides the instrument and yourself?