varney
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Posts posted by varney
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Great advice from everybody - thank you!
This instrument is going out for sale so really can't go through a process which has it sitting around for weeks. I'm thinking the anti-fungal foot sparay sounds the fastest solution but am wondering if a light misting of that even on the base of the action board will have any detrimental effect on the wood? I can't imagine doing this with the reed pan, but I suspect the chamois in the bellows frame is harbouring the most of this odour so will tackle that first.
Michael.
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I restored an old rosewood Lachenal anglo a few months ago. When it arrived this instrument was in a homemade case and on opening I was hit by an odour like a slap in the face! Somewhere in its past it had been fitted with a really bad homemade bellows which, if I'm not mistaken, looked like it had been construced from old saddle leather. I only say this because the smell was a strong, sharp, sweaty /musty combination which had a hint of horse stable(!)and permeated the entire instrument.
I fitted a new bellows did all the internal work = new pads, valves, bushings etc etc, then finished by french polishing the ends. A new case replaced the vile=smelling old one at which point I thought I'd gotten rid of the odour problem. Not so!
A couple of months later the french polish smell has disappeared, but there's still a noticeable hint of that original stale sweaty smell. When I opened it up I found the reed pan itself carries the odour, as does the interior of the action box. It's also present in the old gasket lining of the bellows frame. Would it be safe to spray that material with something like anti-bacterial Febreeze?
I don't fancy the idea of spraying anything on the reed pan or action box to try and eliminate this smell, but am open to suggestions.
Has anybody experienced a similar problem and how did they overcome it?
Michael.
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Thanks for the very insightful advice folks....All replies had something which was useful and new to me... I'll gird my loins and have a run through those suggestions when I open it up again tomorrow morning.
Geoff - I think I read somewhere that thin 'whippier' reed tongues had better response and/or more volume. I'm not sure why thinner is louder but am willing to learn!
Greg - Valves are something which I'm trying to focus more on and have gotten a range of different thickness leathers to experiment with. Trial and error, but and advice is most welcome. Am I over-simplifying to think 'thicker makes reeds quiter, therfore thinner can improve volume'?
Frank - I didn't think of limiting the pad height - a good suggestion and useful to know.
Michael.
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Hi Greg,
Good to hear from you! I'll try a swap around and see if that makes a difference. If it does, what is that telling me - that this particular 'A' chamber is better sealed or more resonant in some way?
I can easily 'heavy up' the valve like you suggested, but I don't want to impede the playability in any way. Will give it a try and see what happens.
The obvious solution would be to replace the reed with a slightly quieter one, but I'm always reluctant to break up a set - even if it's just by a single reed.
Michael.
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I've been working on a Crabb 38 key metal end which has a nice brash sound, but one note in particular ( the A on the inside row left side )is distinctly louder than pretty much every other reed on that side. The others aren't dull - more the opposite = but this reed is really strong and trumpety and just jumps out a little more.
Any suggestions on how best to tone it down a notch to blend with the rest?
Michael.
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Lovely job, Steve.... how did you actually repair the bolt hole damage in the end?
Michael
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I'm afraid I can only find part 1 of the documentary on their site, and even when I Google it there's no sign of part 2. Do you have a link to the page? Thanks!
Michael
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Thanks Wes, I think I checked it before and reckoned it to be in the early 1890s. A nice instrument all the same.
Michael.
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Thanks... I thought it really good as well. The only problem is when I checked it on the TG4 player I found only part 1 was posted. Were you able to locate part 2? I think they only keep these up on their site for a week, which is a shame as an archive of these kinds of programmes would be wonderful.
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I recall that there was some dispute in various past threads over the accuracy of the dating methods for Lachenal concertinas. I'm not sure where things stand with this at present, so can anybody point me to a listing which is reasonably reliable for dating an anglo numbered 175273?
thanks,
Michael.
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A very nice little documentary of Mrs Crotty was shown on Irish TV station TG4 this evening. The programme was called Cérbh Í, and can be viewed on their player. If you log on to their website at www.tg4.ie and select 'TG4 Player' from the menu you can then pop that programme title into the search box and hopefully view it.
Michael.
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Lovely interview and a fascinating glimpse of the kind of unknown grassroots players who really are the backbone of the tradition.
Intriguing details on how she used goose quills to make springs for the concertina, and I love the way the old lad pronounces reeds 'raids'!!
Thanks Snorre...
Michael.
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Thank you all for that spot on advice.
One problem note was in a corner where the support block is just a tad low, but I'd overlooked this. And the other did have a small gap between pan and frame. Tackled both and now they're all playing to their full potential.
Great to get so many helpful answers -- that's why I love this forum... thanks guys!
michael.
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I've finished a couple of Lachenal anglos recently and am happy overall with the results. However, there are a couple of notes on each which are slightly 'weak' in comparison to the others. It's not easy to describe but generally they don't have the same 'oomph' as the rest! Just noticeably lower in volume and somewhat dullish in sound.
I've checked the reeds are seated properly - neither too tight or too loose - in the slots, swapped valves, cleaned the tongues, tried slightly different settings for the tongues, but in the end they just remain pretty lacklustre.
Any suggestions on what else could be tried, or is it a case that they just need to be swapped out?
Michael.
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Thanks folks,
Dave, you make it sound so easy! How do you drill out the existing bolt holes to take the plugs? Do you take out a section the whole way through or just down below the damaged area? Any tips on how to cut the plug to fit the hole tightly? My woodworking skills are rudimentary so any help most appreciated... especially of the picture format!
thanks,
Michael.
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Hi Steve,
Did you successfully sort out those nasty bolt hole problems? I'd be grateful to hear how it went as I have an instrument with very bad gouges around the bolt holes. Any pictures of your progress?
Thanks,
Michael.
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Yes, it's just as you say, a matter of drawing out a diagram and working them all out, but I'm sure I've seen a diagram already made for this somewhere here...., or am I imagining it?
I also want to make sure that all the accidentals correspond in the same way, or was there any peculiarities to the Bb/F layout in this area..?
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Does anyone have a tuning layout diagram for a Bb/F Lachenal? I'd be grateful to have one..
thanks,
Michael.
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Thanks to Theo and all you others...
I followed the first piece of advice from Joshua after remembering that a friend of mine who lives only 12 miles away used to work for Hohner. Turns out he has a lot of experience with repairing and restoring accordions and showed me how to cut around the embedded reed and carefully lever it out. After raising the reed tongue he softened the wax around the area he removed it from using a low watt soldering iron, then replaced it. Job done! I'm glad I took it round to him as I now feel confident enough to do the same if another similar problem comes in.
We didn't have any spare wax but were able to manage by keeping the pieces we cut out and re-melting. Where can I get hold of a small block of wax in case I need to repeat this job some other time?
Thanks,
Mike.
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Thanks Folks..
Stephen is right insofar as the C sharp on the pull note ( extra left hand button ) is the same note as the C sharp first button on accidental row right side.
However, it's not the only pull C sharp on the box as I've reversed the C sharp / E flat notes on this button ( first in accidental row right side ), and also put in an E flat / C sharp the other way around on the next button same row. This ( along with a low 'A' on pull, fifth button, inside row, left side ) gives a Jeffries tuning which is the setup their concertina teacher is using.
The F on the push of this extra button is indeed in the same octave as the Fsharp on the left hand G row, so I will do as you suggested Stephen and retune it to F sharp.
The other button I may well just follow David's advice and leave as is unless people have a better suggestion?
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I'm restoring a rosewood 32 key Lacenal anglo and am now at the tuning stage. After having tuned the reeds for the main 30 buttons I now come to the two extra buttons on this model - one extra on left side above the top 'G/A' button centre row, the other below the last button ( E/B) on centre row right side.
Currently the notes on these buttons are:
Left side Pull - C sharp
Push - F
Right side: Pull - High D
Push - High C
My question is - do people re-tune / replace these for different notes, or do they just leave them as they are? Obviously it comes down to personal preference etc but I'm curious to know what others do with these extra buttons.
Michael.
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First off just want to say I have never worked on a hybrid isntrument with accordion reeds before - my main work has been on Lachenals....
A lady left me in a morse concertina with a 'button sticking' - low B (i.e. 4th button down, middle row, left side ). Her daughter played away but couldn't make the problem happpen. I had a look inside last night and adjusted the button cross bushing ( which seemed fine anyway ). The only thing I noticed was the spring seemed to have moved very close to the pivot post and under the pin. Just angled this away to emulate all the others. Still couldn't find any problem.
This morning however, when playing it and drawing strongly on the 'B' button I notice the reed is stopping dead under strong pressure, but plays alright under light pressure. I think this must have been the problem they were describing as the 'button sticking'...
From the symptoms I'd be guessing that the reed tongue is set too low, or else the valve is getting sucked into the slot on occasions?
The problem here is that the B reed is on the bottom of the pair of surface mounted accordion reeds. All the reeds have been set into some kind of yellow wax substance ( see picture ) which means they are 'fused' to the action board. Consequently, I can't get at the B reed except by lifting the valve and trying to push the tongue through the little slot. Have no idea how much I'm raising it, if at all.
Took off the button pad to see if I could get a better look but can only see the clamp end of reed. I noticed just now that one of the cross bushing felts from a button is missing and I can't find it inside. I wonder would that have come off at some point and gotten down into the slot for this reed?
How do others sort out this type of problem?
Thanks,,,
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Thanks Jim.......after some fruitless searching around, and a lack of replies here I bit the bullet and drew out the layouts for the anglo reedpans again.
Mike
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Anybody know where there might be some diagrams showing the reedpan layout for a standard Lachenal 30 key anglo? I don't mean the button layout, but diagrams for the radial reedpans showing which chamber contains which note. I have these drawn out at home, but as I'm away travelling for the next couple of weeks I thought somebody here might know where these could be had? Would save me having to draw them out again...
Thanks,
Michael.
Black Chamois / bushing felt
in Instrument Construction & Repair
Posted
Does anyone know where I might get hold of black chamois leather for gaskets? I've seen this material in a few instruments which were restored in recent times and thought it a great idea - especially for any little gaps between bellows frame and ends.
Likewise if anyone knows of a source for black bushing felt I'd be grateful for a pointer. I know Dave Leese sells this but it's just in one size. If someone knows of a supplier ( piano or otherwise ) who might offer varying thicknesses, I'd be much obliged.
Michael.