LeadFingersErnie

Looks like a gem of a box. Have you any idea how much your friend would like to be paid for it?

Is the attached picture any use to you?

I'm in the market for some of that folks! I might even try some origination on the websites mentioned above.

Thanks for all those useful replies chaps. I measured the screws from the box on which I am currently working. The long screws from the thumb straps are 1 1/16" by 1/16", the slightly shorter screw from the finger rest is 15/16" by 1/16". The little screws that secure the rests and straps to the fretwork end are 1/2" by 1/16". Because I have no carpentry training, I do not underatand the dimensions that "No. 1" or "No.2" refer to. Can anybody help there please?

As arepairer/restorer I frequently need to replace the screws that go through thumb straps and finger rests. These are not something you can buy at B & Q. Does anybody know where I ger a few dozen to keep me going?

Why is it, fellow repairers, that almost everry time somebody brings me a box that needs one or more buttons replaced, I haven't got one that exactly matches? Does anybody else have this problem? Anyway, I have a need for a steel button for an early 20th Century Wheatstone English, and would glady part with a few shiilings if anybody has one that they could send me. A picture with dimensions in mm is attached.

Adding to what David has said immediately above, I know that Steve Dickinson uses a tapered reamer to get the felt to fit. Somewhere like Toolstation is a good place to start looking.

Heigh ho, I'll keep looking!

I am looking for a Lachenal Edeophone tenor/treble English concertina. Has anybody out there got one for sale? Sadly, it needs to be in Europe, as UK customs duty would add 20% to the price.

Hi Patrick, Did you sell that Edeophone of which you spoke? I am after a tenor/treble Edeophone, so please contact me if it is still for sale. Regards, LeadfingersErnie

Hi Patrick, I am looking for an Edeophone. Is it still for sale? Btw, I tried your email above and it bounced back. Regards, Ernie

Thanks folks for some good tips. The Youtube clip was particualrly interesting. She used pliers I see, so maybe the pins I am using are not sharp enough or the wood too hard. I like the gadget from Axminster. Thanks for that Jake.

Has anybody got any hints or tips for fitting valve pins? Getting what is, in effect, a small nail into the wood along the side of a valve chamber has defeated me. Daren't use a hammer, can't get the end of a pair of pliers into the space. Help!!!

Welcome Mattew to a really good and friendly community. I join with the others in recommending Dave Elliott's book. I would discourage anybody from "interfering" with reeds until you have got the action absolutely right. Altering anything, including replacing the valves, because of the structure of the internal accoustics. Finally, glue? I use Evo-Stick Resin W for valves amd pads. Really good. Best of luck, Ernie

I was playing in a pub session the other night, and a member of the public came up and asked me why concertinas are hexagonal. A very good question, and none of the other musicians could answer it either. Yes, I know that some are octagonal, but why not round or square? The only possible answer I could give is that if you are playing on a ship, it stopes the thing rolling away.

All good stuff folks, but can anyone be specific about what brand of glue to use for applying the decorative bellows papers? I know it has to be water-based and water-soluble, so that some poor soul can remove then in 100 years time, but what do I actually buy?

I have been asked to restore a Rock Chidley English Concertina that is in very poor condition. Nothing unusual there, but when I undid the screws on one end the action did not lift off as you would expect it to. So I started gently leavering, and found that the reed pan was coming out with it. On finally extracting the whole I saw the arrangement shown in the attached photo. Somebody had screwed the reed pan to the bottom of the action board. Has anybody ever seen such a thing? Why would anybody do this? Amazing what people do. Perhaps we should start the NSPCC, i.e. the National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Concertinas! By the way, no serial number was visible anywhere on the instrument, only the "Rock Chidley" stamp on the action boards. Did he often make them with no serial number?

Thsnk you for sharing this with us. Absolutely great material. btw the Dropbox download worked a treat! LeadFingersErnie

Thanks everybody. I see the wisdom in going for accordion/melodeon reeds. Same principle after all, and it would be too painful to muck up a genuine concertina reed!

I want to learn how to tune concertina reeds. I would not dare start on reeds from a "good" instrument. Does anybody (in the UK) know where I can get my hands on a few old reeds so that I can make mistakes?

Fascinating! Thank you so much Geoffrey for sharing this info with us all.

Here's a topic for discussion folks: How does the presence or absence of a makers' badge on a concertina affect its value. Those of us who take them apart can tell by the works (and internal labels) who made the beast, but what about the rest of the world?

Sorry to be the bearer of bad new folks. Our friend Ralph passed on to the great music session in the sky this morning. One of the best concertina players on the planet, and a damn fine sound engineer as well. Kind of leaves a gap in all our lives. Ernie Warner, aka LeadFingersErnie Reading back, I see that someone got there first. Sorry to repeat.

Thank you Inventor. Being relatively new to this site, I did not know Chris Algar's nom-de-plume!

As Stephen Chambers said below, I have confirmed with other sources that Cramer was a musical instrument dealer who badged both Wheatstone and Lachenal concertinas, mid-19th Century. The box is on eBay, and the seller is in Cheshire, Could well be Chris Algar being anonymous! As a restoration project it might be interesting, but only to keep as another ancient concertina in my collection. If I sold it after "resurrection", I might get my money back but can;t see it being worth a fortune; - after all, it isn't a Jeffries or an Aeola!