apprenticeOF

While still fairly new to concertinas, I came at the english concertina from a similar angle. My interest was as much in learning how to restore them as in playing. My wife "hit the jackpot" by picking up a Wheatstone Aeola 48k treble at a thrift store, which was in sad shape. I started to restore it, but after learning of its value (and beginning to realize how much I didn't know), I contacted Wim Wakker (Concertina Connection) about it. The advice that he gave me was that if I wanted to learn about restoration etc., I should buy a cheap Lachenal off eBay, and start there. I believe that was excellent advice. I started with a brass reeded one, snd then moved up to a steel reeded one. The Aeola, which Wim partially restored and tuned/voiced, serves as the standard to aim for. I still play the brass reeded one for "moody" tunes, and use the steel reeded one for day to day practice. Neither can compete with the Aeola for sound quality and speed of play. A big difference in situation is that you are a musician, whereas I have no formal musical training and just "mucked about" with guitar and harmonica for fun. So you might want to get your hands on a good restored instrument for playing and then attack the restoration angle with a Lachenal off eBay. Forget the low priced modern instruments, as with your background they would become paper weights in no time. I have no experience with the modern high quality instruments.

Part of this relates to the quality of wood that is generally available. My father was in the sash & door business, plus custom millwork, late 40's through early 1980's. Much of the wood we bought and used was extremely good quality. Most of it was heartwood, the outer layer wood being considered as only good for strapping or pallets. In fact, a sailboat we built had mahagony decks made from the packing crates that window glass came in. As time progressed, the manufacturing techniques had to adapt to a poorer quality of wood. It wasn't even a matter of choice, the high quality wood just plain wasn't available on the market. Designs also had to change to reflect the poorer properties of the wood. This shows up quite vividly in the later manufacture Wheatstone's where we see ends made from what I know as "Phillipine mahogany" - the stuff that used to be made into packing crates. I just refinished the ends on "the cheapest of cheap" Lachenal (brass reeds, 4 fold, bone keys, 1920's) and in my opinion the quality of the mahogany used is miles better than this "Phillipine mahogany". In fact, it is almost as good as some "Santos rosewood" that I paid a steep price for. So I suspect that it wasn't just the sound quality issue, the quality of timber made it an unnecessary expense to finish the back side. Lachenal's were certainly not prone to unnecessary expenses on their bottom end instruments. I'm pretty sure that if the cheapest way to build these low end concertinas involved finishing the reverse, then that's what we would see.

Just finished reading "The Pioneer Years 1895-1914" by Barry Broadfoot. A collection of recollected stories about the homesteaders who came to the Candadian prairies after reading land promoter propaganda - yes if it sounds to good to be true it is, these folks were told they could plant peach orchards in northern Saskatchewan! Anyway, there is a neat little story told by an old timer who formed a dance band that travelled from village to village to make some money (a scarce thing amongst the homesteaders). Three brothers, and a friend. One played banjo, one played concertina, and one played violin. Plus their friend who played saxophone. The addition of a saxophone seems odd, but then the sax player was the only one of these farm boys who could read sheet music. They called themselves "The Night Riders". They would travel by horse drawn sled through the Saskatchewan winters (think -40 C) to play at local dances. They were expected to play from 8 p.m. until 6:00 a.m. for $6 (total pay for the group)and thought that was fair. They played waltz, two-step, foxtrot, and square dance music. Can't think how they integrated the saxophone into some of the dance music, but it must have been an interesting group to hear.

Geoff Interesting note about the reedpan changes. I have Wheatstone 48k treble #22949 (I'm guessing about 1898 vintage) that has some "inserts" in the reedpans. This one has screwed down reeds, so I'm guessing this may be a result of a transition from riveted reeds. Appearance wise, this one is identical to Andy's except that it retains its leather baffles - to which are attached the serial number and maker's labels. Perhaps Andy's was originally fitted with the leather baffles and when someone removed them to brighten the sound, there went the labels. (I like the sound with the baffles in)

Andy, the picture is of a jig I made (just a wedge with laminate surface) and a safety skiver (bought off eBay fairly cheap). Working cross handed, skiving the left side of the strip using my right hand works for me. Might be especially useful for you working at the dining table as will protect the table. Suggest you practice on some scrap material (even strips from a thrift store bargain jacket) before you attack the expensive hide. If you buy a skiving tool like this, buy plenty of blades - sharp blades make it easier.

Theo is right about PVA. I use it for most jobs but have found that using the liquid hide glue for some bellows work is advantageous. The liquid hide glue seems to really make the leather more pliable and thus easier to achieve a neat job for the exposed leather parts. It is somewhat like working with liquid honey though, so I keep a bowl of water and paper towels handy. When making a bellows from scratch I use PVA for the bottom joint as it is less trouble and stronger. Note that my method for making bellows owes a lot to the instructions of Bob Tedrow (Homewood), modified to suit my equipment, and modified in materials to suit English 'tinas. Bob's instructions call for PVA in the bottom joint and hide glue for gussets etc. My thanks to Bob for his willingness to share expertise. Note: liquid hide glue can be a skin irritant (doesn't bother mine) so the use of disposable vinyl glove is recommended. The only other adhesive I use is Elmer's School Glue, for bellows papers and Chamois gasket work, as recommended in Dave's book.

You might try "Liquid Hide Wood Glue". I am quite happy with the results I get using this product from Titebond. It's still hide glue, but without the smell, heating pot etc. I use it primarily on bellows, and seems to be standing up very well.

I have successfully done this using chamois sold for car washing purposes. Picking one one out looks a reasonable thickness. Take careful note if the pan seems a little loose and plan to shim with extra thickness under the new gasket face (not over). The glue I used was "Elmer's School Glue", the washable gel type. You really only need to hold the gasket in place, and a light duty adhesive like this means you can reverse relatively easily if a mistake is made. When you have removed the old gasket (which includes carefully scraping off the bulk of the old glue), check the bolt mounting plates. Now is the time to do any work on those, the screws can be loose (don't overtighten). Any rust bumps etc will mess up your gasket job. Cut strips slightly wider than you will need, make a partly mitered cut on one end, and start the gluing process from a corner. Glue the edge only (roughly 1/4" edge of the bellows frame) in short sections and work the chamois strip around, extra care to get the corners (120 deg) nicely done. Not too much glue as you don't want to harden the chamois. When this is done, you can start marking and triming the corners as necessary to bring the chamois down into the frame. I use a strip of wood cut to fit into the frame to set on top of the blocks so that I can mark and trim the bottom edge. Once trimmed, the face is then lightly glued in, making sure the corners will provide a good seal. Best to mark and trim one section at a time as the chamois tends to stretch a bit. Don't forget to put in any shim sections, if required, before you glue the faces down.

I have found that Wera slot screwdrivers .5 x 3.0 mm and .6 x 3.5 mm do the job nicely. They have comfortable handles and ends that don't deform. I got mine from a specialist tool shop, and assume you will find several in your area. If not, I see sets available through eBay that contain these sizes.

As I said in another thread, I made the mistake of buying one of these low cost boxes. Big, heavy, very stiff bellows, buttons that stick, unresponsive. Decent sound, but NOT enjoyable to play. The cheapest "student" Lachenal with brass reeds will put it to shame. In my opinion better off to save your money until a playable Lachenal or other English made vintage comes available/affordable.

I have an Excaliber English. I find its playability to be poor. The bellows are extremely stiff. The buttons like to jam (first jam happened the day it arrived). The overall action is slow. The reeds seem ok, but it is very hard to get any nuance out of them. It's no fun to play. The construction is marginal, e.g. the end "bolts" are just phillips head wood screws - which won't last as the button jamming issues will require regular removal. The vendor noted shipped it 3 weeks late, and then the model that arrived wasn't what was ordered. By comparison, I find a Lachenal "student" model with brass reeds (which many will pan as being a poor instrument) is way more playable, and despite its limitations is much more fun to play. A Lachenal with steel reeds is light years better than the Excalibur. The Excalibur sits in the corner and gathers dust. Once I got the Lachenals up and playable, I just didn't want to pick it up. The anglos may be different? ? ? ?

My own persistent advice to those designing/building cases, derived from two near-disastrous incidents in the distant past: If it opens like a clamshell (top section hinged to bottom section), do not have a handle attached to the top section for carrying it. With such a design, if the latch holding the case closed should fail, the bottom section will swing down and the concertina can slide/roll/fall out. Dropping from a height somewhere between your waist and knees is likely to cause damage, even if the concertina falls onto the grass. Instead, a strap attached to opposite ends of the lower section of the case -- and placed so that the case is balanced, not tilted toward the side that opens -- will insure that even if the latch fails, the orientation of the case won't change and the instrument won't tumble out. Those incidents I mentioned? I was walking along at a folk festival when I felt the case holding my precious treble Aeola English fall open. Before I could even become consciously aware of what was happening (sometimes, it seems, it pays to be "thoughtless"), my knees bent, lowering the case to the ground, where the concertina rolled out onto (luckily) soft grass. I was standing on a concrete train platform, holding the case containing my 80-button Maccann duet, when I felt the "lid" fall open. On that case the handle is on the "bottom" section, but on the "front". So relative to its orientation as I was holding it, what opened was on one "side". But the "lid" was hinged so that it swung downward, and its weight and momentum caused the entire case to tip, angling the opening downward. Disaster was averted because the size and inertia of the instrument made its exit from the case slow enough that I caught it halfway out. Since then, I always carry that and all similar cases with the "lid" side next to my thigh, so that if the latch fails, my leg will stop the case from opening. The strap (and nowhere a handle affixed to only one side) on the case Steve Dickinson made for my treble Aeola is both convenient and extremely secure. When buckled, I can carry the case just as conveniently as with a handle on top, yet even if the top is unlatched the strap prevents it from opening enough to let the concertina out. I have to unbuckle the strap (easy enough) to remove the concertina. And the attachments for the two ends of the hand strap are metal rings, to which I've attached a shoulder strap "stolen" from an obsolete computer bag. Thanks for the advice. I think what I will do with these two is add a pair of snaps/leather straps that will connect at the sides when transporting. That should avoid any disaters should the latch or hinges fail. I plan to make better ones and will bear your comments in mind. I have already been thinking about better handles and now will think about shoulder strap attachments. I couldn't find anyone in this area that was proficient in french polishing (my concertina needs finish repairs), so these were in part a practice project for french polishing. Now I have a good reason to make more, and hopefully my french polishing skills will have improved to the point where I can trust myself to do the 'tina. Thanks again for the advice.

Here's an attempt at a different type of case. Prototypes, but with improvements... Ooops, picture didn't come through

Why do you say congratulations on the “Solomon” ---where does the name Solomon for this concertina originate from. I am really happy to hear you say positive thing about it ….and I am looking forward to getting it. I think I have caught the “disease” early as in addition to the treble I wanted a baritone as I liked the richness of the sound. After much searching, as I was not able to afford a vintage at this point (I am sure I will sometime down the road), I purchase a new Stagi Baritone from the Button Box here in the United States. They do a complete check and tuning etc.and from what I have read from others takes care of some of the problems seen with the Stagi. So I am set and now just awaiting them may decide to increase my folds on the Solomon as you referred to her. Honestly, I am not sure if the Lachneal is a brass or steel reed and I am sort of assuming the Stagi Baritone will be steel….but hey like I said I do not know for sure. Thank you for your time and advice…I look forward to hearing more from you …and will bet “The Concertina Maintenance Manual” "Solomon" comes from the label. H. Solomon & Co. were among the many dealers who rebadged concertinas from others for sale. At least they were a little more honest than "Thomas Dawkins Manufacturer" - which is how mine was labeled (underneath that label was a Lachenal label). It is an interesting little bit of the history of these instruments. Sorry if it threw you off, but it just seems natural to me to give an instrument you like a nickname, I refer to mine as "The Dawkins". (eccentric?) I would suggest that you don't automatically replace the bellows. I only replaced mine as they crumbled to dust when I tried to repair them. Yours appear to be in better condition, and could be repairable. If they are repairable, then in my opinion it would be preferable to keep the instrument as original as possible, especially when considering it is 150 years old. As I noted before an expert player would likely not get as much benefit from the additional air. Plus in my case the reeds and shoes were badly corroded (green with significant salt deposits) and I did my own reed work which may or may not have an impact on the responsiveness (it isn't bad, but I plan to revisit next winter). So you may wish to wait on the bellows decision until you have played it for a while.

Congratulations on the Solomon. I have a somewhat later one (sold by Dawkins) with wood baffles and brass reeds (most likely in yours). Opinions about concertinas vary by skill levels and tastes, but I really like this type of concertina despite its limitations/advantages. Bear in mind I am fairly new to concertinas. These have a quiet mellow sound that I find is really nice for moody/bluesy songs (500 miles, Amazing Grace, Over the Rainbow etc.). The quiet sound is also nice for practice when you prefer not to disturb the neighbors. Faster music can be played on this type (although with comparable difficulty) but I find for faster/brighter tunes that a steel reeded instrument is more responsive/much brighter. Even though I caught "the disease" and have other concertinas to play (beware the disease) I still play the "Dawkins" the most. The bellows on mine fell apart and I built a 6 fold bellows. I don't recommend building your own bellows. Anyway, it does benefit from the additional air available from a 6 fold bellows - especially for a new player like me (I'm sure the expert players could happily play a 4 fold). David Leese sells them at a reasonable price. If you want to get another concertina - be sure to get a steel reeded one (assuming yours is brass reeds). I bought one with accordion reeds and for me, that was a mistake. It gathers dust (and loses value) in the corner while I play the brass reed Dawkins and a later Lachenal steel reed. Both needed repair when I purchased them - be patient and wait for repairs on a vintage (I know - it's hard). The vintage instruments DO hold their value (if looked after and PROPERLY). Thus you don't need or necessarily want a top flite instrument, a Lachenal is good starting point. I find that my wife's Wheatstone Aeola (repaired/tuned/voiced by Concertina Connection) tends to overpower my limited skills. The steel reeded Lachenal I play is, however not a base model - it has bushed keys (that does make a difference). Bear in mind that repairs can be expensive, so even though they go for more money you might want to hold out until a restored one is in your price range. Having a steel reed plus the Solomon will give you options to explore and if you stick to vintage you can change your mind. By the way, I find David Elliott's "The Concertina Maintenance Manual" to be a good purchase. It has been very useful and kept me out of trouble.

I imagine there are lots of methods for hand skiving, and your tip looks interesting. When doing edges I use a commercially available "safety skiver" (eBay) and a jig surfaced with laminate. I had poor results on flat surfaces, so this jig angles the work toward me, and works well for me. The jig is very simply a wedge that improves my view of the work. It is 6 inches x 16 inches and tapers from 4 inches high to 3/4 inch high. I work cross-handed, stretching the strip with my left hand and skiving the left side of the strip using my right hand. Don't know why, but if I work on the right hand side of the strip, the results are poor. The picture shows the safety skiver, a package of blades, and the jig. I generally find a blade is good for about 2/3 of a bellows. One day I'll make a jig and strop the old blades back to razor edge, but they're not expensive... It also works well for gussets. I tried the heavier type of "safety skiver", but found it too cumbersome. Yes, I also would love to have a scharf-fix, but it's too pricey for a hobbyist.

I was checking serial number 18747, which was an EC part of a batch of "2nd class".

The bellows will loosen up as you play it. I made a new bellows for my Lachenal EC (6F) - partly because I wanted to maintain the original green, and partly because I'm a bit OCD. Anyway, thought I was going to have to give in and buy a bellows as it was so stiff. After playing it for about 3 months it is OK now, and should be fine in another 3 months. It helps a lot if you follow Dave Elliot's suggestion that it has to be stored tight. I use his suggested "temporary" of binding it closed with some rubber bands - as I haven't completed the new box yet.

I noted in the ledgers the designation 2nd class, and applied to a batch of concertinas. Could someone explain what this implies. Thanks.

In western Canada I find I have to do the "you know ... a sailor's squeezebox".

The thread of this discussion seems to have moved into a larger discussion that's common to many fields of endeavour. The modern era tends to bias heavily toward academic credentials, whereas in previous generations "experience" had the upper hand. Both have to be leavened with talent. In fact, either perspective is just the same thing. Academic training does, however, distill experience and shorten the time frame to better outcomes. It does not mean instant results. Experience is still required. Neither approach will have the desired results without talent and diligence. Practically, however, I can understand where Wim is coming from. How many of us can afford to pay a skilled craftsman for the countless hours to build an instrument purely from scratch? (How does that craftsman support himself while gaining the experience?) The application of modern techniques is required to achieve reasonable volumes and costs of output. That is where the academic training comes in, as it allows the transfer of experience into a format that can be applied to modern CNC equipment, available materials, etc. The experience and talent have to be applied in a "sense of critical details". Of course you don't have to have all three. A talented and experienced individual can team up with one who is academically trained, or any other combination. This is fundamental to many business endeavours. If one is doing something as a hobby, then it becomes a different matter.

Gaaah! Finally found the problem. Because of the corrosion problems with this concertina I started with about a dozen buzzing reeds. All of them were caused by various shoe and pan issues. So naturally this last one I assumed that the issue was the same. The old saying about when you assume... We had selected this instrument apecifically because it had the spruce baffles and brass reeds. Our steel reed concertinas make my wife's ears buzz. Anyway, like everything else on this concertina the spruce baffles were warped and the felt pads that support it had been eaten by bugs. When I replaced the felt pads I used some felt I had on hand. On what seems like my fiftieth attempt to fix this buzzing reed, I noticed that if I didn't fully depress the key - the buzzing stopped. I suspect that I put extra pressure on the key on the pull and was levering just enough against the baffle to spring the hook and loop slightly - which then buzzed in sympathy with the reed. The metallic sound was just like a buzzing reed. A thicker felt washer on the baffle and an extra button washer - eh voila! No more buzzing. By the way, this instrument does NOT make my wife's ears buzz and she is happily playing away. Thanks for your help folks.

Does yours have a number stamped on it? Mine is on the outside edge of the rosewood end on the right side. Its very faint and difficult to see unless looking for it. In my case the number stamped on the spruce baffle, which is a part you don't have, and on the reed pans. What makes mine very similar to yours is the action, with the stamped hook part that has a tongue that goes into the pan, plus the other details of pads, buttons etc. It can be very difficult to pin down exact details/dates as there was a lot contract work done by the same people for different manufacturers in this time frame. And a lot of what we might call false advertising - the label on mine clearly stated "Thomas Dawkins - MANUFACTURER", but when I was cleaning it that label fell off, and underneath was a Louis Lachenal label. From what I've read (and I'm no expert) this was common practice with several sellers, Metzler & Co. is another that I know did this. I'm not sure - but I'll bet they did it with other actual makers concertinas as well. If you haven't already, there is some interesting reading at concertina.com

I removed some material from the slot but am reluctant to take much off. No change. The reed "pings" nicely. I also tried shimming the reed back in its slot about .015" to check if it was hitting the curve in the slot. No luck. Visually, it does not appear that the reed can hit the slot, although it was tight to one side. This reed pan was badly warped (it had been left for years with only a couple of support blocks) and the shoe had been badly corroded (to the point of white zinc salt deposits). The reed pan has also shrunk a fair bit, I had to shim about .030" under the new gasket I installed - but the shims are on the opposing side. I'm going to check the flatness of the slot, and also the straightness. I've had this apart so many times I'm worried about wearing out the end bolt threads! Any other thoughts?

The A pull reed on my brass reed Lachenal English buzzes. I went through everything I could think of: cleaned, checked clearances(in and out of the slot about 10 times), checked for loose screws, put paper shims in the slot (tried 1 at the tip, 1 at the base, and 1 at both), put a little plasticene on the adjacent pan support block both to check for clearance and to dampen, held the pan up to the light with the valve back and gently pushed down to check clearance on the pan slot, retuned and checked for burrs. Replaced the valve - even though it was new. I was left with the thought that the reed must be toast, and was about to send it off for replacement. I then swapped the A reed into the Ab slot and vice versa. The A reed doesn't buzz in the Ab slot, but the Ab reed now buzzes in the A slot. The fit seems nice and tight. Any thoughts as to what I'm missing?