Mike Jones

In 1982 I joined Eynsham Morris. Dave Townsend and Ken Sheffield were both musicians for Eynsham then (amongst others) and I was so impressed by their sound, dexterity and abilities I wished to emulate them. Thinking 48 buttons was too many to manage and knowing nothing, I bought a Hohner Anglo (long gone). I have never emulated them but I do enjoy playing and am now branching out and trying to learn Crane Duet. I have tried English concertinas, but found the thumb grip too painful and the left/right nature too confusing. I do possess concertinas of all types now and lend them to people I know who wish to learn. I'm probably one of the obsessives as I have in excess of 30 instruments, most in playing order.

Hi Cohen, SqueezEast members have used the following company in WIsbech to make bespoke flight cases for their concertinas, including double cases and others for EC Bases. Might be worth a phone call. https://5star-cases.com/ Mike

The nearest typeface I can find is Lisong Pro , the seriphs are more like Lachenals than most I looked at, but as Alex Holden points out the numbers are perfectly in line so don't look terribly authentic

I have bought two sets of bellows from the same supplier over the last few years, one set fitted to an Anglo and the other to an English. I very much like the quality but they did take some time to break in and I think they suit the Anglo better, even so I'm very happy with them. The instructions for fitting were good too.

I have a Lachenal 26K rosewood ended Anglo, Number 18878, where the ends are backed by red leather which I believe is original, as the matching number can still be read (faintly) on the left hand side. Its quite thin, less than 1mm and I was told by a friend of mine who was a bookbinder that the finish is like the red morocco he used to use but the finish is of a generally lower quality when compared to the best morocco leathers. In this example of a Lachenal the spacing pillars are indeed backed top and bottom by thin card shims, just as David says. I have too noticed the screw head protruding slightly but also that, possibly due to shrinkage and drying of the rosewood and compaction of the card, that the fretwork is slightly concave, which appears to account for the gap.

Is anyone producing reproduction paper Wheatstone labels, the ones that are usually found in the lids of their boxes? I'm repairing/reinforcing an original Wheatstone box that came with my baritone anglo and the label it has is very worn (unreadable) and mostly missing. Failing that I shall have to ask Mr DIckinson. MIke

Jillity, why not join the West Country Concertina Players? https://thewccp.org/. They can help with tuition and learning and also with sourcing a suitable instrument , even with hiring one so you have the opportunity to try different types Mike

Thanks Doug, mine was 100 years old in April this year, it shows signs of being extensively used and only has 30 buttons, nevertheless I'm having fun getting used to its foibles. I don't have any photos yet. Yours is very handsome and adds to my knowledge of how many Wheatsone Baritones exist by 25%. I notice that yours has paired screws at the corners locating the metal ends whereas mine only has single screw in each corner like most Trebles i've seen.

Thanks Ken, I was discarding the cheap concertinas from Germany from my enquiry precisely for the reason you give, my interest is in the better /best brands because many are still giving good service to many musicians and i find the subject interesting, I'm often looking at the website for "How Many Left" when it comes to classic cars. As you say, Dowright may be able to comment especially for Lachenal concertinas. From the figures he has released about the number of records he has, it would appear that the survival rate is about 0.8% but perhaps we can double that if we consider the numbers of instruments coming to light on auction sites and other places, that go unremarked. My own experience is that of those two dozen or so old instruments that I have purchased only one was too far gone to repair and so became a spares instrument, the remainder live again. but also as you say we really need to know the total of those remaining to give a realistic answer, but dealers, collectors and others may have some idea of those that may still be around e.g. in lofts, store rooms, etc. in addition to those we know of and those that are is use but whose existence have not been registered to anyone with an interest. I am aware of several Lachenal instruments belonging to friends and aquaintances that have not been recorded but are still in use. Perhaps also the subject will raise some additional interest in the preservation and use of our favourite instruments. Mike

Has anyone on this forum done an analysis of the Wheatstone ledgers to estimate the numbers of Anglo (Not English) Baritone and Bass concertinas made by Wheatstone? After 9 years of my searching Chris Algar has found a Baritione for me (thanks Chris), so they must be quite rare. Thanks Mike

Has anyone done any estimates on the survival rates of different makes of concertina? I've not been able to find any references so far. Are there a greater percentage of e.g. Concertinas made by Jefferies still around and being played than , say, Lachenal's or Jones?. Given the extensive research and data collection being done by Dowright it may be possible in the fullness of time to extrapolate from those results for Lachenal's. If anyone has come across any information please will you post the links or get in touch Thanks Mike

Jim, my apologies, Little John noticed what i had failed to do. I read the wrong side of the scales the relative mass of the two types of Crane I cited are 2lbs and 3lbs not Kilos. Mike

My 35b bone buttoned mahogany ended Crane (by Lachenal) has a mass of 2kg and measures 6.25 inches across the flats, the same dimensions as my 30b C/G Anglos and 48b English. My 48b Rosewood ended steel buttoned Crane (also Lachenal) has a mass of 3kg and measures 6.6 inches across the flats, the same dimensions as my G/D Anglos My 48b Rosewood ended bone buttoned Crane (another Lachenal) is slightly lighter (a few grams only) and the same measurement across the flats. As Daniel says, after a while you don't really notice the weight difference when swapping between systems or sizes. I find the 35b Crane slightly more limiting than the Anglos or 48B Cranes but can still play approx 90% of Morris tunes and most other tunes on it without a problem. I'm unable to comment on availability in the US but in the UK i've only seen single figure numbers of each size for sale in the past couple of years and certainly fewer 35K than 48K

Hi Cohen, Pleased to help, best of luck with the project. Mike

Why Not ask Ollie directly, look for OllieKingMusic on the web. I'm unable to connect to his site at the moment. or Olliekingbox on Facebook

Hi Sarah, The music books I buy, mostly pre-used, are usually priced at 50% - 60% of new marked retail, admittedly the ones I look for are mainly Morris related and thus have a limited audience. As they are manly bought through dealers they must have a good mark-up of 100% so they are buying at about 25% of marked retail price. However, the first three books you have up for sale I have been looking for on and off for some time and I would like to purchase them, especially the Rollo Woods one. I'll PM you with an offer as requested. MIke

Hi Sprunghub, I bought 4133(8?), another 35k Crane, last year in poor condition and spent a lot of time getting it up and running again. and it plays very nicely indeed, just as you say, better perhaps then my ex-SA 48k Lachenal that had been professionally restored before I got it. This latter I intend to play as part of the local concertina band SqueezEast Concertinas. I'm keeping my 35k so that I can use it at Concertina workshops for the uninitiated to try as it is so intuitive. Currently its on loan to an Anglo player who wants to diversify and try other systems. I've included the picture of the LHS fretwork so you can see the large split under repair and also that the fretwork is the same? (certainly very similar) as yours. I eventually had to bush the key holes in the ends so the buttons didn't flop around.

Hi Oskar, You will be very welcome to come along to SqueezEast Band day on Sunday 14th June 2020 in Stamford. Our Secretary has just added to booking pages for this year to our website and put the date somewhere here on Concertina.net. We often get 30+ players of all types of instruments, EC Anglo, Duet and a range of sound from Bass to Piccolo in one big band, great fun especially if you have some ability to read music. Even if you don't want to play you can still turn up and meet us (as Steve says, many of us have been in your situation before) and if you do want to play but your Anglo is not ready, let us know and someone will volunteer to lend you an Anglo or another other type of instrument for the day. If you are looking for a professional restorer you can't do better than Dave Elliott who has already responded elsewhere to your initial listing and he's not too far away from you in Sheffield. Mike (Treasurer, SqueezEast Concertinas)

You do appear to have a problem. If it was mine I would try lightly painting on (or using a soaked cotton bud) different solvents on the white areas visible around the interface between the reed pan and pad frame e.g. acetone, white spirit, turps, even water, to see if any of them have any effect. Is there any way of sliding a thin blade between the reed pan and the frame while you are trying to release the glue to act as a lever to separate the sections? Does the glue react to heat? A hair drier may help as well. Another thought is that the glue attaching the chamois seal to the reed pan is likely to be original and thus either water soluble or heat sensitive or both so trying to remove the chamois from the reed pan may be an easier option, especially as the chamois is most likely to be scrap anyway, Again a thin blade may be used judiciously. Cleaning up the bottom of the action board afterwards should be relatively easy once they are separated. For the other reed pan that you cannot yet remove, try soaking it in a humid or solvent enriched atmosphere, e.g. a damp/solvent impregnated cloth in a bag plus the bellows etc., tie a knot in the end and gently warm and leave for a couple of hours or more. With treatment like this the metal parts at least should be unaffected even if the wooden parts do warp slightly, and these latter bits can be carefully dried out and flattened. Hopefully others will have better ideas and options. Anyway best of luck with your endeavours. Mike

I had a similar problem some time ago with a 26k Lachenal. I performed the actions described by Theo and Dave elsewhere and found a couple of pinholes which were patched but without much change. Then I swapped the reed pans with another concertina and the same problem persisted but the "problem"reed pan worked OK in the other 'tina which seemed to indicate that the reed pan was not the issue. Looking at the problem box again I thought one of the corner blocks I had replaced was slightly too high and so carefully trimmed it with a sharp chisel rather than remove it and re-glue. Eventually I got it so the leaks were reduced and a thin piece of chamois from an old gasket glued to the top of the block solved the problem. Whether this was also due to air leaking past the corner of the reed pan in that position too I don't know, but I now have a working 'tina again. Mike

Dave Elliott in Sheffield also does good work and has many restorations under his belt.

Thanks Chris, I did have some table baize that I used to practice bushing some years ago while I was rebuilding an earlier acquisition and It did exactly as you said. I also had some 2mm blue card table baize that is a. too thick and b. does not take to being forced into confined spaces as it pulls apart. DDF : many thanks for the link, even cheaper than CGM. I had found a couple of piano baize suppliers but not that particular one. Mike

Thanks to you all. I shall explore the possibilities. Mike

Can anyone tell we where to obtain bushing felt? GIven that Mark at Concertinas Spares is on holiday and thus unavailable, I need some more bushing felt to bush the buttons of a 35k Crane duet I'm rebuilding. Both ends had bad cracks and the LHS had separated across the key holes. There is enough wood left, now they are repaired, to re-drill and then bush the holes otherwise they would be too large for the bone buttons and I have run out of red woven bushing felt. My local haberdashery was not able to find anyone manufacturing anything suitable and although I can obtain some green woven baize (for snooker tables) it is rather too coarse. Red woven felt is not essential, black or green would also be acceptable. Any ideas anyone?

The Morris side I dance /play for use 1. umbrellas provided the wind is not too strong and we have plenty of volunteers to hold them. ( the fiddlers and melodeonistas are especially anxious that their instruments remain dry too) or 2. plastic ponchos, available cheaply from loads of places such as P**ndl*nd (supply your own vowels) or even hotel concierges at times, these tend to be disposable so if you are anxious about plastic pollution possibly not the best solution, but reusable ones are also available for G* **td**rs and others, they pack small and I keep two in my concertina bag. The Bootle Concertina Band on YouTube are using bags for their concertinas in the linked video. I've not come across anything available commercially so perhaps they commissioned some