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So I seem to be having the opposite problem of most bellows questions on here… I’ve been playing a very nice, all leather bellows concertina (unsure of brand) and over time the leather has stretched and gotten very loose/supple to the point where it’s harder to produce sound. is there a way to treat or condition the leather to get some of it sold firmness back?

One of our dancers is retiring, so he has dug out the 36-button CG Crabb Anglo his mum (*) bought in the 1960s in order to 'join the band'. (The family lived a couple of streets away from the Crabb workshop). It has only been used occasionally in the past 25 yeas, so needs a re-furbish. Questions: 1) will he be able to replace the tooled leather straps (with the Crabb name on them, apparently)? 2) is there anyone in the area of Manchester, or within reasonable distance by public transport, who can service the instrument? He doesn't want to put the thing in the post, and wants to visit 'in person'. From what he says, it needs new straps (see 1 above), opening up and cleaning, reeds checking for corrosion and possible fine-tuning. I don't know what tuning it is in. I can suggest a couple of fettlers who can deal with 2), but just in case I have missed any, perhaps folks could add their suggestions... Thanks. Roger (*) I wish my mum had bought me a Crabb!

After several years' absence, I find myself once again in the concertina world. I've come into possession of a 90 year old Wheatstone model 6 with raised ebony ends. The ends, apart from some light fingernail gouging, are close to pristine. I'd like to keep them that way. For the first 70 plus years of its life the concertina resided in the UK, and then more lately in western Oregon, USA, where it experienced a similar climate. Now I have it in Alaska, which is obviously a harsher world than it has known. (There's a tremendous swing in humidity from summer to winter and back.) I know some flute makers who insist that ebony simply doesn't absorb or lose moisture like other woods, but I have also seen some wooden ended concertinas that where the grill work was pretty busted up. I'd like to avoid that. Does anyone have any advice on caring for the ebony ends? Particularly useful would be anyone living in Norway or northern Scotland, but I'd appreciate any relevant opinion. The grill work seems sooo delicate! Thanks, George Knight Anchorage, Alaska, USA

I'm thinking of purchasing a Dremel multi-tool (or similar), mainly for model-making purposes. For those who don't know (I didn't), it's basically a miniature electric screwdriver/drill, which also comes with lots of other attachments, sanders, cutters, etc... It occurs to me that such a tool might be useful for working on concertinas. Have any of the experienced concertina fettlers out there had any experience (+ve or -ve) of using tools like this for concertina maintenance/repair/restoration? Thank you. Roger

Hello, Following on from the recent discussion about cases and the advice that it is apparently best to store your concertina on its side rather than on its end (something I didn’t know), I was wondering what other advice and tips people had for just general care, maintenance, storage, cleaning of concertinas. Chris

Hello, All: I've had my Ceili for a few months, and it seems that suddenly the bellows have loosened up nicely. What should I be doing to maintain them? Saddle soap? Chamois cloth? As always, thanks for your input. Christine

REASON FOR ATTEMPTING 3D PRINTING OF A CONCERTINA Concertinas are too expensive because of complexity and difficulty of manufacture and repair, etc. So I've decided to start 3D printing parts to create a better kind of 'people's' concertina - it's the start of my Concertina Nova project. It's explorative - 'may take years, but the aims are: - use 3D printing to experimentally revise the form of the concertina for better ergonomics and easier playing, yet still good sound - to 'democratize' the concertina by making it available as a cheap, robust instrument at 'guitar prices' - make them so popular that they'll be seen round every campfire and at every party, in harmony with guitars and voices. ACTION Tomorrow I'm paying a local engineering firm, Absolute TOoling Solutions, to copy- 3D-print the outer ends of my tenor-treble, with - non-conical holes so the buttons won't wiggle - pinholes for ventilation, to reduce the glaring loudness while still allowing air flow. That experiment will cost me $400. It gets me - alternative end pieces for my concertina - CAD drawings I need for future redos (probably using my own 3D printer later) SEE THE CURRENT DRAFT REQUIREMENTS SPECIFICATION OF THE CONCERTINA NOVA https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-4satLcOAKGNnRjNE5SNW03UXc/view?usp=sharing SEE THE 3D PRINTERS AVAILABLE IN NEW ZEALAND I may be buying a 3D printer myself, perhaps the one shown at.. http://diamondage.co.nz/product/moa-3d-printer/ because it can 3D print itself and I might create others to use or sell. Bruce (Tomo) Thomson 20 Lyndhurst St. Chelwood Village, Palmerston North, New Zealand 06 357 7773 021 176 9711 palmytomo@gmail.com