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Hi All, In response to this post I was asked if I would make a vegan concertina as a first instrument for someone. So, almost two years later here it is. It uses some old Italian reeds from a 30s accordion, retuned to concertina tuning, which was not actually as difficult as I thought it would be. I have Nigel Sture to thank for this suggestion, and it is a vast improvement on the little German reeds I used previously. I might graduate to new handmade reeds eventually, but at the equivalent of about a tenner for the set you can't really argue with the odd one that might have seen better days. It's more responsive and nicer to play than a Stagi starter, and much louder than my 40s Crabb, which was verified at a session last week where I sat between a whistle and a castagnari! The previous one was vegetarian, but only due to the wool felt and beeswax finish, which were easily substituted. The bellows fabric here is also different, I used a synthetic chamois as an experiment, which has made for very strong bellows and a good finish, but not quite as supple as the latex impregnated cloth used previously. Still it's good to have a non-latex alternative for those with that allergy. The wood is holm oak which I have stained slightly darker, the internals are sycamore, a good uk alternative to maple for a nice bright sound. Fretwork design is my own, based on the wych elm leaf (I have some wych elm ones in the pipeline). As always, thanks Bob for sharing with me and many others your exquisite skills and insight. First video here, hope to do some better ones soon: https://youtu.be/UIRHSFvjDwQmore photos here: http://pistachiodreamer.tumblr.com