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I haven't been here for a while but have an urge to start a project I've been thinking about. I have several cheap concertinas, including a cheap, common, Stagi/Bastari 20 button Anglo that had the average sticking buttons problem when I bought it off of E-bay. I've been wondering if I could do anything to improve the design and the way that it plays. I have access to a very nice wood shop and have done some woodworking in my spare time, including some woodcarving. I also have access to a jewelry shop where I work with and cast metal and I have plenty of jewelry files, saws, and shaping equipment. Last, but not least, I have access to a nice CNC laser and I've already drawn up a computer drawing for an alternate cover for the 20 button. I'm thinking my first step at learning about concertina work should be replacing the plywood covers with some nice hardwood. Maybe maple or walnut. Cherry if I can find a big enough piece in the scrap bin. Does anyone have any suggestions? Incidently, when I first started coming here I was at first overjoyed to find that I lived near Mr. Herrington in Rowlett, TX, but then saddened to find he had passed away a few months before my first visit to this site. He sounds like a great guy and I would have loved to have met him. Terrence in Terrell, TX

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