Jewish Leprechaun Posted February 5, 2010 Share Posted February 5, 2010 So,I made this concertina with my grandfather. Thought all you might like to see a picture of it. It has 10 buttons plus the air. It's in the key of C. Bob Tedrow put on excellent 7 fold bellows. I tried making bellows, but they were a complete flop. The reeds are Antonelli accordion reeds. The levers were made by Concertina Connection. I modified a Lachenal fretwork pattern for the ends, so if the pattern looks somewhat familiar that's why. This wasn't my first attempt at making a concertina. I tried making a 30 button, but that didn't turn out so well, so I cannibalized it for parts and made this one. -Lep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawrence Reeves Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 (edited) Way to go! How many hours do you estimate from first drawings to a finished instrument? Why did you choose C, and how does it play? Edited February 6, 2010 by Lawrence Reeves Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewish Leprechaun Posted February 6, 2010 Author Share Posted February 6, 2010 It's really hard to say how many hours, but I'd venture to guess maybe somewhere between 80-100 hrs. But that's excluding all the time I put into trying to make the 30 button, and I took a lot of measurements and knowledge away from that, not to mention the brass buttons (those were really time consuming). It took me about 2 weeks to build it, not including putting finish on it. I put it in the key of C because... well it was going to be in the key of G but I don't really feel like filing away at any of the reeds for those F sharps. I'm pretty content with it being in C and I figure I'll just leave well enough alone. Let's see, it plays pretty well, better than my Rochelle. The reeds seem more responsive, but it's hard to tell since the bellows move quicker because they're smaller. I'm not sure if that makes any sense as to why the reeds would seem more responsive. I'll be bringing it along to the Tionól in March, so you can try it out and tell me what you think of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael sam wild Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 a nice inspiring tale thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Jowaisas Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 Way to go, Lep!! I'll look forward to seeing and playing your concertina at the tionol. And I hope once you have recovered from this effort you will put all the knowledge and experience you've gained into building another. Like the home renovators say, "Allright, this one was just practice. Now I'm ready to do one for real!" Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewish Leprechaun Posted February 6, 2010 Author Share Posted February 6, 2010 Well I'll have to put some thought into making another one, but sadly for now I'm at college and separated from most of my tools. I actually built this one last summer and have just been waiting on the bellows. For now I'll just have to be content with making plans for another one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Posted February 6, 2010 Share Posted February 6, 2010 It's really hard to say how many hours, but I'd venture to guess maybe somewhere between 80-100 hrs. But that's excluding all the time I put into trying to make the 30 button, and I took a lot of measurements and knowledge away from that, not to mention the brass buttons (those were really time consuming). It took me about 2 weeks to build it, not including putting finish on it. I put it in the key of C because... well it was going to be in the key of G but I don't really feel like filing away at any of the reeds for those F sharps. I'm pretty content with it being in C and I figure I'll just leave well enough alone. Let's see, it plays pretty well, better than my Rochelle. The reeds seem more responsive, but it's hard to tell since the bellows move quicker because they're smaller. I'm not sure if that makes any sense as to why the reeds would seem more responsive. I'll be bringing it along to the Tionól in March, so you can try it out and tell me what you think of it. I would say that as the cross section of the bellows decreases, it should take less time and hand force to develop the interior pressure to make the reeds speak. You'll probably find that you run out of wind a little sooner too, that's the trade-off. Pure mathematics. Nice looking little 'tina you have there, you should be really proud of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewish Leprechaun Posted February 7, 2010 Author Share Posted February 7, 2010 It's really hard to say how many hours, but I'd venture to guess maybe somewhere between 80-100 hrs. But that's excluding all the time I put into trying to make the 30 button, and I took a lot of measurements and knowledge away from that, not to mention the brass buttons (those were really time consuming). It took me about 2 weeks to build it, not including putting finish on it. I put it in the key of C because... well it was going to be in the key of G but I don't really feel like filing away at any of the reeds for those F sharps. I'm pretty content with it being in C and I figure I'll just leave well enough alone. Let's see, it plays pretty well, better than my Rochelle. The reeds seem more responsive, but it's hard to tell since the bellows move quicker because they're smaller. I'm not sure if that makes any sense as to why the reeds would seem more responsive. I'll be bringing it along to the Tionól in March, so you can try it out and tell me what you think of it. I would say that as the cross section of the bellows decreases, it should take less time and hand force to develop the interior pressure to make the reeds speak. You'll probably find that you run out of wind a little sooner too, that's the trade-off. Pure mathematics. Nice looking little 'tina you have there, you should be really proud of it. Thanks for the explanation and compliment and yes the air definitely runs out a lot sooner. -Lep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henrik Müller Posted February 8, 2010 Share Posted February 8, 2010 Cool! I can relate to that, congrats! /Henrik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewish Leprechaun Posted February 8, 2010 Author Share Posted February 8, 2010 Cool! I can relate to that, congrats! /Henrik Yeah thanks for the great website, it was good encouragement and a useful reference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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