Reed making photos

[hjcjones]

The thread about Jeffries reeds, and in particular Greg's link to Geoff Crabb's article about reed-making, has prompted me to finally get around to uploading some photos of Geoff's reed-making demonstration at Bradfield in 2006. They can be seen on my Flickr site

 

A number of the pictures show the special jigs for filing the reed frames, clamped into a vice.

[Greg Jowaisas]

So cool! Thank you.

 

Greg

[varney]

Really interesting to see - wish I could have been there...

 

Any chance you might give a brief description of what is being done in each of the photos? I'll understand if it's too much trouble...

 

Thanks,

Mike

[hjcjones]

After talking about the number of parts in a concertina (3 or 4 thousand, all made by hand), Geoff showed how he made a reed frame, using specially-made jigs held in a vice to file them to shape. He emphasised the importance of having the right tools - sharp files, and the special jigs (made by Crabbs themselves). He then cut a reed (longer than the slot) and used the long "tail" to adjust it before cutting off the tail. He tuned it by "pinging" it to hear the note and comparing it with a small electronic keyboard (visible in some of the pictures). He showed how a reed would be fitted to the tuning bellows to be fine-tuned against another reed from a special set kept for the purpose. Finally, he showed how to make springs using a winder, again specially made for the job.

 

I have added comments to some of the photos, where I know (or think I do!) what he's doing. If you click on "show info" in the Flickr slideshow these are displayed.

 

As with all Geoff's talks about concertinas, it was fascinating. Of course, like all highly-skilled craftsmen he made it look easy.

[varney]

Thanks, Howard,

 

Really appreciate the additional info. Would it be okay to ask some further questions?

 

What metal were the reed frames cut from? Aluminium? How did Geoff cut a slot in the frame to take the reed tongue?

 

Thank you,

Mike

[hjcjones]

This was a few years ago so my memory is sketchy. The reed frames in my own Crabb are aluminium so this may well have been what he used.

 

Geoff is a member of this forum so I suggest you contact him direct if you want detailed information.