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stuck action lever at post


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Hello, all.

 

I received a Wheatstone Crane concertina recently from the U.K. It's a wonderful instrument, however about a week into having it my high C on the treble side is stuck. I opened the action box to check it out.

The pad is not stuck, I unlatched the spring (which seems to be fine) from the lever and noticed that the lever itself is sticking at the post. It was fine when I received it.

I wonder

 

1. What might cause such a thing to happen?

 

2. Any ideas of how to proceed in repairing the action?

 

Best,

 

Eric

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Are symptoms in this thread similar, Eric?

Changes in weather can precipitate such a condition.

 

Thanks for your question-

 

No. It's not a bushings issue.

 

I removed the top of the action box ( so the the button is no longer having any contact with the bushings) I also unlatched the spring.

 

At this point, the lever should be able to move freely, however the mechanism itself of the hinge of the post and the lever is sticky. It seems to be kind of too tight or gummed up or something. My first thought for such a thing would be that it needs oiling or cleaning, but I don't want to do something that would be bad for the instrument.

 

Anyone have experience with such a thing?

Edited by daviseri
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This lever, is it of the very short variety , it being the high C note ? If this is the case then these short levers travel through a greater angle on their pivots than the normal and long levers. This can cause problems with the location spigot on the bottom of the Button which can jamb in its hole due to sideways (angular) forces from the lever.

If, however, this is not the case then I would suggest that either; someone has 'restored' your Crane and in the process felt the need to tighten the 'actions rivets' by squeezing them, which could mean that this one is too tight at each end of its angle of travel or someone has 'oiled' the lever pivots with a lubricant that has dried and become 'gummy' and sticky.

 

In either case you would need to remove the key(button) and try, gently ,to work the lever back and forward through its arc of travel and see if this will 'free' the motion.

 

Because these short levers travel through a greater angle on their pivots there can be more wear occuring and care should be taken with these as they are more finicky than their longer cousins.

 

If you do suspect that someone has 'Oiled' the pivots you could try a tiny drop of alcohol

to free up any gummy residue.

Edited by Geoff Wooff
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Having cleaned the pivot with a solvent such as alcohol (I find aerosol car brake cleaner also works well), I usually scrape a soft pencil lead, and float the resultant graphite dust into the pivot with a drop of methylated spirit. The meths quickly evaporates, leaving an excellent dry lubricant behind. Good luck!

David

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thanks guys :) I appreciate the ideas. I'll speak to the person I bought the concertina from and see if he has ideas regarding its history.

phew! It's so delicate in there, I hate opening it up, but it's good to learn about what to do, because I can see its just something that will need attention from time to time.

 

Great to have a support group.

 

Best,

 

Eric

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