Broken Inards Of My German Wooden Concertina

[RecceGuy]

An 'old' (about 10yrs) concertina stored in the attic was fould inoperative with rattling of loose parts sounding inside. Opening up a side found that one side of the reed box failed to hold their reeds in place. Appears the glue hardened and failed. The trick will be to re-glue them in their rightful space.

No markings as to where these will go.

I attempted to line up the glue pattern but to no avail. See the pics. Any suggestions or should I just toss it in the rubbish. And if I do attempt to repair, what glue should I use.

 

Thanks -

 

John Kelly

 

Good reed box - failed reed box - German Concertina (6X8inch - leather bellows)- broken away reeds - no damage to them. No pattern or numbering inside or on reeds or their slots.

[Bill N]

More likely wax than glue, which you might be able to remelt with a hot iron once the reeds are back in place. Maybe it got too hot in the attic? Looks like you might at least be able to tell which side of the reed blocks should face out from the adhered wax residue. After that, you should be able to figure out the order of most of them by ranking them in size. You could try sounding them by mouth as well. Don't give up!

[Wolf Molkentin]

Given these reeds are not that expensive it might nevertheless be more appropriate not to blow the reeds but to keep them dry and just pluck them using a piece of paper or thin cardboard.

[JimLucas]

Given these reeds are not that expensive it might nevertheless be more appropriate not to blow the reeds but to keep them dry and just pluck them using a piece of paper or thin cardboard.

 

No need to blow. Just suck from the "under" side (making sure, of course, that you've removed all dust and debris first). That doesn't add moisture.

[RecceGuy]

To: Bill, Jim and the blue eyed sailor

 

THX for prompt reply - so you're thinking it's bees wax??.

Will see if it melts with solder lron (lightly I'd suspect)

It would have helped if the guy/gal building this would have numbered them inside the box.

I am assuming that the orientation is similar to the ones still afixed on the other side.

I have matched a few of the loose ones with the glue (beeswax) breaks and sizing.

Since I have never played a concertina, I'm not sure how those reeds should sound.

 

Thanks again for your thoughts -

I'll let you know my progress.

 

JPK

for the blue eyed sailor -- what's your vessel? I sail a 34 ocean going catamaran.

[Dan Worrall]

Best not to use plain beeswax, as it is too brittle. Try the recipe listed here http://forum.melodeon.net/index.php?topic=7910.0, which is what the accordion makers use (you have accordion reeds in your concertina).

 

While the wax mix is still warm, try to roll it into long thin braids, say 1/16 inches thick or so. Then you can place a rope of it next to the reed frame, and melt it more or less in place with a soldering iron..much easier. Make sure to clean the reed frame and the board thoroughly of any old wax first....bumps of old wax can cause leaks and poor adhesion.

 

And keep it out of the hot attic in the future. This wax is ok to 100F or so, but after that it is all downhill.

 

All of these things were shown to me by the late Harold Herrington. He and most concertina makers screw their reeds in rather than wax them, but he thought that waxing worked just as well....and sometimes better.

 

Your instrument is worth repairing, as those individual reeds are better than the big plates of reeds used in other German and Italian concertinas.

Edited January 28, 2014 by Dan Worrall

[RecceGuy]

Dan -

Thanks for the advice - Yep, I'll keep the ol' gal; although I don't play.

Should be a challege repairing her.

 

A couple of more QZ - why beeswax - couldn't I use a good wood glue (MONSTER) around the edges of the aluminum blocks holding the reeds?

Can I buy beeswax from a hobby shop - may be difficult to locate a bee keeper.

 

John K

[alex_holden]

It's so you can easily remove the reed blocks for maintenance. You can buy blocks of ready-made reed wax, e.g. http://www.hohnershop.com/accordion-reed-wax/

[alex_holden]

Try searching YouTube for "reed waxing" for more info on how to use the wax.

[RecceGuy]

Alex -

Thanks much for the info.

Gawd, there is a blog for everything.

Wish me luck.

 

RecceGuy

[alex_holden]

Good luck! :-)

[Dan Worrall]

Dan -

Thanks for the advice - Yep, I'll keep the ol' gal; although I don't play.

Should be a challege repairing her.

 

A couple of more QZ - why beeswax - couldn't I use a good wood glue (MONSTER) around the edges of the aluminum blocks holding the reeds?

Can I buy beeswax from a hobby shop - may be difficult to locate a bee keeper.

 

John K

Any candle shop should have some beeswax candles for sale. Or try a Catholic church....they use beeswax for candles and may have a few stumps of old candles they could give you. You don't need much.

 

Don't use glue. Someday you may have to replace one of those reeds, or tune it.