Fixing Squeaky Button?

[lxnx]

One of the buttons on my concertina (30 button Lachenal anglo) squeaks a bit, and now that I've noticed it, is driving me to distraction!

 

I'm not sure what the button is made of, possibly plastic/bone (it's definitely not metal, it's white which has discoloured yellow with age).

 

It seems to be squeaking where it rubs against the wood next to it. If I push the button in while holding it a bit to the left/right/top then it's silent, but in its natural position (or while pushing it in while holding it downwards towards the hand strap), then it squeaks.

 

Any suggestions on a fix for this?

[Stephen Chambers]

The button is probably made of bone, though from late in the 1920s, until they closed in 1933, Lachenal were using buttons made of a casein plastic called erinoid.

 

If when you "push the button in while holding it a bit to the left/right/top then it's silent", then the lever is quite possibly not centred on the hole for the button - so you may need to bend it slightly "to the left/right/top".

[lxnx]

Thanks Stephen, I'll give that a go and see if it helps.

[Geoff Wooff]

Perhaps you have grit in the hole , or the Button ( probably made of Bone) has lost its natural greasiness through age and drying out.

 

You could try turning the button around so's a new face bear's on the squeeky side of the hole or rub a little soap onto the part of the button that comes into contact with the hole.