Over Hauling My Concertina/rebuild Maybe?

[Jay-Jay]

After I bought my Suttner concertina, I have a mohagny ended Crabb, it's a fabulous concertina and I hold it very dear, but I don't play it now that I have a Suttner, I have a couple of options one is to sell it on and the other is rebuilding/over-hauling

 

What if I wanted to over-haul the entire concertina, change ends to say ebony/? Replace levers, add in brass posts to make it play alot faster, replace the bone buttons with metal ones. I know it could be expensive, but my question is also at what point, does my Crabb become not a Crabb anymore and something else entirely because of all the changes with exceptions of the reeds?

 

And how much would all these changes cost, I will post pictures up later, if it helps determine a price,

 

I basically want to get my Crabb to a point that it could be a concertina that would be as fast/responsive as my Suttner.

Edited May 19, 2016 by Jay-Jay

[Laitch]

. . . my question is also at what point, does my Crabb become not a Crabb anymore and something else entirely because of all the changes with exceptions of the reeds?

 

It's something other than a Crabb after you make all those changes. If it were mine, I'd sell it to someone who would appreciate it for what it is; someone like that will show up when you post it for sale.

[Chris Ghent]

The speed of it is more likely related to the reeds than anything else.

[David Hornett]

You could put a lot of energy, time and, if not doing it yourself, money into it and still play the Sutler, or the revamped Crabb, unless it is in a different key.

 

The reeds on those old Crabs are something special, (I think Jefferies discovered that) and in a wooden body, very special. Regarding pivot posts, my 1880's something Crabb has riveted post anyway, metal buttons will add to the weight and, as you say will need new face plates, 'cause they are smaller -- and the bellows possibly will need some loving, or replacing too? All you will have left really is the reeds and reed plate and frames, and as Chris has pointed out, speed is most likely related to the reeds anyway, so I suggest leave it and love it as something which is not a Suttner, or let someone else do the loving for you.

 

David.

[OLDNICKILBY]

If it is not broken do not fix it. You will not improve on the Masters work and skill

[Dana Johnson]

Leaks can slow down an otherwise good set of reeds, as can raised valves, or poor reed pan support, or broken end bolts. It is often amazing what a difference any of these things can make. Just about everything else you mentioned is cosmetic or not related to the speed of the instrument. Back around '95 the button box had an old lachenal ( I believe it was, perhaps a lower end Wheatstone ) that had a nice but dull sound. It was sluggish to play and was in for some repair or other. The only real problem in that instrument was someone had used cardboard from the back of a pad of paper to shim the corner blocks which were now too low from reed pan shrinkage relative to the bellows frame. When the shims were replaced with wood, the instrument fairly leapt to life. The guys at the Button Box were a little afraid that the player, a professional musician in a well known folk group in the US. Would find the change in sound too great. Fortunately that wasn't a problem. It is quite possible that your Crabb would benefit from some good internal maintenance, making sure reeds are in snuggly without a lot of confetti, a good set of valves and checking the corner block placement, making sure the reed pan is fully level with the top of the bellows frame so it will be tight against the end pad board. Bellows leaks sealed or if past that, a new bellows. These are the things likely to make a difference.

Dana