Stephen Selby Posted April 30, 2019 Share Posted April 30, 2019 For the 'beginner' concertinas that had the names of the notes stamped into the buttons, what was used to ink them in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Selby Posted May 2, 2019 Author Share Posted May 2, 2019 Huh! No answers! So any suggestions? I don't want inks because they could leach into cracks in old buttons. It needs to be a paste that would set hard and be proof against sweat and wear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils' Dream Posted May 2, 2019 Share Posted May 2, 2019 Stephen: why not make a note chart and "learn" the buttons? There are plenty of them already out there and near all the method books have them. Or a lot of folks these days learn at first from tablature (Gary Coover has excellent and easy tabs). Very few players, even absolute beginners seems to "need" the buttons marked... (why exactly do you want to do this?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Molkentin Posted May 2, 2019 Share Posted May 2, 2019 1 hour ago, Devils' Dream said: why not make a note chart and "learn" the buttons? My understanding was, simply for historic accuracy conc. the given model ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Selby Posted May 3, 2019 Author Share Posted May 3, 2019 I'm restoring an 1880s Lachenal concertina to mint condition. I've even done the gold blocking on the straps. It's only for historical accuracy: I already know where the notes are ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenneads Posted May 3, 2019 Share Posted May 3, 2019 Hi Stephen. Something to consider would be Engravers Wax. Engravers use it to infill lines engraved on metal, mother of pearl, abalone and wood. You can buy it here: https://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tools/Tools_by_Job/Tools_for_Inlay_and_Pearl_Cutting/Laskins_Engraving_Filler.html or just google it. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex_holden Posted May 3, 2019 Share Posted May 3, 2019 3 hours ago, kenneads said: Hi Stephen. Something to consider would be Engravers Wax. Engravers use it to infill lines engraved on metal, mother of pearl, abalone and wood. You can buy it here: https://www.stewmac.com/Luthier_Tools/Tools_by_Job/Tools_for_Inlay_and_Pearl_Cutting/Laskins_Engraving_Filler.html or just google it. Cheers I know someone who does something similar with home-made sealing wax to decorate the handles of wooden spoons. I believe she over-fills the engraving with molten wax, then scrapes it flush after it hardens. http://www.chatquilit.com/spoons.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils' Dream Posted May 3, 2019 Share Posted May 3, 2019 Stephen, my ignorance... Related question, tho, regarding "restoring": cannot "original" buttons be found? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Selby Posted May 4, 2019 Author Share Posted May 4, 2019 Thanks for that advice. How do you think those letters were put on the buttons in the first place? Surely not carved? Pyrography (burned in with a brand)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Taylor Posted May 4, 2019 Share Posted May 4, 2019 If the numbers were branded into the tops of the buttons then maybe that is also how they were blackened, by being burned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Hare Posted May 4, 2019 Share Posted May 4, 2019 On 5/3/2019 at 6:38 AM, alex_holden said: I know someone who does something similar with home-made sealing wax to decorate the handles of wooden spoons. I believe she over-fills the engraving with molten wax, then scrapes it flush after it hardens. http://www.chatquilit.com/spoons.html This sounds a little like the technique used on high quality Japanese chess pieces. to 'fill-in' the engraved kanji. The point being that the Japanese use 'lacquer' for this - perhaps the OP should look at 'lacquer' for this application? Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted May 4, 2019 Share Posted May 4, 2019 21 hours ago, Devils' Dream said: Stephen, my ignorance... Related question, tho, regarding "restoring": cannot "original" buttons be found? Any "original" buttons from some other vintage concertina may be expected to be similarly "worn". I assume that these are the original buttons, but that (some of) the coloring in the incised lettering on the buttons has eroded (from contact with previous players' fingers) and that Stephen wants to restore these original buttons to their former glory (coloring and contrast). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils' Dream Posted May 4, 2019 Share Posted May 4, 2019 I understand. Not likely to find near "NOS" from the 1880's.... Is there a picture of what Stephen is looking to do, i.e. the originals anywhere, that I could see (cure my ignorance) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Selby Posted May 7, 2019 Author Share Posted May 7, 2019 I've ordered the wax from Stewmack and I'll let you see my test run. I have a lot of worn old EC buttons to test on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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