rcr27 Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 Hi everyone, I have just received a Lachenal Anglo Concertina that came all way from Finland, and I’m having a big trouble with it: The reed pan is literally glued to the pad board and I can’t access the chamber side. Someone has put some sort of white glue to the chamois leather of the chamber walls and now it’s stuck to the pad board. On the other ends I can’t even remove the reed pan from the bellows... Has anyone ever come across this problem? I was thinking about using some sort of lubricant but I’m afraid this could affect the wood or the reeds. I would really appreciate some help. Thanks Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Jones Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 You do appear to have a problem. If it was mine I would try lightly painting on (or using a soaked cotton bud) different solvents on the white areas visible around the interface between the reed pan and pad frame e.g. acetone, white spirit, turps, even water, to see if any of them have any effect. Is there any way of sliding a thin blade between the reed pan and the frame while you are trying to release the glue to act as a lever to separate the sections? Does the glue react to heat? A hair drier may help as well. Another thought is that the glue attaching the chamois seal to the reed pan is likely to be original and thus either water soluble or heat sensitive or both so trying to remove the chamois from the reed pan may be an easier option, especially as the chamois is most likely to be scrap anyway, Again a thin blade may be used judiciously. Cleaning up the bottom of the action board afterwards should be relatively easy once they are separated. For the other reed pan that you cannot yet remove, try soaking it in a humid or solvent enriched atmosphere, e.g. a damp/solvent impregnated cloth in a bag plus the bellows etc., tie a knot in the end and gently warm and leave for a couple of hours or more. With treatment like this the metal parts at least should be unaffected even if the wooden parts do warp slightly, and these latter bits can be carefully dried out and flattened. Hopefully others will have better ideas and options. Anyway best of luck with your endeavours. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Ghent Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 Good idea about cutting the chamois from the partitions to get it apart. I have found white glue will dissolve white glue but it is not an easy or clean process. Heat certainly softens it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcr27 Posted January 17, 2020 Author Share Posted January 17, 2020 34 minutes ago, Mike Jones said: . Is there any way of sliding a thin blade between the reed pan and the frame while you are trying to release the glue to act as a lever to separate the sections? Yes I have slid a thin blade and hopefully the glue is not as strong, but I can only reach few centimetres with the blade; there is also glue around the circle in the middle. Thanks for your recommendation, I will try with water first and see what happens. The glue is pretty dry. I might have to remove the reeds first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theo Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 If I was faced with this I think I would avoid using water or solvents and just slice through the chamois with a sharp scalpel. The chamois will have to be replaced anyway because it is covered with glue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Jowaisas Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 A 4 inch scraping blade can be very useful. Something like this: https://www.flooranddecor.com/goldblatt-installation-materials/goldblatt-4in.-wall-scraper-blades---5pk.-100380880.html?gclid=Cj0KCQiA04XxBRD5ARIsAGFygj_givYqiqW8mbSuFz4wE32cpY5CfsIOI3cJy7T85QQ8P8zH3uQKks4aAi-BEALw_wcB Take your time and make sure you are cutting chamois and not wood. After you've affected the separation the 4 inch blade held perpendicular to the button pan can be useful in scraping off the glue residue and chamois left behind. Do watch your fingers! These blades can be very sharp.? Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcr27 Posted January 17, 2020 Author Share Posted January 17, 2020 Thanks, definitely the blade will be a safer choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcr27 Posted January 17, 2020 Author Share Posted January 17, 2020 53 minutes ago, Theo said: The chamois will have to be replaced anyway because it is covered with glue. Where can I get the chamois from the same material? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d.elliott Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 I have had something similar, but not so severe, I used a dowel, or flush cutting saw to remove the 'stuck' chamois leather from between the the pad board and the chamber walls Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theo Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 27 minutes ago, rcr27 said: Where can I get the chamois from the same material? B&Q sell nice chamois wash cloths which I’ve used successfully. Look through the skins on display and select one with the most even thickness right to the edges. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcr27 Posted January 17, 2020 Author Share Posted January 17, 2020 Done it! I got away with a kitchen knife to slide through. My god what a chaos that was! I wonder why would people do this... But the good thing is that it kept the reeds clean and dust-free. It has definitely been touched by someone who is not into cocertinas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprunghub Posted January 17, 2020 Share Posted January 17, 2020 Excellent supplier of Chamois.....if you tell them it is for concertina work they seem to know what to select from their range. https://www.russels.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcr27 Posted January 17, 2020 Author Share Posted January 17, 2020 Thank you Sprunghub I’ll have a look Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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