New Dipper to brighten a darkened world

[endgrainguy]

I just received the Dipper concertina I ordered about 17 years ago. It's a County Clare, with koa ends. I provided the wood --I make fancy jewelry boxes and koa is my favorite wood. I love my new instrument. It's speed and precision are amazing, as if I'm playing something like a whistle, where the finger-to-sound mechanism is direct.  I look forward to being able to play with others, whenever the hell that will be possible....but it's great to have new joy in my solo playing in the meantime.17 years---and worth the wait!

[StephenTx]

Beautiful, I am from Hawaii.  “Koa has an honored heritage in Hawaii and is revered and sacared”
 

For those of you who would be interested in learning more about Koa And it’s Hawaiian heritage here is a link

https://martinandmacarthur.com/blogs/news/the-history-of-hawaiian-koa-wood-a-true-story

[Halifax]

Congratulations! Also, I'm impressed with your patience.

 

[Jake Middleton-Metcalfe]

awesome

[Doug Barr]

How did you finally get him to move on it?

[bazza]

I feel very privileged to of waited only 11 years for my wonderful F/C Anglo in the lower scale it was well worth waiting for, a  fantastic instrument and a  great source of pleasure as I`m sure yours will be.

[jdms]

That's one fine-looking instrument.  Jewelry box maker in Franklin Co.--have you shown at Paradise City?

[hjcjones]

Congratulations!  I remember getting my hands on my Cotswold for the first time, and being astonished. You will find it gets even better as it plays in.

[JD Leedham]

That is gorgeous! Congratulations! Looking forward to seeing you and your new box in Bratt when the time comes. 

[endgrainguy]

Doug-- I did nothing to expedite for 15 years. Frankly I had ambivalence whether I "deserved" it, knowing there was a shortage of good instruments, and I already owned a Suttner.  But I finally decided that a faster, easier to play instrument would be a significant enhancement to my life, and I'll sell the Suttner (I hope!), so no addition to the world's net concertina inequality.

Colin responded  within a matter of weeks after I applied a strong, humor-laced letter about my 15 year wait. Then I sent him koa blanks(with his preapproval), and kept emailing at least once a month.....

JDMS- I've never done Paradise City-I don't do many shows. My work sold mostly through: www.alladd.com.

[Richard Mellish]

I'm not sure whether I've told the tale of my Dipper on here before.

 

Once upon a time I ordered a Bflat-F baritone Anglo from Colin.

 

When I visited some time later we discussed details of finish, including the choice of thin strips of wood (I'm not sure of the correct term for the relevant bit of decoration) that he would be buying from a dealer at a festival in France.

 

Some more time passed, during which I wondered whether to chase him but decided against it.

 

One day at a concertina weekend, while Kate Portal had my Dickinson Hayden on loan (which I subsequently  sold to her), she took it to Colin at a weekend surgery for some minor work. She mentioned that it was on loan from me, whereupon Colin told her that I had ordered an instrument from him but he had not heard from me for some time so he presumed I had lost interest.

 

Kate of course promptly informed me and I got straight on the phone to Colin.

 

I eventually got my baritone, and a lovely instrument it is, though it never got the decorative strips, instead having its ends made from wood that had previously been intended for a Bentley dashboard.

 

I won't say how many years the whole story took from start to finish, but it was many.

[Ken_Coles]

I was similarly reticent with Colin over some years around the turn of the century with my order. It does seem that making noise helps with him; I know some other makers prefer to be left in peace. He was avoiding the internet back then I'm told, knowing it would eat time otherwise spent building instruments.

 

Ken

[Alex West]

2 hours ago, Richard Mellish said:

I eventually got my baritone, and a lovely instrument it is, though it never got the decorative strips, instead having its ends made from wood that had previously been intended for a Bentley dashboard.

I watched a programme to day about the making of a Bentley Continental GT. They have over £500,000 of veneer in their stock for the dashboards, including some lovely walnut burr.  But because they only use the best sections of this stock, there looked to be some handy concertina sized pieces which were left over.  I wondered what they did with them and was about to call and offer to take them off their hands but Colin obviously beat me to it!

 

Alex West

[Richard Mellish]

17 hours ago, Alex West said:

 I wondered what they did with them and was about to call and offer to take them off their hands but Colin obviously beat me to it!

What Colin told me was that another chap in Heytesbury, who used to make Bentley dashboards, retired, so Colin got the unused wood. Anyway all that was some years ago, so tells us nothing about current availability of left-over bits of lovely wood.