Fixing air leak

[Guest]

Hi everyone,

 

I am new to concertina and would like to have some advices from you on fixing air leak.

 

The problem is with my Lachenal 20b anglo. I can hear air coming out from somewhere when I pull/push without pressing on any button, including the air button. I think the "somewhere" was the 3rd button of C row on the left and not on the bellow. This button has some buzzy noise since the first day but air was not leaking until recently.

 

I am quite sure that there is no repairer in my country and due to the current situation I might not be going to the UK soon, where I can find repairers. That's why I would like to try fixing it by myself. It will be great if I can have some advices from you on what probably went wrong, and how I can further check and start fixing it.

 

Thank you.

[Guest]

Hi everyone,

 

Here are some updates about the problem though it seems the question was too dumb to get any reply...

 

A month after posting here, I ordered a repair kit from Mark Lloyd-Adey and it arrived a couple months back (Good to know that Mark is recovering!). As my little one was born recently, I didn't manage to start the repair work only until now.

 

I spent about 4 hours to replace all the valves, springs and pads on the bass side. The glue I used was Elmer's glue all. Not sure if it is a good choice but at least it is not permanent. It seems the buzzing problem was solved after doing this, although some more adjustments are needed for the fifth button on G row, which I had to bend the spring a little bit to fit into the limited space.

 

Now I am thinking whether I should work on the treble side as well even it seems to be doing fine. Another thing is the baffles seems to be not attaching to the wood quite well, so I might need to work out how to glue it back on correctly.

 

Anyway, this is good experience understanding the inside of a concertina and fortunately I didn't ruin it!

 

Thanks and have a nice day.

 

Ted

 

 

[Moll Peatly]

I don't know why no-one replied to your original post -- sometimes it seems everyone is waiting for someone else to reply, and it drops down the page out of sight. You could always try invoking Cunningham's law: threaten to superglue a couple of random parts together and see what response you get.

 

Anyway, the usual answer would be to get a copy of Dave Elliott's Concertina Maintenance Manual. A quick skim doesn't find this particular problem, but it would give you the confidence to rummage around the works, which is often enough to fix common problems.

[Guest]

No worries, no one should be blamed! As you said, people can't see who is trying to give reply on online forums so it does happen.

 

Thanks very much for your advice (I got the same advice from Peter Smith as well) and I am planning to order the book online. Luckily the problem could be fixed by replacing the parts but I am sure that I will need the book sometime. I would say the most difficult part as a first-timer was to actually remove the screws and start looking into the internals. But once done it, it's much more fun than simply playing the instrument.