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Project with rusty reeds


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Opening my recently acquired 20 key Lachenal revealed  that some of the reeds  have varying amounts of rust...I've since been learning whats involved in all the facets of restoration before jumping in. 

I'm wondering if I should  get the reeds seen to  before doing anything else ?   my concern being that if  there are any that aren't in tune and aren't  salvageable  are they readily replaceable ?   The feeling  I get from the reading I have done is that  these "concertina " reeds are not made any more ?,  correct ? or if they are, they cost an arm and a leg  ? I imagine there are 2nd hand one out there?  Bazza.

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Post some pics of the worst reeds, they may not be as far gone as you think.  Rust occupies 9x the volume as steel so it often looks much worse than it really is.

 

Do not take the reed out of it shoe.

 

Dave addresses how to de-rust a reed in his book.

 

 

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And Lachenal reeds are fairly common so you should be able to get replacements for any that are too far gone.  It's also possible to make new reeds using existing reed frames - although it's not always possible to unscrew the reed clamps if they've rusted in place which complicates matters

 

Alex West

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Would the milder chemical rust removers be any good for this? The thin citric acid based ones that you could totally immerse the reed and shoe assembly in?  It shouldn't affect the brass or good steel.  The one thing to watch out for though is that it leaves such a clean surface it is liable to flash rusting so a quick spay of WD40 etc as soon as it is dry is advisable.

 

I've not/never needed to try this myself (on reeds). Just thinking out loud really. This is a question not a recommendation.

 

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14 hours ago, Clive Thorne said:

Would the milder chemical rust removers be any good for this? The thin citric acid based ones that you could totally immerse the reed and shoe assembly in?  It shouldn't affect the brass or good steel.  The one thing to watch out for though is that it leaves such a clean surface it is liable to flash rusting so a quick spay of WD40 etc as soon as it is dry is advisable.

 

I don't know about the acid, but I wouldn't recommend WD40 or oil as it could make dust stick to the reeds.

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6 hours ago, alex_holden said:

 

I don't know about the acid, but I wouldn't recommend WD40 or oil as it could make dust stick to the reeds.

 

It would need something to stop the flash rusting, so perhaps the acid is not the best solution, but then again I guess anyway of thoroughly removing rust is likely to have the same problem to some extent.

 

PS: the acid is very mild - quite safe to put your hands in, though I imaging it would sting in the eye.

 

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I have tried various mild 'pickling'  processes on scrap reeds (I hasten to say). I have seen rust eaten away and the remaining steel like old lace. I have tried some of the propriety kitchen cleaners for metal surfaces, they sort of work but you can end up with a copper coating on the steel, and odd looking brass. You also have to kill the chemical, I put the reed into a plastic sieve and poured boiling water over them. The residual heat in the reed assembly dried  things out nicely.

 

My conclusion was that the best and surest way to remove rust is mechanically by contact brush or small scrapers made from watch makers screw drivers. Just ensure that the reed is supported at all times. 

 

Alex is absolutely right ANY OIL on a reed tongue is a contaminant that will attract dust and clog up the works. 

 

Dave

Edited by d.elliott
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I bow to your knowledge Dave.

 

However, I also understand that molasses will also remove rust by "Chellating" it, what ever that means.

 

Also on the kitchen cleaners, which I've not used, or even thought about for this: would the slight copper coating be advantageous in preventing further rusting?

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Dave,

 

Of course, Iunderstand that and I bow to your experience. I've never used any chemicals on reeds, only on car parts (where they can do a superb job, but  is a different thing altogether)

As per my first post in this thread, just thinking out loud really, not recommending anything - cos I've never tried it!

 

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