Roberta Kogut Posted September 9, 2022 Share Posted September 9, 2022 I am wondering what would need to be done to adjust the action of the buttons on a 1904 Wheatstone English concertina. I feel like the buttons go down too far and I'm having trouble playing some passages up to speed. Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theo Posted September 9, 2022 Share Posted September 9, 2022 (edited) Thicker pads will reduce the distance that the buttons travel. If the pads are old it is likely that they have become compressed, which means the button rises higher when released, and consequently travels further before it stops. This is the safest fix. The alternative is to bend all the levers, but this is risky on 100 year old levers. You will need to find a good repairer who can examine the action and make pads of a suitable thickness. Edited September 9, 2022 by Theo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberta Kogut Posted September 9, 2022 Author Share Posted September 9, 2022 15 minutes ago, Theo said: Thicker pads will reduce the distance that the buttons travel. If the pads are old it is likely that they have become compressed, which means the button rises higher when released, and consequently travels further before it stops. This is the safest fix. The alternative is to bend all the levers, but this is risky on 100 year old levers. You will need to find a good repairer who can examine the action and make pads of a suitable thickness. I hadn't thought about compression over the years, but that makes a lot of sense! Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Wooff Posted September 9, 2022 Share Posted September 9, 2022 (edited) A Wheatstone of that period will probably have quite thin pads, even without much compression. I have a similar era Wheatsone where the buttons do not protrude as far as later models but to get enough travel on those buttons I have removed one or two of the felt 'damper' washers from the locator pins at the base of each button. The pads now lift well clear of the vent holes and the tone is very clear but the buttons do go down a wee bit further than I would like. Whilst the button height is quite low the location pins are almost as far out of the holes as could be deemed safe. So the action is caught between the two extremes of 'buttons almost disapear into the ends on depressing' whilst they cannot rise any higher on release. Sure the tone is now a marvel but the action slightly disconcerting. I suggest, Roberta, adding one felt washer to each button to reduce the depth of travel but agree with Theo that getting hands on advice from a good repairer might be invaluable. I have adjusted the action of every Engish I have ever owned, usually to get my choice of spring strength ... I but I find these early models can need special attention. Edited September 9, 2022 by Geoff Wooff 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d.elliott Posted September 10, 2022 Share Posted September 10, 2022 The methodology is quite simple, there are two fixed points: 1 when the button is fully depressed, the height of the button, fully depressed is set by the damper stack under the body of the button, the little felt rings that are pierced by the button guide peg. I have seen a stack height of anything between one to five dampers being used. The number being consistent across an instrument. 2 when the button is fully up, set by the contact of the pad onto the pad board. The button pressed down height of button top over the finger plate is often set to be around 2.5/ 3mm this can be increased or decreased by adding or subtracting dampers. Once this button low point is set, then the button height is set by establishing the button travel height. Button travel is usually set at 3.2mm or 1/8th inch, or there abouts. This is done by taking a measurement of the existing travel and by bending arm near the pad until you get your 3.2mm. Obviously there are a number of government health warnings that could be issued at this point. As you do the first couple of arms, check that the guide pin under the button is not likely to come out the action plate's guide hole and jam. The thicker pads simply set everything higher and given an appropriate amount of button travel there is a risk of the lever arm gromet, or the edge of a pad striking the underside of the action box cover, tapping noisily and affecting pad security. I measure several button low heights (button pressed in), take an average. I add 3.2mm to the average and make a height gauge to suit. I can then set all buttons to the same height using my gauge as I bend & adjust each of the arms. I must go through 25-30 full re-pads a year so it is second nature now, but I can remember how daunting it was in my early days of repairing. If you can get some experienced to show you it is best. I always use arm bending to adjust travel, I always use consistent pads., and a consistent number of dampers per button. This gives an even key hight. Voicing is controlled by the original manufacturer's pad hole diameters. Often there are two diameters of pad hole, sometimes three diameters. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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