Turn The Bellows

[Kelteglow]

I have been using my Anglo for several years now and although not leaking they are shoeing signs  of wear on the bottom. Can I remove the ends and put them back on in a different position ?.Thus moving the worn side  facing another direction . Bob

[RogerT]

Mostly you can't, because the reed pan sits in a particular place in the end of the bellows (it's normally marked so you always put the reed pan back into the bellows frame in the correct orientation), so the only thing you can rotate is the ends, but if you do that the buttons/air holes etc won't line up with the reed pan. 
 

[d.elliott]

There is no practical way to turn the bellows without removing the reed pan support blocks and re-setting them. Not an easy job for anyone.

[Oberon]

Isn't this kind of dependant on what kind of concertina the OP has? What if this is a hybrid and does not use support blocks for the reed pan (ie- integrated reed pan and action board ala Morse, or a bolted on reed pan like a Norman)?

In those cases I suspect you could in fact rotate the ends as the reedpans in such concertinas are affixed to the ends alone and the ends are mounted to the bellows frames and as a result the reedpan interacts with nothing else in the bellows frames.

 

I do wonder about screws though. If the machining of the screws was not consistent (which is probably less likely to be an issue on more modern instrument?) then perhaps it would be ill advised. 

 

In any case Im not sure how good an idea it is to try, but I can think of a handful of concertina brands where it should be possible to rotate them without concern for reedpan support blocks.

Edited June 7, 2023 by Oberon

[Wally Carroll]

Hexagons are generally never perfect. I imagine most makers probably do as I do and bolt the raw bellows frames to the top frames and then sand all the sides flush prior to veneering and applying leather.  This generally makes the frames perfectly line up in only one orientation.  

[Theo]

Why would you want to do this?  You have sone wear on one area? So repair and strengthen it. If you turn the bellows you will wear a second area and need a second repair.  
 

 

[SIMON GABRIELOW]

Make sure you put a soft cloth to rest concertina upon, if playing it seated, or over knee.  I always do, and in over two decades hardly any wear on my leather bellows at all.