How to change springs on a german-made anglo ?

[Valentin Nnourdin]

So this is it, the end of my first restoration 😢 

 

I tried to push with a 1mm drill, which went surprisedly well (the wood didn't break too soon) but the axle doesn't move, and another bit broke.

 

If I found a fablab with appropriate tools, I may create a new concertina using this one as a model, I like the size of it.

 

Thanks for your great help and advises, I hope to come back soon with another, better made, concertina to restore 😁

 

[mChavez]

Sorry to hear that, but I guess that's part of any learning experience.

 

What I found with free reeds specifically, is that the repair effort grows exponentially with age/worsening condition. You've got to pick your battles, but with evilbay being the main source for buying cheap old boxes, you're often left to just hope that you get lucky.

[Stephen Chambers]

It was much easier, in the old days, for players in the Irish countryside to replace concertina springs - they'd take a goose quill and cut a (roughly) 1.5 inch length of the hollow shaft, then split it lengthways and fold one piece over in an L shape, then slide it under a lever as a spring...

 

I've repaired several that this had been done too, German ones, and Jeffries too.