How Thick are Metal Ends?

[Cathasach]

I'm going to machine some metal ends for one of my concertinas and I'm wondering how thick they normally are.

[alex_holden]

Depends on the strength of the metal and how delicate the design is. I have used 0.7mm nickel silver with very fine fretwork and 1.2mm 5251-H22 aluminium alloy with slightly heavier fretwork (in hindsight I could probably have got away with 1mm). I imagine stainless steel ends could be a little thinner, maybe 0.6 or 0.5mm? Brass would be similar to nickel silver.

[Jake Middleton-Metcalfe]

I did stainless ends at 0.7 at one point and would not recommend doing it any thinner, as Alex points out the design itself is quite a big factor as well. I would not personally go thinner than 0.7mm using any metal. Looking at older instruments most Lachenal instruments seem to have 0.7mm nickel silver, Jeffries can by anything between 0.7 and 0.91, the thicker 0.91 generally a bit better for the very fine fretwork some Jeffries do have. I once worked on a Wheatstone with 0.6mm ns ends and that was really a bit flimsy in my opinion, with pillars under the hand rest being a necessity. The pillars are quite relevant - on Anglo concertinas especially, they will stop the fretwork flexing if thinner metal is used, the thinner the metal, the more important they are. That is my experience anyway. Good luck with the project, can we see them when they are done? Its always interesting to see peoples work.

 

 

Best wishes

Jake

[Cathasach]

Thanks for the info!

 

I'm going to grab some aluminum plate to start. I'll probably anodize them as well.

 

There will definitely be pics hen I'm done! (And maybe along the way if I don't get too wrapped up in the process.