Sticky note on English Bastari

[LilaMable]

Newbie English Concertina player. I have a Bastari (cheap, I know) with a sticky button. 

 

Is there a simple YouTube video or clear instructions on how to fix this? I heard somewhere that it involves making some hole a little bigger? 🤷

 

It forced my playing session to a halt when it got so bad that I couldn't unstick it.

 

I haven't even opened my tina yet and am pretty nervous 😅

 

TIA!

 

Edited June 4, 2024 by LilaMable

[David Barnert]

If it worked OK before, it’s unlikely the hole is too small. In fact, from your pictures one can see that there’s plenty of room around the button. But the button looks like it is stuck because it is crooked, so the question is why is it crooked? The only way to find out is to take it apart. You may even find that the act of taking it apart and putting it back together solves the problem.

 

If you’re apprehensive about taking it apart, take pictures at every step, so you can undo it all in reverse order. The only tricky part is lining all the buttons up so you can put the end back on. One way to do it is to hold the instrument so that the buttons hang down, and raise the end up to it while looking up through the holes from underneath.

 

But you’re going to have to get comfortable with taking it apart and putting it back together because this isn’t the last time it will need attention.

 

Once you have it apart, if you’re still baffled, post a picture of the action.

Edited June 4, 2024 by David Barnert
added last sentence

[gcoover]

Don't be worried about taking the ends off - it's not like what you see in cartoons with springs flying everywhere! Nothing will jump out or fall out. But do keep track of the screws so they don't get lost in the shuffle.

 

David's right, the hardest part will be getting the buttons lined up and getting the ends back on. If you get most of them through the holes, hold it steady and you can often use something like a toothpick to push any offending ones back into place.

Gary

 

 

[RogerT]

Post a picture of the action when you take the end off. Some (cheaper) instruments use bits of plastic pipe in the mech and this can cause issues like this. It's easily fixed if yours happens to be like this.

[SIMON GABRIELOW]

It may be something quite straightforward to fix .. and I agree that you should keep a few photos of the interior of your instrument to refer to as you look inside it. And do not force the screws too much, or they may loosen in time.

It may be the torsion spring which has jamned , and although my own concertina is different make ( Italian made Stagi sold under Hohner)..I have feeling interior mechanism will be similar to look at in the way it is constructed. They can tend to be tightly aligned with little give in terms of the gaps between each button and lever parts. But mine will have fewer parts inside than your English variety.

If it appears a little crude ( constructed)  inside do not worry ..main thing is how it sounds to you and if it is your pride and joy🌝🌝🌝

Edited June 4, 2024 by SIMON GABRIELOW

[JimR]

Find a needle or pin at home, stick it slightly in the button and move the button over. That worked for mine.

[genepinefield]

On 6/4/2024 at 11:49 AM, David Barnert said:

One way to do it is to hold the instrument so that the buttons hang down, and raise the end up to it while looking up through the holes from underneath.

It can also be effective to light the action board from below.
Hold a BBQ skewer in your dominant hand and fit the action board in as far as it will go.
When you find a button that doesn't fit into a hole, insert the skewer into it and poke it gently to fit it into the hole.
Rather than fitting them horizontally, it's better to fit each row diagonally starting from the back row.
When you finish fitting each row, the tops of the buttons will be a little stuck in, like the first problem. This is because if you fit too many buttons in, it will be difficult to fit the next row of buttons in.

Stagi/Bastari improvement 

https://concertina.pinefield.asia/improvement-concertina-beginners-and-self-taught/

[Steve Morrison]

Hi,

Run a small rounded file around the hole to make sure there is no rough edge. Make sure the key is straight going into the hole. Check that the spring to the lever is working correctly a touch of sewing machine oil is usually helpful.Then reassemble.The best way to do it is to hold the instrument so that the buttons hang down, and raise the end up to it while looking up through the holes from underneath.

Stagi concertinas are now very well made but a lot of the early Bastari models were quite shody. A little bit of time spent will pay dividends and you will have an excellent concertina.

[Anglo-Irishman]

On 6/4/2024 at 4:20 AM, LilaMable said:

I have a Bastari

I have a Stagi, which is also Italian, and similar in construction. It has been a reliable instrumet for over 20 years of public playing. However, it has a quirk - the buttons can slip on the levers that control the pads, and when the bottom end of a button thus gets out of alignment, it sticks in its hole. Not all buttons stick. It depends on whether you press them down straight, or hit them obliquely. But after playing for a while, it can happen that you put a button out of alignment.

So what I do (and have done for over 20 years) is to give the buttons a quick visual check whenever I take up my concertina, and if any buttons look even slightly doubtful, pull them in the direction that straightens them (this is the opposite to the direction in which I push them while playing.)

I've found that just the one check-and-pull keeps me right for a whole evening's playing. No tools, no dismantling required!

Cheers,

John

[genepinefield]

Stagi ; Bastari

I made a video showing how to put the buttons on

Please show the English subtitle