"Tidder" or Lachenal? Maintenance questions about a nameless Anglo 20b

[Ludovic]

Greetings!

 

2 weeks ago, after much pondering, I purchased a unbranded concertina on ebay sold as a 20b anglo Lachenal in need of some maintenance/repairs for a (seemingly) ridiculously low sum, mostly because I like to tinker and the mechanical nature of the concertina spoke to me.

 

I expected the instrument to be in terrible condition, but once it showed up in the mail, it turned out to not be that bad. All the reeds are there and working (after un-jamming a few of them), the action works fine (to my inexperienced eye and ear) and the bellows are airtight.

 

Most of those repairs were minor and fairly straightforward, but I'm confused about the pads that open and close the "chambers" the reeds sit into, as every source seem to indicate they should be made of a layer of cardstock, then felt, then thin leather to seal. However, the entire set of pads on my instrument is only cardstock and felt. Is that normal? I plan to change the pads anyway, but want to make sure I change them for the correct type.

 

Also, while searching for the answer to my pads question on the forum, I came across a topic mentionning Tidder concertinas that looked almost like unbranded Lachenals 20b. Mine has a maker's tag that only says "English philharmony finest tempered steel reeds" and no serial number on the outside. Every part of the inside is stamped with the number 3880.

 

20b anglo Lachenal with the same appearance: https://concertina.co.uk/stock-selection/anglo-concertinas/lachenal-20-key-in-c-g-8479/
20b anglo "Tidder" with the same appearance: https://concertina.co.uk/stock-selection/anglo-concertinas/tidder-20-key-anglo-in-c-g-8526/

 

Finally, the black fabric the seems to serve as a cover/dust guard is falling apart. Would anyone know what fabric to replace it with?

 

Thank you!

Ludovic

 

[Roger Hare]

If you are a tinkerer (and it looks rather like that), get yourself a copy of Dave Elliot's Concertina Maintenance Manual.

 

Those look like potentially nasty cracks in the ends? Others, more knowledgeable than myself may care to comment?

 

[Ludovic]

Yes, the wood of the face plate on both sides has a significant crack. Luckily, the damage is only cosmetic, as far as I can tell, and the action board has no cracks and makes a good seal with the bellows.

 

Here are a few more pictures of the internals, in case it helps with identification.

[alex_holden]

There's a chance the pads originally had a thin layer of felt that has become so compressed that it now looks like card.

 

Standard new pads with a felt layer in them will be significantly thicker (AFAIK nobody sells special thin ones, though you could always make them yourself). The advantage of the felt padding is they don't make a loud 'clop' sound when they close, but you will probably need to bend all the levers up to adjust the button travel after fitting them. This is fairly easy with long levers but can be difficult with short ones. Brass gets harder and more brittle with age, and I have had one snap like a twig when I tried to bend it. If the action box is particularly shallow you might find that with thicker pads, the pad ends of the levers hit the inside of the action box when you press the button.

[Stephen Chambers]

On 10/14/2024 at 4:52 PM, Ludovic said:

 ... I came across a topic mentionning Tidder concertinas that looked almost like unbranded Lachenals 20b. Mine has a maker's tag that only says "English philharmony finest tempered steel reeds" and no serial number on the outside. Every part of the inside is stamped with the number 3880.

 

When I saw this one for sale on eBay I thought it looked like a "Tidder" - though I've never seen one that was stamped "STEEL REEDS" (like a steel-reeded Lachenal) on the righthand rail (handle) before, and photos of the rubber-stamped serial number confirm it.

 

A Louis Lachenal with such a low serial number would look like this one (number 7602, made for H. Journet c.1867) from my research collection:

 

https://photobucket.com/share/70f78d1e-4d01-4b90-aa2d-0c10960a2dd0

 

Quote

... the black fabric the seems to serve as a cover/dust guard is falling apart. Would anyone know what fabric to replace it with?

 

Take the fabric out and throw it away, that's what everybody else does.

 

 

Edited October 16, 2024 by Stephen Chambers
Edited trying (in vain) to get photo to display...