It was cheap, its old, its dirty, it barely works - what to do..

[TinkerPhil]

My attempts to learn to play my english a couple of years back failed through lack of enthusiasm

 

For some reason I thought I could help with the carol singing this year if I could play a concertina- but wondered if an anglo would be better so I went looking for a cheap one and...

 

I think I have struck gold - I picked up what looks to be a Lachenal 20+1 anglo for £50 (!!)

 

Two of the notes don't work at all and a breeze comes out one of the corners - so it needs a little help

 

After watching the episode of "The Repair Shop" on TV I feel I am fully qualified to have a go (I won't have at it with a hammer!)

 

But I guess there are things I should bear in mind, things to look out for and other tips and tricks so...

 

Is there a "how to repair your abused old concertina yourself" website out there?

 

If nothing else, something to confirm it is a Lachenal and how old it is would be nice

(the little sticker in the oval window is missing - the only "proof" thus far is the "English Made" on one of the wooden palm rests and it "looks old")

 

Lastly, if I go down the route of learning the anglo - is it easy to swap between an english and an anglo - or is it "choose now and stay that way forever"?

 

Thanks

Phil

 

 

[TinkerPhil]

Some pictures..

[Steve Schulteis]

The usual recommendation (and rightly so) is to pick up a copy of The Concertina Maintenance Manual by David Elliott. Mr. Elliott is also a member of this forum, and posts advice from time to time, as do a number of other individuals with varying levels of expertise. It's worth searching the archives for any specific tasks you intend to undertake.

 

I'm not sure what you have in mind for accompanying carols, but if you're satisfied to play some basic chords in a couple of keys, you could get away with just memorizing a small number a fingering patterns. That approach would work on English as well, but maybe the Anglo's Richter tuning makes things a little easier to find when starting out.

[wes williams]

+1 Exactly what Steve S says above re Dave's book. You'll find the serial numbers inside, which will allow us to give you date estimate.

[Johanna]

If the carol sing will include instruments other than just your concertina, a problem you might run into is tuning.  Older instruments were usually tuned to standards other than the modern A=440, so they need to be retuned if you're going to play in any kind of ensemble (unless, I guess, you can convince everyone else to retune to match you). 

 

Retuning the reeds of a concertina is not a simple or cheap undertaking.  The David Elliott manual advises not to attempt it by yourself unless you're sure you know what you're doing.  

 

As for your question about switching between Anglo and English: In my brain, at least, they're completely separate instruments.  You can learn to play both - and plenty of people do - but the transferable skills between them are fairly minimal.

[Rod Pearce]

Open it up and take some pictures of the action board and reed pans on each end. This will give us a good idea of what state the instrument is in and where to focus your attention.

 

To open each end remove the six brass screws and gently separate each end from the bellows. Keep a note of where the screws were removed from as it it advisable to put them back in the same place.

 

Each end will separate into 3 layers as per the picture below

[David Barnert]

4 hours ago, Rod Pearce said:

To open each end remove the six brass screws and gently separate each end from the bellows. Keep a note of where the screws were removed from as it it advisable to put them back in the same place.

 

Yes, but don’t take both ends off at once. Take one end off, take your pictures, then put it back together before taking the other end off and taking more pictures.

[TinkerPhil]

12 hours ago, David Barnert said:

 

Yes, but don’t take both ends off at once. Take one end off, take your pictures, then put it back together before taking the other end off and taking more pictures.

I can imagine the happiness that would leave

 

all those little white bits all over the floor and the air turned blue 🙂

[d.elliott]

You can take both ends off at the same time, if you are doing bellows internal repairs then you will have to. If you look at the concertina then the is a window in the fretting on the right hand end for the maker's Seal. On the opposite end (Left end), same corner, there is a window for the serial number. Think of this corner as the top. When you take an end off you will find internal stampings on this top corner, L for Left, and R for, well work it out. With the L & R will be the serial number. the L & R line up with their respective mates both in the bellows frames, the reed pans, the action boards and the action box covers. Follow the discipline and you cannot put the wrong reed pan into the wrong end and the action one flat out of place. As Lachenals carry the serial numbers then you cannot mix between instruments. Not all Wheatstones carry internal serial number stampings but they do use L & R stampings, or jig / model number markings.

[Theo]

Concertinas can be much worse...

Older, dirtier, completely non-working!

[Tiposx]

That will buff out nicely!

Riveted action though, looks interesting.

[TinkerPhil]

I wish the one I got was an English- there's no way my brain and fingers will be able to learn both anglo and english

 

my problem now is this one has made my concertina connection jackie look huge, feel bulky, heavier and sound harsher (the notes sound so much nicer on this older one)

 

I will still try and get it fully working!

[Theo]

18 hours ago, Tiposx said:

That will buff out nicely!

Riveted action though, looks interesting.

 

I'll start a separate topic with more photos

 

[TinkerPhil]

I opened it up took some pics and put it back together again. One of the screws had cammed out before I got it, I could put it back in but the next person to take it out would curse me.

 

even with one screw missing I've fixed two of the leaks and one of the notes but its still not happy

 

I have learned one important thing - I am not going to have the time or patience to fix it!

 

The serial number was 71763 if that's of any interest

 

what follows are some more pictures

[TinkerPhil]

 

 

Edited May 13 by TinkerPhil

[TinkerPhil]

[TinkerPhil]

[TinkerPhil]