Light repairs for a beginner

[Gustav J]

Hi all!

I'm a complete beginner and have acquired a George Case 48 key English concertina from over seas (I live in sweden). I'm very fond of it and am very eager to learn, but I noticed that there is a tear in on of the bellow cards. Its still playable as far as I can tell but I would like to repair it of course. It seems straight forward given the location of the tear. What materials do I need to repair this in the best way possible?

 

Many thanks

[Alex West]

Gustav
It rather depends on whether the tear is just in the paper, or goes all the way through the card underneath it, or extends through to the leather gusset to the right of the area you've highlighted.  In the first instance, I'd remove the paper by gently soaking the paper with water (on the end of a cotton but, not under a running tap!), peeling the decorative paper off and then assessing what the damage is underneath. 

 

I'd guess you'll need to repair/reinforce the card underneath by gluing paper to both sides of the card (inside the bellows and externally) and trying to impregnate the card with the glue so that you get a sort of paper/card/paper 3-ply sandwich without adding too much thickness.

Then replace the decorative paper with one from Concertina Spares (or I can send you one if you run into huge difficulties sourcing it).

 

If the tear has gone into the leather gusset, you'll need to repair that with a very thin piece of leather (or "Zephyr") inside the bellows and maybe a thin piece of leather externally

Alex West 

[Gustav J]

28 minutes ago, Alex West said:

Gustav
It rather depends on whether the tear is just in the paper, or goes all the way through the card underneath it, or extends through to the leather gusset to the right of the area you've highlighted.  In the first instance, I'd remove the paper by gently soaking the paper with water (on the end of a cotton but, not under a running tap!), peeling the decorative paper off and then assessing what the damage is underneath. 

 

I'd guess you'll need to repair/reinforce the card underneath by gluing paper to both sides of the card (inside the bellows and externally) and trying to impregnate the card with the glue so that you get a sort of paper/card/paper 3-ply sandwich without adding too much thickness.

Then replace the decorative paper with one from Concertina Spares (or I can send you one if you run into huge difficulties sourcing it).

 

If the tear has gone into the leather gusset, you'll need to repair that with a very thin piece of leather (or "Zephyr") inside the bellows and maybe a thin piece of leather externally

Alex West 

Thanks Alex

The tear goes all the way through unfortunately. I don't think it extends to the leather, I will inspect closer tonight. Do I use this decorative paper as a patch on the inside or is some other kind of paper used? I work full-time building architectural models so I have access to 0.5 mm cardboard and thicker papers. I don't mind leaving the outer paper layer as is unless its necessary for strength. I'll take the less invasive route for starters. I'm fairly certain I can "sew" the wound neatly shut. Is it hide glue which is used exclusively?

 

Gustav

[Alex West]

Gustav

 

Personally, I'd use regular Titebond for the "structural" repair of the paperwork.  You could use a starch based or similar bookbinding glue but I don't think it would offer a particular advantage.  The "dot and cross" paper is purely decorative and is used to cover up the join between the leather gusset and the bellows card underneath.  For repair, use anything that isn't too think to look too obvious.  0.5mm card on the inside plus something a little thinner (strong cartridge paper?) on the outside should be fine

 

Alex West