Spongy Leather Discs

[Frank Edgley]

There are several choices for adhesives for attaching pads. Something that has to be kept in mind, beyond the issues of secure attachment and flexibility, is whether the material can be easily separated from the small leather nuts on the ends of the levers. Some of the less expensive instruments may not use these, but better quality instruments do. Eventually, pads do need to be replaced, and replacing the leather nuts as well is something you would not want to do, if you didn't have to. The pads, themselves may outlive the less expensive concertinas, so it may not be an issue, but with better quality instruments I would use more traditional means of attachment and traditional glues.

[d.elliott]

Frank,

 

the leather lever arm end: nuts, beads, grommets or whatever they are called cost next to nothing and can beak up anyway on cleaning up. On riveted actions sometimes its just quicker to replace them as a matter of principle. Its probably the easiest of all the tasks in thee box.

 

Dave

[JimLucas]

Have any of you ever tried Superglue (Cyanoacrylate) for a quick pad re-gluing when you couldn't spare the time for proper glue to set?

On vintage instruments, where the original glue was some form of animal glue, I have on a number of different occasions simply wet the original glue with a small amount of spit. It's tacky to be sure -- the pun is definitely intended, -- and the pressure of the lever under spring tension creates a good seal. I've been able to play such a "repair" immediately after reassembly, and even for a couple of weeks before having to do a "proper" repair... for which I usually use liquid hide glue.

 

However, I doubt that it would work in more modern instruments, which use different adhesives in the original.