Wheatstone Reedpan Wanted

[Theo]

I am working with a friend to try to bring life back to a nice 48 button Wheatstone English metal ended concertina. Its all there but the right hand reedpan which has been replaced with a Lachenal left hand reedpan!

 

The Lachenal pan is a bit small, though it could be made airtight with an extra layer of gasket material. More seriously the reed chambers on the Lachenal pan do not all line up with the holes in the Wheatstone action board. About 5 or 6 holes are affected and as a temporary measure I have narrowed the holes with small pieces of masking tape.

 

The ideal solution would be to find a Wheatstone reedpan, so this is firstly an appeal. Has anyone a spare Wheatstone pan lying in their box of bits? The Lachenal one is available to trade.

 

Failing that any suggestions for matching up the parts I have, or is it not even worth considering?

 

Theo

[JimLucas]

The ideal solution would be to find a Wheatstone reedpan,...

Not necessarily.

 

Wheatstone had many models and made many custom instruments. No guarantee that the reed pan from one Wheatstone would fit another. Often you can't even screw the end back on the same instrument if you rotate 1/6 turn (1/8 for an Æola), because the fit isn't precisely symmetrical.

 

At the very least you should specify the size and shape (hexagonal or octagonal) of the ends, and the depth and location of the support blocks (separate depths for each block if it's a tilted reed pan). Even then, I doubt that there have been that many damaged concertinas of any size or type that have only the one reed pan remaining.

 

I really think your best bet would be to have one of the established makers do one custom reed pan for you. Of course, they'd need the rest of the instrument to take measurements from and make sure it fit. Or if you're really good with tools and have the right router bits, you might try to make your own. It would take some careful pre-planning, though.

Edited February 13, 2004 by JimLucas

[Theo]

I had not considered the possibility of getting a new reedpan made. I think I agree with you that might well be the best solution. Thanks for that idea Jim.

 

As for details of the pan if anyone has one: It is hexagonal, tilted pan, 48 button Wheatstone English. I shall have to get the callipers out before I can give any measurements.

 

Theo

[JimLucas]

As for details of the pan if anyone has one:  It is hexagonal, tilted pan, 48 button Wheatstone English. I shall have to get the callipers out before I can give any measurements.

Do you have the serial no.? If so, we might be able to get its model number from the Wheatstone ledgers, which could then be used for comparison by anyone with a reed pan to offer.

 

By the way, what happened to the rest of the Lachenal you took the stopgap (no apology for the pun) reed pan from?

[Theo]

The details are: serial number 27410

 

The LH reedpan (the Wheatstone one) measures between 144.1 and 144.8 mm across the flats depending where you take the measurement.

 

By the way, what happened to the rest of the Lachenal you took the stopgap (no apology for the pun) reed pan from?

 

The other reedpan has been badly damaged by water, severly warped and many of the reed chamber walls gone. I am adapting that into a tuning fixture. One of the action boards remains and makes a handy rack for holding a set of buttons during restoration work. The bellows are gone, the ends have been donated to another Lachenal. All that's left is an assortment of reeds, which appear to come from a variety of instruments.