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Warped Ends


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Need advice on methods to repair this common problem. It's probably been addressed in another thread, but thought i'd throw it out here. Too much tightening and humidity/time has lifted the corners causing chamber leakage. The bellows frame is flat.

 

My ideas: insert new brass chevrons in the frame corners to take a new bolt drilled to the corners, (i believe if this was used as the original method there would be less of this problem), then fill the old holes and stain to match as best as you can. The other is to sand under the top on a flat plate to bring the high areas down, (needs just a little), this would show a variation of line along the edge though. thanks for the input. wes.

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Need advice on methods to repair this common problem. It's probably been addressed in another thread, but thought i'd throw it out here. Too much tightening and humidity/time has lifted the corners causing chamber leakage. The bellows frame is flat.

 

My ideas: insert new brass chevrons in the frame corners to take a new bolt drilled to the corners, (i believe if this was used as the original method there would be less of this problem), then fill the old holes and stain to match as best as you can. The other is to sand under the top on a flat plate to bring the high areas down, (needs just a little), this would show a variation of line along the edge though. thanks for the input. wes.

 

Everything you suggest seems much too radical for my taste! Bolting the corners together won't help, because it's not the frames that warp, but the base of the action box, to which the frames are glued. As you say, it's a common problem, but the usual cause is not excessive humidity, but the lack of it. I often find that if I leave the ends off a concertina for a few days (while French polishing, for example), the action box warps a little in my centrally heated house. If you've got a garden shed, just remove the ends from the bellows and leave them out in the cold and damp for a few days. I find this is usually enough to bring them back into line. If not, just find a sturdy piece of plywood, and clamp the action box corners to it, using scrap timber for protection, of course. Leave it for a day or two more, and all will be well.

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  • 4 weeks later...

David's suggestions are very sound.

 

If I had a machine for repair that had a stubborn warp on the action box, I would remove all the leather from the strutting on the reed pan and marry it to the action box by putting a sheet of fine grit sandpaper on the warped surface & slowly rubbing them together using a small diameter circular motion. (Take the reeds out first and repeatedly check the fit)

When they match well enough, clear out any dust from the valves, fit new leather strips to the struts (which is a really easy job), pack the small triangular supports if it is needed (new leather is usually sufficient) and reassemble.

 

One end would probably take about an hour.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Kind regards - John Timpany.

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