Warped end after removal?

[LangoLee]

Okay, so I only acquired a vintage instrument - six-sided, metal-ended Wheatstone English - a few weeks ago, after many problem-free months with a cheap accordion-reeded one, but today I encountered my first maintenance task: one of the reeds wasn't sounding. Having read about how simple an operation this is to deal with, I unscrewed the left end and stuck a piece of paper under the relevant reed.

 

This all seemed fine. However, when I screwed the end back on - each screw required varying amounts of effort - it did not fit back entirely evenly. There is a visible gap, at least a millimetre wide, on the bottom side, between the outer and inner pieces of wood comprising the end, suggesting that the wood has warped. There are several possible reasons for this: the warping occurred in the ten minutes or so that the end was unscrewed (unlikely?); it had something to do with the pressure of how I removed or replaced the screws (used a small jeweller's screwdriver); it had already occurred before I removed the end, due to climatic or other conditions, and I just hadn't noticed.

 

Anyway, is this something to be concerned about? I'm not even entirely sure if the instrument sounds the same as before, or if it now sounds leakier (that could be a paranoid psychological perception). Have I inadvertently damaged the instrument, or is this a common occurrence?

 

Thanks, etc.

Edited March 9, 2009 by LangoLee

[Dieppe]

Okay, so I only acquired a vintage instrument - six-sided, metal-ended Wheatstone English - a few weeks ago, after many problem-free months with a cheap accordion-reeded one, but today I encountered my first maintenance task: one of the reeds wasn't sounding. Having read about how simple an operation this is to deal with, I unscrewed the left end and stuck a piece of paper under the relevant reed.

 

This all seemed fine. However, when I screwed the end back on - each screw required varying amounts of effort - it did not fit back entirely evenly. There is a visible gap, at least a millimetre wide, on the bottom side, between the outer and inner pieces of wood comprising the end, suggesting that the wood has warped. There are several possible reasons for this: the warping occurred in the ten minutes or so that the end was unscrewed (unlikely?); it had something to do with the pressure of how I removed or replaced the screws (used a small jeweller's screwdriver); it had already occurred before I removed the end, due to climatic or other conditions, and I just hadn't noticed.

 

Anyway, is this something to be concerned about? I'm not even entirely sure if the instrument sounds the same as before, or if it now sounds leakier (that could be a paranoid psychological perception). Have I inadvertently damaged the instrument, or is this a common occurrence?

 

Thanks, etc.

 

I'm not an instrument repairer, but I'll ask the obvious technical question that one could ask... Are you 100% certain you have it aligned correctly, and not turned a turn one way or the other from the bellows to the main part? Also, do you have exactly the same screws in the same holes (if the screws aren't identical).

 

That's all I can think of. Good luck!

 

---

Patrick

[Christian Husmann]

There are several possible reasons for this: the warping occurred in the ten minutes or so that the end was unscrewed (unlikely?);

 

Well, I am no expert but but I did have a similar problem putting my instrument back together in a dry flat during a cold winter. Later that year I removed the same end and didn´t have any problems at all.

I´ve once been told a story by W. Wakker about an instrument - after having taken the ends off he could watch the action board as it cracked all the way through. The screws keep the machine together and sometimes for a long term so I wouldn´t exclude the above mentioned reason.

 

But as I said, I am no expert at all

Christian

[Frank Edgley]

This is always a possibility when dealing with very old vintage instruments. They can remain stable while they are not being played, but can warp or crack internally after being played. It probably has to do with dry air being put through the instrument at a faster than normal rate. While it is sitting, unplayed, the moisture levels within the instrument change very gradually as the humidity in the surrounding environment changes. When it is played, the surrounding air is forced though the instrument quickly, and changes it the moisture content of the wood changes more quickly than it can handle. More fragile instruments can then warp or crack. While your instrument was together, the bellows frames were probably helping to temporarily withstand the warping of the action board, but once taken apart, it could then assume the shape it "wanted" to be. I'm not sure what the best solution would be. Perhaps a "Dampit" in the case. Be careful not to overdo this though, and rust the reeds. A moisture meter in the case would give you information about the moisture level within the case. I have seen a few Dippers come with a case with built-in moisture meters.

[Anglo-Irishman]

Hi, LangoLee,

While doing a job on my Lachenal recently that required me to remove and replace the ends repeatedly (see thread "An excellent resource") I got the shock of my life when replacing the ends for the third or fourth time. There was an enormous gap at one side, and the end just wouldn't seat on the bellows frame.

 

Panic!

 

And what was the cause? The lose end of the hand-strap had sneaked in between end and bellows!

 

By the way, your report that the end bolts went in with "varying amounts of effort" might be part of the problem. Could it be that the threads on some bolts are mangled from being inserted when not quite aligned, and don't go all the way in?

Many years ago, I learned to insert a bolt in a nut by first turning the bolt anti-clockwise until it goes "click!", indicating that the thread has engaged in the tapping of the nut, and then turn clockwise. I played with Meccano a lot as a boy, so this is second nature to me, but younger folk may not have had this privilege

Just a thought.

 

Cheers,

John