The Sides of a
Concertina
This
is what many concertinas look like after a century of use. The leather parts
(thumb strap, baffle)
are torn and/or deteriorated, the metal parts are covered
with a thick layer of dirt and oxidation, the
wood work is full of nicks,
scratches, the lacquer finish is chipped etc.
A
close up of one of the sides. At first sight it just looks dirty. If you look
closer, you'll notice the
oxidation on the keys, which has damaged the (black)
felt bushing over the years. Worn bushing makes
the action very noisy. Besides
affecting the key movement through the felt bushing, the oxidation can
also
cause the key to get stuck.
To solve this problem, the keys will have to be (machine) polished and the felt
bushings replaced. The
quality and thickness of the felt is very important.
Note the deteriorated thumb strap. The inner metal frame is visible. This is not
reparable, they (both sides
of the instrument) will have to be replaced.
After the bushing, little finger rest, etc. has been removed, the condition of
the wood and finish
becomes visible.
The players (long) nails have damaged the wood around the key holes and
completely removed
the finish.
This side needs to be sanded down, repaired and
re-stained before a new finish can be applied.
The type of finish depends on the
quality of the instrument. Top quality instruments, such as Aeolas,
Edeophones
and Amboyna ended concertinas we French polish, which is the classic finish for
top
instruments. Other instruments are lacquered.
A
close up of the woodwork. Years of use have scratched the finish and wood to a
point that
just re-finishing won't do anymore.
The structure of the sides and veneers also need to be checked. Quite often the
glues used have
been affected by moisture and have deteriorated.
This
side is finished. The wood is lacquered, all metal parts; keys (48), little
finger rest (2), end bolds
(12), are polished, new bushing is installed (48) and
reamed to the correct tolerance, and new thumb
straps (2) and leather baffles
(2) are fitted.
Although concertinas are small instruments, there are a lot of different parts
that need work.
This is the same instrument as the first pictures on top of this page.
Another example of damaged ends. This is an Amboyna Edeophone with glass
keys. Note the 'hole'
next to the thumbstrap, caused by the thumbnail. The
amboyna veneer has been completely 'scraped'
out.
The same instrument, finished. The 'hole' in the previous photo has been
replaced with a new piece of amboyna.
The sides are French polished, new bushing, thumb straps etc.
Click here to see the complete
instrument.
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