The ones I've seen have been covered with a textured paper which doesn't wear terribly well. Sandgrain Rexine is the best match I've managed to find.
From previous conversations, first find your Rexine. Then worry about gluing it.
Okay, first off "Rexine" is not made anymore, you either have a lookalike or old stock.
Rexine is an absolute bastard to glue especially if you have to glue the shiny side to itself. If that's the case rough up the surface with acetone or similar. PVA is the preferred glue but make sure it's the right stuff, woodworkers PVA is not.
As for the bellows paper, paste is preferred but again not wallpaper stuff it's too acidic.
Why spend a lot of time restoring something and then use something that will rot.
If you find the the PVA is drying too quickly before you can properly position your material, then add a little paste. This will give you a longer "open" time.
problem, of course, is the wide bellows frames; bellows tape just doesn't come 2 inches wide!I had some red leather that I was going to use, until I saw the green bellows paper. Hence the visit to chez Collis-Bird to get some advice on alternative materials.
Graham
Well, it's a 1930s pressed wood G/C box with wide bellows frames. The case says Koch, it has a metal action and Hohner air button, so presumably shortly after Koch got taken over.
I recall reading something that suggested Hohner only kept producing these under the Koch name until around 1931. I've seen Kochs stamped with "original Hohner" on the rear of the fingerboard so I assume these date from the period 1929-31.
Well, it's a 1930s pressed wood G/C box with wide bellows frames. The case says Koch, it has a metal action and Hohner air button, so presumably shortly after Koch got taken over.
Similar case and bellows, but with the Koch legend, and straps on the side. Two row.
No it's not it's a grained paper.
... I can't remember what it was. It's an age thing. :-\
Similar case and bellows, but with the Koch legend, and straps on the side. Two row.
But yours has the all-metal action, presumably with casein plastic buttons and a closed keyboard, and probably Hohner reeds Malcolm? (They're Koch reeds in mine.)
Don't know what Koch reeds look like ...
... Most materials which are linen based are then sprayed with a chalk based pigment. That's old style Buckram. The modern stuff is different and is sprayed with a plastic type finish likewise Rexine. Therefore I think Mull was applied for added strength.
An E flat Koch single row with a different marking. I like the goats!
Steven, Having had a more magnified look at your picture, do you think the bellows tape might be the same but less worn than the 'mull+' material around the ends ?
Anyhow, a nice problem to have and conserve / restore / renew apart, a nice article of free reed history to have in your squeezearium :D
Steven, Having had a more magnified look at your picture, do you think the bellows tape might be the same but less worn than the 'mull+' material around the ends ?
Yes, I've been suggesting all-along that the material on the bellows frames is the same as the (very thick) bellows tape. It reminds me very strongly of the covering on many older books, which is why I was asking about buckram...
For such a few Hz difference, couldn't you just play your Casali from a suitably moving vehicle and let Mr Doppler take care of the difference as far as your audience is concerned?
Anyway, the C row is out of tune with itself! (With slight rust on the reeds, from the little playing that it seems to have got when new.) :(
Might have been played in a convertible with the top down in the rain.... :-\
It's a grained/textured paper of some description, and noticeably thinner than modern bellows tape. Mine has the metal action, closed keyboard and casein buttons, and as far as I recall, not having looked at it for a while, Hohner reeds. I do have a number of Koch reeds with the chamois stamp, however, which bizarrely were harvested from a VERY poorly Hohner HA112.......
It's a grained/textured paper of some description, and noticeably thinner than modern bellows tape. Mine has the metal action, closed keyboard and casein buttons, and as far as I recall, not having looked at it for a while, Hohner reeds. I do have a number of Koch reeds with the chamois stamp, however, which bizarrely were harvested from a VERY poorly Hohner HA112.......
I'm trying to decide whether to replace the frame paper which is faded and ugly but otherwise intact....or perhaps simply lacquer it. The bellows tape is a sure candidate for replacement...and there's a single valley in the otherwise perfect light green bellows with a torn and stained paper! I still have to come up with a creative solution for that.
I was surprised to find that the reed blocks in my Koch are a combination of Hohner H and T types with a single odd mystery reed. Throws my earlier notion that it was pre-Hohner out of the window, I think.
rb
Absolutely right. If you over tape the bellows you'll have to move the straps.
Does this one look like yours Nick?
Yes psuggmog, it's exactly the same but minus the grill. It's not a bad box at all but does need some work. Which I'll get sorted.Might be able to find a grille if you want. Rusty but not bad.
Well, it's a 1930s pressed wood G/C box with wide bellows frames. The case says Koch, it has a metal action and Hohner air button, so presumably shortly after Koch got taken over.
Ah, so a very different beast to the poker work Koch models illustrated in Hohner's Catalogue No. 700 (c.1929-30) which shows them still with poker work grilles, open stepped keyboards and wooden actions;(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b66/StephenChambers/Accordions/scan0016.jpg)
or my 1920's 3-row one that was found in a French barn;(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b66/StephenChambers/Accordions/004_1.jpg)
that I want to restore and inspired my question about buckram, seeing that the bellows frames and edges could seriously do with recovering;(http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b66/StephenChambers/Accordions/015_1.jpg)