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Author Topic: More silly lockdown boredom projects.  (Read 6312 times)

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Dennis Steckley

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #20 on: June 07, 2020, 03:57:35 AM »

Alas, all the "killing" of innocent club instruments!

Dennis S.
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Hohner Victoria Club ii, Hohner Club III M, Hohner Liliput, Hohner Preciosa, Hohner Piccoletta, Hohner Overture LMMM (and three PA's, including one that is the same size as a Preciosa)

Squeaky Pete

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #21 on: June 10, 2020, 09:28:08 AM »

A little bit more progress, though the garden is looking splendid.
I've just about made up the blocks now. The slides are done and the big block base needs to be drilled before gluing on.
The blank section on the chord slide doesn't leave enough hole to fully feed the air to the reeds in use, but I'm going to try it and see if the reed in use changes pitch when the stop is deployed.
I'll infill the bass block to take the smaller reed plates as required.
I'm thinking about the actual chords now, but I'll do a fresh thread for that and keep this to construction.
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Poker work DG.
Pariselle 2.6 DG, Ex-Club IIIBS CF,
Matching Liliputs in CF and DG,
Lots of sickly Hohners needing TLC,
Bassoon, Various Bagpipes........

Winston Smith

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #22 on: June 10, 2020, 05:51:17 PM »

That looks like a work of art to the likes of me! I'm insanely jealous, speaking as someone who cannot (no longer, anyway) cut a straight line. Well done.
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Squeaky Pete

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #23 on: June 13, 2020, 10:09:50 AM »

Thanks, Edward. I ought to be able to make stuff like this, I've run a worship for 30 years.
I had to drop something off at a local industrial estate and had a little word with people in a joinery factory. I thought I might be able to scrounge a few bits of beech for reed blocks but the only hardwood they use is Sapele. I thought that might be ok as it's one of the nicer mahogany substitutes and has a pretty consistent density.
Anybody else used Sapele for internal bits? It wouldn't be my first choice but I can't see why it shouldn't work.

Back on the project box, I'm filing brass off Hohner PA bass reeds to make the unusual reed pairings. Seems to be working but as always I'm hoping the response from these grungy reeds will be fast enough

Edit, forgot to mention that I walked off with a bit of 2½" Sapele a foot wide and half a metre long!
« Last Edit: June 13, 2020, 10:15:27 AM by Squeaky Pete »
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Poker work DG.
Pariselle 2.6 DG, Ex-Club IIIBS CF,
Matching Liliputs in CF and DG,
Lots of sickly Hohners needing TLC,
Bassoon, Various Bagpipes........

Nigel.H

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #24 on: June 13, 2020, 12:28:34 PM »

I have just used some to make edging around the bass end of my 1900's Italian box.  The dust is itchy, but you probably have the kit to manage that....It cuts finely - I was taking 3" x 1" x 14" lengths down to 10mm x 5mm with a handsaw and then 'splitting' them down the middle again, by hand and it left very workable surfaces with good strength even at 3mm - 5mm wide over 30cm lengths.

I personally prefer to solder load the reed's 'down' to make the pair where I can, as the lead seems to speed the tip up and saves it getting too thin, but I dare say it is the wrong thing to do! 
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Steve_freereeder

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #25 on: June 13, 2020, 05:01:08 PM »

I personally prefer to solder load the reed's 'down' to make the pair where I can, as the lead seems to speed the tip up and saves it getting too thin, but I dare say it is the wrong thing to do!
I think it is a sensible thing to do!

Flattening the pitch by loading the tip might result in a slight slowing down of the reed's response but usually this is not particularly noticable. The great advantage is that it is virtually non-destructive; you can always remove the solder if things don't work out as you'd hoped, and try to source another reed instead. Raising the pitch of a reed by filing the tip is always a one-way journey; you can't put the metal back.
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Steve
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Theo

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #26 on: June 13, 2020, 05:59:02 PM »

Raising the pitch of a reed by filing the tip is always a one-way journey; you can't put the metal back.

I’ll differ from that Steve.  You can’t put steel back on, but you can add weight to the tip with solder and get back to the same pitch.  The amount of bending at the tip is negligible, so adding solder is not going to affect the performance unless the solder loading is done very badly. What you can’t do is to replace the metal if you file the belly of the reed to lower the pitch.  The belly of the reed is where most bending takes place and adding solder here completely changes its mechanical properties and more or less deadens the reed,
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Theo Gibb - Gateshead UK

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Steve_freereeder

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #27 on: June 13, 2020, 06:52:07 PM »

Raising the pitch of a reed by filing the tip is always a one-way journey; you can't put the metal back.

I’ll differ from that Steve.  You can’t put steel back on, but you can add weight to the tip with solder and get back to the same pitch. 
Yes - OK, I'll agree with that. I guess I should have been more specific with what I meant. I should have said that you can't replace the steel once it has been filed away from the tip.
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Steve
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Squeaky Pete

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #28 on: June 13, 2020, 08:22:34 PM »

To be fair, I was talking about filing brass, not steel.
I'm using the bass reeds from a dead Hohner Verdi PA and I've got odd combinations like C#/E that you won't find in any standard box of any sort.
Some reeds need to be lowered on one side and I've been soldering ON some little blocks of brass or tiny blobs of lead solder.
I've managed all 8 from the original set, and the range is from Ab1 to G2. G1 responded too slow so I used the higher G. Two tongues were unusable and were chucked, so I've got a couple left for the next one.
I am, however, rapidly running out of bass reeds
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Poker work DG.
Pariselle 2.6 DG, Ex-Club IIIBS CF,
Matching Liliputs in CF and DG,
Lots of sickly Hohners needing TLC,
Bassoon, Various Bagpipes........

SHTUM

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #29 on: June 14, 2020, 06:34:47 PM »


I don't think I'll attempt any extra treble buttons, that's probably a step too far.
I,ve added treble buttons ( and reeds of course) to a Club 2b and a Liliput, and after watching what you,ve been doing here  -  definately go for it!  Enjoying this thread - good luck,   John.
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Squeaky Pete

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #30 on: June 14, 2020, 09:02:16 PM »

Wow, that's a tour de force!
It deserves a thread on its own.
There are so many little details that make it special. The marriage of the stradella end and club body, nice bellows, the badging, the celluloid and the extra button.

It's easier to add a button or two on a Club IIB as being two voice and older style reed blocks, you have room available in the half row block. The IIIM has the 3 rows of buttons distributed across 2 rows of pallets like the Liliput and with 3 full reed blocks I don't think there's room to fit another reed position without major surgery.
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Poker work DG.
Pariselle 2.6 DG, Ex-Club IIIBS CF,
Matching Liliputs in CF and DG,
Lots of sickly Hohners needing TLC,
Bassoon, Various Bagpipes........

SHTUM

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #31 on: June 15, 2020, 12:47:05 AM »

Oh yeah, I see what you mean, I,ve only done 2 voice treble so far,....  but if you changed the couplers to stops you would have loads more room inside the case.... just a thought.
        I,d like to know if its possible too! 👍    John.
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SHTUM

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #32 on: June 15, 2020, 12:03:56 PM »


It deserves a thread on its own.

I dont know what it deserves  - I,ve pushed the boundaries of space & taste with this.
I think Ive been locked indoors too long (or maybe not long enough)

I,ve got room for another two  treble buttons, then I,ll have to break out the diamonte crystals and run away to the circus!    John.
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Squeaky Pete

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #33 on: June 22, 2020, 11:42:28 PM »

I keep finding gardening to do, but I've carried on with this.
I have one bank of reeds to fit, the high basses, and then finally tune the bass notes. The chords are fine, and the 3rds stop works well. Whether it's worth the bother of thirds, I don't know as the first thing I do is pull that stop anyway.
There's been much discussion of half row layout in the past few days, so here is my solution. I've shown it as if it's in DG but it's actually CF.
I've flipped the d/e plate and tuned up the bottom e on the G row. I've not yet tuned up the high d to e on the G row.
I've got an odd high f# as it doesn't exist on the main rows, but that's nothing to do with the changes.
That leaves a spare pull reed on the old c/d plate in the middle of the half row. I've chosen to make this eb.
Part of the reason for this is that I have pretty much the Saltarelle's standard bass on the Pariselle and although I like the pull G chord I have never used the A.
The push f# gives an easy gmaj7 but that can be achieved with a pull F# and relearning the melody on the pull. Pull f# means all 3 notes are available for a F# min chord in the same direction. Now Bb and Eb are available as full bass chords and the only note not on the treble side is a push Fnat for the Bb chord.
I have fitted a Bb instead of A in the bass on a couple of boxes and that is much more useful.
However, as I said somewhere else, I potter through tunes I know I can't play and keep wanting Eb too, so I thought I'd better go the whole hog and adopt Emmanuel's suggested setup on the bass end.
I lose the pull G bass but I found it was only to be able to at under an E. That's when I thought I could try the Dutch reversal and bring up the bottom d to e and it can all be done on the push.
Here is the final plan, the way the club IIIM is now. (Apart from being CF)
Contentious bits are red!
The half row was based partly on Saul Bailey's Mory but I've got a extra button on the Pariselle. The club has even more, but just extending the same pattern going up.
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Poker work DG.
Pariselle 2.6 DG, Ex-Club IIIBS CF,
Matching Liliputs in CF and DG,
Lots of sickly Hohners needing TLC,
Bassoon, Various Bagpipes........

Squeaky Pete

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #34 on: July 14, 2020, 04:36:26 PM »

The club IIIM is working, but I am going to have to refit the bass mechanism I made from bits.
I've mixed up some of the springs and the tensions aren't even through the bass buttons. Annoyingly the button that requires the greatest effort is able to foul another pallet rod (that requires very little effort) and it's not possible to tell when I am about to engage it.
Otherwise it's working ok.
There's a bit too much pallet slap, I need to put on some stop pulls and I've got to tidy up the grille as it was always a mess, but once I get around to all that, I'll post something. I might have got more used to the Dutch reversal by then.
I've found a little knob to replace the wooden one on the IB, just cos Rees made me feel like I was cheating.

I've got another thing I plan to try. I have the bits of a 25 button club II (or something similar) and I'm wondering if I can turn it into a Bandoneon tuned box with 6 on the half row.
Having just two rows of pallets, this should be very light, even with extra basses it should be only 10-20% heavier than a pokerwork. The bellows are rubbish, I'll just make them airtight and maybe replace them in the future. The celluloid is a bit crappy and there's a section missing completely from the bits I'll make the bass end from, so it might all get veneered in something vaguely exciting that I can blag from the local veneerers.
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Poker work DG.
Pariselle 2.6 DG, Ex-Club IIIBS CF,
Matching Liliputs in CF and DG,
Lots of sickly Hohners needing TLC,
Bassoon, Various Bagpipes........

Squeaky Pete

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #35 on: July 26, 2020, 10:06:07 AM »

Well this project is causing a bit of head scratching. There is an auxiliary axle just for the 4 helper row buttons so the effort is transferred to the outer pallets (and obviously the end reed spaces). As this is not part of the main keyboard mechanism it is completely independent, but means the levers run a convoluted route under and behind the main stuff.
It takes a surprising amount of space and there is no room for any more metalwork to operate without fouling though there are plenty of positions to mount it.
Looking carefully though, I think I can make a similar type of lever connection to work behind the pallet arms instead  without hitting anything.
Trouble is I'm making it out of scraps of dead boxes so there will be lots of solder joints. It's going to have to be ugly but at least it will be hidden. It might even work!
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Poker work DG.
Pariselle 2.6 DG, Ex-Club IIIBS CF,
Matching Liliputs in CF and DG,
Lots of sickly Hohners needing TLC,
Bassoon, Various Bagpipes........

Dave Praties

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #36 on: August 04, 2020, 03:07:24 PM »

My current tail-end of lockdown projects is finishing the 2.5 row build that has occupied some large number of spare hours over the last 3 years. Home straits now - bellows and reeds ordered. Just made and fitted the bass low reed register, and it all works beautifully! Casta style, so the buttons pop back up after pressing.
Just (!) the treble key-to-pallet rods to bend and fit, and 3 treble register rods to size and fit.
Oh, and the corners to radius, and the whole thing sanded and finished.
Oh, and the reeds to mount on the blocks.
But- beginning to believe that I may finish it before I am too old to play it!
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Castagnari Mory D/G.  Saltarelle Bouebe D/G. Hohner Club 2 C/F. Bachenbulach Bb/Eb. Matzini C/F. Some of them even work.

Squeaky Pete

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #37 on: August 05, 2020, 09:59:04 PM »

It's looking good Dave.
That's a short list to get through. ;D
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Poker work DG.
Pariselle 2.6 DG, Ex-Club IIIBS CF,
Matching Liliputs in CF and DG,
Lots of sickly Hohners needing TLC,
Bassoon, Various Bagpipes........

Dave Praties

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #38 on: September 27, 2020, 11:51:47 AM »

Back to work now, (kind of), but only in three days each week until students return, so still time to keep building the home-brewed melodeon.
Now about ready to glue on the bellows to the frames. Never done this before, any advice, anecdotes, warnings, welcome!
Dave
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Castagnari Mory D/G.  Saltarelle Bouebe D/G. Hohner Club 2 C/F. Bachenbulach Bb/Eb. Matzini C/F. Some of them even work.

Tiposx

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #39 on: September 27, 2020, 01:58:53 PM »

I put strips of cardboard inside the top and bottom bellows folds to ensure good contact. I used stout boards cut to the size of the frames to spread the clamping pressure. Six clamps and pva adhesive.

The frames need to be precisely aligned with each other, and the bellows should sit straight and not skewed.

http://forum.melodeon.net/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=24823.0;attach=29306;image
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