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Author Topic: More silly lockdown boredom projects.  (Read 6311 times)

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Squeaky Pete

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More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« on: May 08, 2020, 01:49:06 PM »

Having got the IIB Victoria working nicely with 12 basses, including joining up the reed sharing and doubling up on the 5ths instead of thirds, I wondered what to do next.
I've decided to try and replicate the 14 bass of the Pariselle box in another innocent old Hohner Club 1B.
There's loads of room for bigger blocks and I'm trying out a 3rds stop too, maybe controlled from next to the air button.
Blocks are made and I'm messing with the 3rds slide at the moment.
The extra two pairs of bass reeds (now 8 instead of 6) have proved more of a teaser with bellows clearance, but a bit of judicious trimming has saved the day.
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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........

Rog

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #1 on: May 09, 2020, 10:07:18 AM »

Are you going to make the L shaped blocks like the Pariselle bass? I’ve come across a PA with similar design, but I think it was to give a cassotto like effect. Not sure from memory now if the Pariselle arrangement was for reasons of space saving or sound quality. Actually I personally didn’t like the bass on my Pariselle ..it lacked low end resonance.

Squeaky Pete

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #2 on: May 09, 2020, 11:26:42 AM »

I'm using the standard Hohner bass reeds so only two per button. I won't need the bit that's flat on the top that gives the 3rd voice.
I might try sometime in the future, but this is challenge enough at the moment.
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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 #3 on: May 09, 2020, 12:22:00 PM »

So..........does the third bass reed bring in a third octave, or what?
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Squeaky Pete

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #4 on: May 10, 2020, 07:18:38 PM »

I'll have a look for you next time I've got that box on my bench Edward.
I did a bit of prep on the bass end over the weekend.
I've fitted the raised bit for the bass buttons made out of an oak strip that was lying about. I've got to decide whether to make it black or just oil polish it.
It's been drilled now and the sharp eyed among you will notice it's offset as if there's a pair of buttons missing. This is because I plan to somehow make the 3rds stop to operate here instead of a knob on the top.
Pallets are repadded and the mechanisms fitted. However, to get the requisite number of bass pallets, I've had to move the chord pallets one position along. This means the  conrods will be the wrong length and the positions won't match. A bit of fabricating needed here.
Finally I want an air button like a pokerwork, not a wedge, so I've built up the fondo to permit a standard Hohner air mechanism to be used. The photo shows it still with cramp on. The button should now poke through the board. It looks like this will just miss the conrods.
Let me know if this is interesting, I don't want to keep boring people with my antidote to lockdown.
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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 #5 on: May 10, 2020, 10:16:12 PM »

"Let me know if this is interesting"

Yes, it is!
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Squeaky Pete

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #6 on: May 12, 2020, 09:28:20 PM »

Air button time.
I've had to remove the original air button and the mounting block as it's all in the way of the extended mechanism and the possible 3rds control button.
I'm on to MK4 or Mk5 now. I've tried extending the original, adapting a PA one, and a few versions of this one with springs in different places..... but this seems to work.
Not neat and elegant, and made out of what I had to hand.
All being well this is the final version.
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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 #7 on: May 20, 2020, 10:46:31 PM »

I've been steadily carrying on with this over the past week or so, an hour or two every now and then.
I've abandoned the idea of a stop button by the bass buttons. I'm still thinking about it for the next one though.
The bass reeds are all in and looking good though they all need final tuning. The thirds stop seems to be working.
I originally drilled the holes for the slide exactly matching the holes in the fondo, but it didn't quite cover with the stop engaged. I made a second slide with holes fractionally smaller then enlarged them across the slide. The single holes you can probably see are more oval in shape.
Whatever, there is a good seal now and plenty of air getting through when open.
I couldn't find a steel rod for the stop, and because we are still self isolating, wasn't able to scrounge anything from the local light engineering shop. A bit of solid brass "pipe" from a dead stradella mechanism was the eventual answer. I tapped a thread on each end and pushed the rod into a block on the end of the slide. A liberal dob of PVA in the hole gave something for the thread to grab.
A spare kitchen cupboard knob is the stop button for the moment.
I'm working my way through the tuning now. I'm using Steve Freereder's nice Viennese tuning method.
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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........

Jon Stapleton

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #8 on: May 23, 2020, 11:32:46 PM »

I know I sound a bit obsessed with air buttons  but how is that working out? I have given too much thought to this and my experiments have resulted in either  an air button which would need a course of anabolic steroids to shift,  or one which leaks like a sieve.  Is that a little coil spring you have there?  I have almost given up on the lovely big club air flap in favour of the slightly more rubbish corona type.  I do love the resistance free gulp of air that the club delivers!
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Squeaky Pete

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #9 on: May 24, 2020, 08:03:53 AM »

Yes it's a little coil spring. It was salvaged from a pa.
The button could do with projecting another 5mm through the end board. That was down to a bit of mis-measuring on my part.
Getting the geometry was a bit hit and miss, and it's a definite maybe but definitely workable. I've played worse.
If I remake it, it will be even longer and I'll add a little 1.5mm plywood patch over the original large club button-hole.
It is stiffer than the pokerwork one, but the position feels very natural and I didn't think about it while trying it out.
Once I've lengthed the strap I'll give it a good few days of practice and post something on YouTube.
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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........

Kimric Smythe

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #10 on: May 25, 2020, 12:24:37 AM »

This is an ambitious project reminds me a bit of the job I did converting a Stradella to a freebass.
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Nigel.H

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #11 on: May 25, 2020, 08:29:25 AM »

I have a similar 'length of lever reach' issue on this one.  New facing material has changed the internal geometry.  I can resolve it with new 'longer' dowels - one or two need replacement anyway, although I like to keep things as original as is 'practical'.

My thoughts ( which may not be 'new' ) on extending lever length, whilst using original levers - in the main - are around heat shrink tubing and an internal 'extension' piece.....wire.....or 'blade' where appropriate to the existing component, to create an extension in length.  A supported 'splint' effectively. 
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Squeaky Pete

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #12 on: May 25, 2020, 09:25:07 AM »

You've not quite finished that one then, Nigel!

I did redo the air lever yesterday. I moved the pivot to increase the mechanical advantage (marginally) and allow the button to project a little more.
The friction in the loop of the flap mechanism is probably the biggest area of resistance.
I'm still thinking about it.
Otherwise it's finished.
I'll post something shortly.
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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 #13 on: May 25, 2020, 06:30:19 PM »

I've had a bit of a play and it sounds fine.
In an hour of playing I had one chord stay open but it cured itself in seconds.
One problem is that I'm running out of the bass reeds and I've had to use some that don't quite respond as fast as I'd like, especially the really deep ones. Pushing the button a fraction early seems to work and trying not to play at whisper volume.
The air button works well. It's not hard to operate and gulps/dumps a bellows full in a fraction of a second. It's a bit all or nothing, but it won't be hard to get used to.
I've altered one chord from the Pariselle box. I had a push Amaj which I never used so it's the equivalent of Bb now. Ab as it's a CF box. Time will tell if it's a good idea, but I have made use of it already.
It has been a ridiculous waste of time, but I've learned a lot and have a very useful box. Ultimately I want to build a Club IIIM in this arrangement as I like the LMM sound and the entire bass end will have to be remade as seen in Elliott's thread. Whether I use a modified shared bass club bass mechanism, a pokerwork type with the relatively simple gear, or a custom (non reed sharing) setup with L shaped reed blocks and a thirds and fundamental stop will depend on how confident I feel and how much planning goes into it.

I think I'll try something a bit different next.
I have a stripped down Liliput that I might try to make 12 bass with 3rds stop. I doubt I could fit 14 bass in it. But what key? GC, DG or leave it CF?
I don't think I'll attempt any extra treble buttons, that's probably a step too far.
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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........

Steve_freereeder

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #14 on: May 25, 2020, 07:26:11 PM »

It has been a ridiculous waste of time, but I've learned a lot and have a very useful box.

If you've learned a lot and have a very useful box, there's no way it could be described as a ridiculous waste of time!  (:)
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Squeaky Pete

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #15 on: May 31, 2020, 09:08:08 PM »

I had a look at the Club IIIM yesterday and was surprised to find that I had already de-clubbed and retuned the treble end so that is now the next project.
The stops weren't working well and seemed to have a lot of resistance in the mechanism so I stripped and cleaned everything I could get to and lubricated as lightly as possible. All is well now and the buttons change registers very easily.
The bass end is awful. Broken reeds, valves everywhere and the bellows pins rusted solid. Soldering iron to the rescue and all ok now.
This will be a 14 bass and I couldn't find any bass mechanism that works out well in the available space, not from a Club, a PA, Corona or anything. I thought it would have to be 12 buttons until I tried a treble end.
A shockingly awful Club IV that has already been nibbled at provided all the gubbins. The spacing is workable and it only needed shortening to fit in.
The button arms were snipped off and drilled to take conrods. The buttons were filthy so I very carefully prised them off and cleaned them thoroughly. They look fine and I've enough for a couple of jobs.
The fondo doesn't match any spacing (it had the mini stradella setup) so I'll cut it out and replace it before redrilling, though I need to scrounge some ply first.
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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 #16 on: May 31, 2020, 09:35:31 PM »

Pile of bits.
Repurposed mechanism.


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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 #17 on: June 01, 2020, 03:25:41 PM »

Right, here you go, a sample of what I've been wasting my time on. I'm afraid there's not much use of the extra chords, but I've used the extra bass notes a fair bit.
Tune is Batignoles-Clichy in F.
https://youtu.be/d76QKrLTEiQ
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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........

rees

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #18 on: June 01, 2020, 04:53:24 PM »

Excellent job there Pete but it needs a bigger LH stop knob.  ;)
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Squeaky Pete

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Re: More silly lockdown boredom projects.
« Reply #19 on: June 06, 2020, 06:10:33 PM »

Rees, I'll find a bigger one. Possibly.

And Roger, this one will have L shaped bass block with 3 octave bass. With a stop for the growly bass.

I figured out the mechanism and got everything installed. The buttons were absolutely filthy and probably took an hour to clean.
The old bass button holes were wrong for 14 and I wanted to space them a bit tighter ( and matching the Pariselle) as I find the 12 bass Victoria a stretch. So I plugged them with tulipwood and glued them solid, filled the surface with 2 pack filler and sanded smooth. I found some matching/contrasting silver celluloid and stuck it on with PVA.
Unfortunately my drilling jig for the angle went out of adjustment and broke down and the hole positions aren't as evenly spaced as I would like.
Anyway, new pallets made, arms cut to size and conrods made up. The buttons have a little hole in the back so I put some hot melt glue in and pushed them onto the rod ends.
Juggling them to feel level and even was a bit of a faff but it's done now.
All I have to do now is make the reed blocks and stops, fit the needs and tune it all. Downward slope!!!!
« Last Edit: June 06, 2020, 09:39:18 PM 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........
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