Learning about basic accordion repairs

[Tim Shal]

Hello everyone,
I just acquired a nice but rather beat up accordion. I'm trying to understand how badly it's damaged and I would like to learn how to fix the most basic issues on accordions. Sometimes I would have a rather small problem with some of my accordions (I own 3 of them) and I cannot bring them to the shop as I don't have accordion shops in my area. Any kind of reference for materials such as books, videos, etc. would be appreciated. I'm also posting the pictures of my accordion I'm planning to fix. Bellows seem to be in very bad shape, with multiple holes and a glue job in the middle, they are the opposite of tight. I assume that I would need to buy new bellows. I have no idea where to go for that. Also, the reed leathers need to be replaced for most of the bass reeds. Also, some of the reeds are missing from the keyboard side. However, it plays all the notes and even seems to be in tune most of the time. The keyboard makes lots of clicking noises when I try to play, so I assume that the pads on the levers also might need a replacement.
Thank you in advance for your help on this matter!

 

[debra]

This accordion is indeed quite "beat up" and won't be worth even just the materials to bring it back to life.
But it can offer you a good learning experience. Go to www.accordionrevival.com for the best learning material on how to fix most everything in an accordion. (Thanks JimD!)
If you really want to learn how to fix accordions in general, the Accordion Craft Academy (hosted by Victoria, in Castelfidardo, Italy) is the place to be. Expensive courses, but well worth the experience imho.

 

[Dingo40]

welcome, Tim!
Quite a bit to do, but the bones are good and you'll gain lots of experience.
Good luck !

 

[tcabot]

Welcome.

Bad news: the more "beat up" the accordion, the harder it is to fix it, and the difficulty grows exponentially.
Good news: You already have instruments in playable condition, so you're not in any rush, and you can use them for reference when fixing this one.
More good news: The insides look reasonably well-spaced - not even the same league of madness as converter CBAs, so repairs should be more straightforward.

Good luck!

 

[dak]

Welcome.

Bad news: the more "beat up" the accordion, the harder it is to fix it, and the difficulty grows exponentially.
Good news: You already have instruments in playable condition, so you're not in any rush, and you can use them for reference when fixing this one.
More good news: The insides look reasonably well-spaced - not even the same league of madness as converter CBAs, so repairs should be more straightforward.

Good luck!

A converter CBA is not significantly different: you can usually ignore the converter mechanics and just take a look at pallets and reed blocks. It's more a matter of the size of the task: my free bass Morino Artiste has reed blocks like a shark has teeth, and they are covered in reed plates without gaps. So for systematic problems (like having to replace all valves at least in the bass) you'll have a lot of repair practice before arriving at a playable instrument.

 

[Tom]

Good luck Tim! A worthy project and you will learn much. Biggest problem will be sourcing the replacement reeds. Someone here will recommend a good source if you don’t have one. Issue will be whether you “restore” it or “make it playable.” There is a place you can send for new bellows, but is it totally necessary? In a project like this, you may be surprised how much you can do with bellows tape. Just sayin’ ☺

 

[tcabot]

my free bass Morino Artiste

I have got an Excelsior 922, which is probably near identical to the Morino, so I know what you mean when you talk about shark teeth.

I haven't done any reed work on it yet, but even a regular CBA is too tight for my liking. It's not enjoyable.
My bando - I can take apart and re-assemble just for fun. Lots of space, easy to work on, everything's nice & logical.

 

[losthobos]

Sorry to say "you can't polish a turd"...

 

[kimric]

My first overhaul was way worse than this. The bellows can probably be repaired.

 

[Tim Shal]

Thank you everyone for commenting. Looks like a lot of fun

 

[Tim Shal]

Good luck Tim! A worthy project and you will learn much. Biggest problem will be sourcing the replacement reeds. Someone here will recommend a good source if you don’t have one. Issue will be whether you “restore” it or “make it playable.” There is a place you can send for new bellows, but is it totally necessary? In a project like this, you may be surprised how much you can do with bellows tape. Just sayin’ ☺I

Yes, I considered the tape, I do have a few leaky corners, which I assume will be more difficult to fix, plus I understand that I need a gasket for the periphery of the bellows on both sides. Right now they don't hold any air.

 

[Tim Shal]

This accordion is indeed quite "beat up" and won't be worth even just the materials to bring it back to life.
But it can offer you a good learning experience. Go to www.accordionrevival.com for the best learning material on how to fix most everything in an accordion. (Thanks JimD!)
If you really want to learn how to fix accordions in general, the Accordion Craft Academy (hosted by Victoria, in Castelfidardo, Italy) is the place to be. Expensive courses, but well worth the experience imho.

Yes, I considered Castelfardo, but wanted to learn a few basics before this kind of investment. I need to brush on up on my Italian too, that's an added bonus . By the way, is there anybody in the US who does this kind of training? I'm willing to travel out of state.

 

[Dingo40]

By the way, is there anybody in the US who does this kind of training?

If you search for it, there's quite a few videos on YouTube showing different things (often the same thing from different angles)!

 

[Siegmund]

I had an excellent experience going to the class in Castelfidardo this fall (and went in part because Paul spoke so highly of it here.) A whole lot of practicing to do before I feel confident doing the things I learned, however.

 

[Tim Shal]

I had an excellent experience going to the class in Castelfidardo this fall (and went in part because Paul spoke so highly of it here.) A whole lot of practicing to do before I feel confident doing the things I learned, however.

How was the class? Was it one of many they offer or a part of a complete course? I heard about it, just not the details.

 

[Siegmund]

How was the class? Was it one of many they offer or a part of a complete course? I heard about it, just not the details.

I took the "Tier I" and "Tier II" classes together (and aim to go back for III and IV when I can take them together -- which might not be until 2025, since the only III-IV pair offered in 2024 already had one class sold out before I finished Tier II.)

In our 4 days of Tier I, we took apart and put back together a piano keyboard; we took apart and put back together a bass machine; we affixed new leathers and springs to old reeds; we practiced pouring wax (on test parts, not real accordions); we tried to tune single reeds (outside of an accordion); we had some show-and-tell about how bellows are built and how they might be repaired. In Tier II, we poured wax on real reeds, did a lot more tuning (and bending up/down or pushing sideways reeds that would not speak well), on reeds still attached to reed blocks, and took apart and put back together the register-switch mechanism.

There is an expectation that you spend several months attempting repairs on your own before you come back for an additional class. I picked up a whole closetful of cheap old accordions needing TLC last summer, in anticipation of needing something to practice on.

I am not aware of any similar class offered in the United States. There are individual "masters" who occasionally take on "apprentices" though the nearest of these to us that I know of is in Canada.

I had four months to intensively study Italian before I went. This was plenty to be able to buy food, navigate trains and buses, check into a hotel, etc, but not remotely close to enough to actually carry on a conversation with a random Italian. I definitely still needed most of the class material spoken in English (though hearing things twice in Italian and then English did improve my Italian quite a bit.)

 

[32251]

Welcome. Are you missing any reeds?

 

[debra]

I have got an Excelsior 922, which is probably near identical to the Morino, so I know what you mean when you talk about shark teeth.

I haven't done any reed work on it yet, but even a regular CBA is too tight for my liking. It's not enjoyable.
My bando - I can take apart and re-assemble just for fun. Lots of space, easy to work on, everything's nice & logical.

A "regular" CBA (meaning like the PA equivalent, but with rather large buttons, on 2+2 reed blocks, and having 46 notes (where the PA has 41) uses the same reed blocks as the PA (but uses all the positions while the PA leaves some open on the block for the black keys). As a result it has the same spacing between the reed plates. If you think this is too tight on a CBA you will find it equally too tight on a PA.
What makes a CBA harder to work on is the keyboard mechanism. It has a construction with lots of spacers which you need to keep in the right order and make sure that as you remove the spindles they don't disappear. Also, some lunatic accordion makers (I won't mention names but you probably know who I am implying) glue the buttons on instead of using screw-in buttons. As to dismantle a (regular, not the flat griff) button keyboard all the buttons need to be removed (and later put back) in order to remove the plate under the buttons... keyboard repair on these crazy CBA is a nightmare!

 

[tcabot]

A "regular" CBA

I always thought that "standard" CBA reed block config was in 3 row groups. "PA with CBA keyboard" boxes are less common, unless there's a cassotto?
In any case, it's not just the reed blocks - a 5-row CBA keyboard is quite a complex thing to take apart and put back together again. Even if you don't have to glue & unglue buttons .

Looking back, I should have picked a diddley bow as my instrument. Easy to service & matches my musical talent level.

 

[Rosie C]

I just acquired a nice but rather beat up accordion. I'm trying to understand how badly it's damaged and I would like to learn how to fix the most basic issues on accordions.

Good luck with your project! Do post photos as you progress - I'm starting something similar in January. I'm a rank beginner at accordion repair, but I was thinking to tackle the project in three parts - the bellows, the bass side, the treble side - putting it back together after each stage as I have a fear it ends up in pieces on a workbench for years. I restored a 1970s car some time ago and what was supposed to be a six month project took 6 years