Building a on off switch for third M register

[wout]

I am building an on off switch for the third M on my instrument, which gives me 22 options for different sounds so far these are pictures of what i constructed. Mostly the switch works because its held in place by the grill. The thing is its still kind of loose and you need to use a bit of momentum for it to switch on or off. After analysis i think the best way to solve it is to attach something to hold the lever in the middle so makes a rotation point. Ive been looking but i have difficulties finding a way to attach it properly. I wondered if anybody has some inspiration for me. Thanks!

 

[JIM D.]

Hi Wout:
Send me a PM - so you and I expand on your endeavor.
JIM

 

[Geronimo]

Hi Wout:
Send me a PA - so you and I expand on your endeavor.
JIM

And a CBA for me, please.

 

[wout]

Hello jim, does that mean piano accordion or something else? If so im a bit far away since i live in spain. <EMOJI seq="1f601">?</EMOJI>

 

[debra]

The problem with your switch is not in what you did but in the Hohner's register mechanism.
These older Hohners do not have a "latch" to keep the register sliders in place. If you look at for instance a Bugari's (or any other modern Italian) register mechanism you will see that there are two notches in the sliders: one for on and one for off, and the sliders "lock" into place in one of these positions on a kind of spring. I'm attaching a bad picture of that locking mechanism.
Without this latch gravity may cause a register slider to move while playing.
To make sure that your switch stays in position it's best to add this mechanism.

 

[wout]

Mine has this to. But with my switch i am not using the slides. My switch is directly connected to the lever. Its a morino.

 

[Geronimo]

Hello jim, does that mean piano accordion or something else? If so im a bit far away since i live in spain. <EMOJI seq=1f601>?</EMOJI>

I would assume PM (for Private Message via the respective menu) but couldnt resist picking up on the typo.

 

[wout]

And i considered modification of the slider as well but i would have sacrifice either one of the registers or attach a lever to the slider which would mean i have to turn it off everytime i dont need it. Im not a big fan of the triple musette sound but i think the detuned reed sounds awesome with the L and H or the LH setting.

 

[Geronimo]

And i considered modification of the slider as well but i would have sacrifice either one of the registers or attach a lever to the slider which would mean i have to turn it off everytime i dont need it. Im not a big fan of the triple musette sound but i think the detuned reed sounds awesome with the L and H or the LH setting.

Try more than just the end positions. One of my best sounds for classic music is M plus just a tiny bit of MM, just enough to give a bit of a chorus sound. If you find that intermediate positions of that slider make musical sense, you might want to go for some friction solution to have it stick anywhere rather than just at the end positions.

 

[debra]

Mine has this to. But with my switch i am not using the slides. My switch is directly connected to the lever. Its a morino.

Right... I looked more carefully at the picture now. Well... what you need is a latch for the lever you created, so it stays in either end-position just like the latch for the register slides. Should not be all that hard to build.

 

[Sebastian Bravo]

Right... I looked more carefully at the picture now. Well... what you need is a latch for the lever you created, so it stays in either end-position just like the latch for the register slides. Should not be all that hard to build.

Maybe using the same latch system that new accordions have to stay it in position, but attach it to the side of the hole that he made on the grill. So, when he moves the switch, it will keep the register locked, so gravity doesnt affect the selection.

 

[wout]

Well it seems to hold by itself, but my problem is more that the switch doesn't always switch it on or of because there is nothing to hold it inthe middle which would create a lever effect. I am still not sure what to do as I don't want to drill or provoke unnessesary damage to my instrument. I have been thinking about soldering to the M registerswitch but it would mean I have to cut off all the registersetting on the slider. That really makes me a bit scared because just in case I would like to sell it in the original state that would mean I would have to find someone who builds them. The other option is ordering a blank registerslide and keep the original safe. I read that might be very costly (150 euro's) to let it be build since I imagine on an instrument this old you would need a custom built one. In that case I'd rather keep my 90% working solution for now and wait for inspiration (lately I didnt really have alot of time to properly sit down and design something). But! I am still happy that I built it with all my new sounds!

 

[debra]

Well it seems to hold by itself, but my problem is more that the switch doesnt always switch it on or of because there is nothing to hold it inthe middle which would create a lever effect. ...

I looked at the picture again and now I see the problem. Indeed you need to hold it in the middle to create a lever effect. It looks like that shouldnt be too hard. You can drill something in the wooden piece we see on the right of the picture. When you drill into that there is no risk of creating an air leak.

 

[Sebastian Bravo]

That came to my mind today. You can make this piece out of some metal, and the bent central place works as a latch

The black "T" are the bolts.

 

[wout]

Thanks for the idea! I kind of made a diffirent version of it. I now attached a piece of metal (old basspiston) to more or less where you idea is position but it hold the lever in the middle. I attached it with tape for now and it works amazing. So when i have time i will solder it to the registerbar. Im going to try to see if i can film it. Maybe ill make some pics when i soldered it but now i just put the grill back on

 

[wout]

Heres a video! Halfway through im still used to that momentum i meant earlier but actually you can flick the button lightly with your finger! Very satisfied

 

[jozz]

nice I love this kind of guerilla DIY

 

[debra]

Seems to work well now! Definitely an improvement.

 

[Sebastian Bravo]

Works great! Congrats! This is very inspiring, because i want to build the same thing but in the bass side, to silence the 5th reed.

 

[wout]

Thanks! If i dont forget i will buy some soldering stuff today and ill make a foto. I think the bassside is a whole lot more complicated to make something like i did. I think because the mechanism is mostly on the inside of the instrument but maybe you can study the inside of a morino vin since it has these sliders on the bassside.