How To Match Plastic Reed Valves to Reeds

[VintageIorio]

Hello!

I've posted before about my eBay purchase. Hohner Tango II M. I've already gotten a lot of good advice and have read many topics on Accordion Revival.

The history is that when I got the accordion there were many silent reeds. So I took all the reed blocks out and "plinked" the reeds to free them up and then reinstalled the reed blocks. Now almost all the reeds are sounding. :b

When I had the reed blocks out to plink I found that the plastic reed valves were just plain falling off. Some of the reeds were silent because the plastic valve was actually stuck in the reed.

My plan is to remove the reeds from the blocks (carefully, one block at a time), clean the reeds in solvent, glue on the reed valves and rewax them into their respective reed blocks.

I am thinking that I can reuse most of the plastic valves as most of them are still flat and straight and replace missing valves or creased valves.

My question is: How do I know which reed valves are best for each reed? Or just use any plastic reed valve that fits?

The reed valves pretty much all look the same. Sort of. They don't seem to vary that much in thickness. Some are made with two pieces of plastic and some have three "flaps".

OK, here's another question from my inexperience and it's another guess: Will I be OK if I just match the reed valves for length (so the reed is covered) and not worry about which valve fell of of which reed? I think any reed valve would be better than none.

My goal is to have this lighter weight Hohner Tango II M pleasantly playable. I'm not looking for perfection. As it is now, with maybe 30 or 40 reed valves totally missing, it plays minimally well although some notes sound like poop.

Thanks for your help if you have the time.

--Loren

 

[Glenn]

Why don't you take the plastic reed valves off in order and store them such that you can glue them back on the reed it came from.

 

[Larry Anthony]

I’ve found valves made from, now defunct, floppy disks work well.

 

[VintageIorio]

Why dont you take the plastic reed valves off in order and store them such that you can glue them back on the reed it came from.

Thanks, Glenn. That is probably what I would do. At least with the valves I take off myself. The problem was that many, many valves just dropped out of the inside of the reed blocks when I first took them out to look at so I have no way of telling which went where.

Since Larry said that one could just use pieces of old floppy discs for valves and they work well, it may be that (for my purposes) it might not even matter if I mix up a few valves. And whatever is missing I could make from floppy discs.

I kind of like the floppy disc idea. Reminds me of many years ago when we had a little hobby farm and used cheap, tired, old equipment from farm auctions. We would tie them back together with baler wire when they broke. Oops! Im remembering they were only temporary fixes. So, well see.....

Thanks again for your help.

--Loren

 

[Theo]

Rather than make valve from floppy discs you would be best advised to buy purpose made valves from an accordion parts supplier. Valves are not all the same, longer ones are multi layer. If you use the same material for all, then the valves on the higher notes will be too stiff and the notes will be muted. The valves on the lower, larger reeds will be too light and will be noisy. New reed valves are cheap and I can't see any reason to improvise unless its an emergency. If you want your accordion to play its best use parts designed for the job.

 

[VintageIorio]

Rather than make valve from floppy discs you would be best advised to buy purpose made valves from an accordion parts supplier. Valves are not all the same, longer ones are multi layer. If you use the same material for all, then the valves on the higher notes will be too stiff and the notes will be muted. The valves on the lower, larger reeds will be too light and will be noisy. New reed valves are cheap and I cant see any reason to improvise unless its an emergency. If you want your accordion to play its best use parts designed for the job.

Thanks, Theo, for the advice. Youre right. I dont have to make reed valves from a floppy disc. Ive found a complete set of Hohner reed valves that sell for $30 and have over 1100 pieces! Or Ive found a place where I can buy the valves in lots of 25 of any particular size for about $5. So they are not all that expensive. But it still comes down to guesswork as I wouldnt know what sizes to buy for which reeds.

Ill go ahead with my project by guessing. Ill use lighter valves for the higher reeds and heavier valves for the lower notes and well see how it all turns out.

Thanks.

.

 

[Soulsaver]

Just a suggestion: sort the valves you have into sizes. Compare them with the reeds on the outside to match the size - they're the same on each reed inside & out. Also see where the size changed. Buy the same sizes for your replacements. If replacing with plastic ask the dealer for advice, as makes may differ. Remember the smallest reeds may not take valves, but a close look at them will probably be clear they've never had valves fitted. Valves usually butt up to the rivet and run the length of the reed tongue + a bit - look closely at the ones you got still in place - you should be able to deduce from that?

 

[kimric]

I've found a complete set of Hohner reed valves that sell for $30 and have over 1100 pieces! Or I've found a place where I can buy the valves in lots of 25 of any particular size for about $5. So they are not all that expensive.

That's a good deal, hohner usa want about $1 a valve on average.

 

[VintageIorio]

Ive found a complete set of Hohner reed valves that sell for $30 and have over 1100 pieces! Or Ive found a place where I can buy the valves in lots of 25 of any particular size for about $5. So they are not all that expensive.

Thats a good deal, hohner usa want about $1 a valve on average.

Kimric--heres the reed valves in lots of 25.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pack-of-25-...t=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item3f30c0313a

Wouldnt you know it....I cant find the other source for Hohner valves.

 

[JIM D.]

http://www.accordiondepot.com/

 

[kimric]

I get my valves from Weltmeister, or if I need more than 200 of a size at a time I get them from Ha-vent. I mentioned Hohner, as i needed to finish several instruments, and it was going to be several weeks till my shipment came from Germany. I was in for a shock when I ordered them from Hohner, about 150 baritone valves for the left side was going to cost over $400 ?!!!

 

[VintageIorio]

http://www.accordiondepot.com/

Thanks, Jim D. I checked out the website you posted and contacted them. The website has fantastic pictures of the reed valves that I might need along with specs. Unfortunately they do not sell retail, only industrial. They gave me the name of one of their retail agents and I wrote to them a couple days ago and am waiting to hear back.

Kimric--Thanks for your input, too. I will check out Weltmeister after I hear from the dealer in Florida.

Thank you to everyone who chimed in. Im looking forward to a fun project.

--Loren

 

[kimric]

I get mine in bulk from Weltmeister, but if you want them in really large quantities Ha-Vent stocks them http://www.ha-vent.de/

 

[Theo]

Ill go ahead with my project by guessing. Ill use lighter valves for the higher reeds and heavier valves for the lower notes and well see how it all turns out.

As a general rule use the shortest valve that will completely cover the vent.

 

[dingaccord]

we have the same question! i wonder how to match plastic reed valves to reeds, is there an explanation for this topic?