Old Japanese Tombo

[werewolf255]

I've been disassembling an instrument that came into my possession and figure I can document the process as I determine if it's worth rebuilding.

I thought initially it was a Yamaha, due to the number of bass buttons. The reeds all say Tombo on the upper treble plates and that matches up with a Japanese brand. There's not much that I can find either in English or Japanese, but I did find this thread on here that pretty much says that it's not worth the trouble: https://www.accordionists.info/threads/what-accordion-do-i-have.595/

The box has some problems for sure, here's the list:

• Missing bellows corner
• Bad leathers (most are good, but a few have some mold, so they're all getting replaced)
• Broken plastic valve boosters
• Broken reed block holder
• Missing treble pallet
• Broken tongue (C3)
• Raised keys
• Bass machine box broken
• Missing treble grille

The reeds are all nailed in and waxed in, and the gasket is rope. I thought it was built for higher temperatures at first but the wax softened right up with a little sun. One of the reed blocks seems to have had wood glue used to hold the reeds down at one point. Took a bit to scrape off, but no lasting damage.

 

[Tom]

Seems like a good project. You’ll gain valuable experience in restoring it, and maybe end up with a fun example of your work to play, or to pass on to someone who can use it. Good luck!

 

[werewolf255]

Okay! Gotten the bass mechanism pulled apart and labelled, disassembled the keyboard, ran the reeds and other metal things through the ultrasonic cleaning routine, and waiting on some parts to arrive.

Good fix so far. It's a pretty straightforward box, minus a few age related foibles.

Not entirely sure what to do about the grille yet. I don't expect to have much luck on eBay or CGM, but might be able to 3d print the angled part, then attach it to some other wooden panels.