Reed tuning table with no bellows?

[ArtMustel]

Hello everyone! Many years since I repaired an accordion, trying to gather the needed tools and equipment to attempt it again. I was wondering if it is possible to make a reed tuning device that uses a different air source than traditional bellows, something like some kind of fan, air pump, etc?

So many forum users with lots of knowledge, I'm sure someone would tell me if this is something practical or simply a pipe dream.

Thanks!

 

[Glug]

Hiya, you can use a foot pump instead of a bellows.

I made a wooden box with a hole in the top and a wooden rail on it to position a reed block against. The foot pump puts air in one end and I move the reed block to blow/suck each reed in turn. It works for fixing valve/reed problems, I'm about to try it for tuning.

The main problem is low bass reeds don't get enough air to start reliably.

Here's the foot pump I'm using:Amazon product ASIN B001ANYRGE

 

[debra]

There is https://www.dirksprojects.nl/index.php?Lan=dutch&Page=TuningTable/AKKOtune.php&Flag=nl but it's expensive and as you cannot really do tuning this way it's not all that useful.
The best "tuning table" is the accordion you are tuning. A traditional tuning table is good for checking voicing, but not frequency.

 

[knobby]

Hiya, you can use a foot pump instead of a bellows.

I was going to do similar but using my compressor, with a valve so I can control the amount of air flow.

 

[Glug]

I'd like to know how well a compressor works, for example on the low bass reeds.
It should be easier to produce a steady air flow. But it has got the issue of possibly being a bit noisy though, the foot pump is almost silent.

It has got to be able to blow and suck though.

Which compressor have you got ?

 

[knobby]

But it has got the issue of possibly being a bit noisy though, the foot pump is almost silent.

The compressor I have has a 40L tank attached to it so once full the compressor would switch off, which should take care of the noise issue.

It has got to be able to blow and suck though.

Hmmm... it definitely won't suck, so will have to see if I can come up with something else

 

[NigelB]

I know it’s not really what you asked but I had success just glueing a plank with a small hole drilled, in place of the treble part of an old accordion Would be pretty easy to add a foot leaver to operate but works fine just lifting one end of the plank. Small enough to put away when not needed.

 

[Pipemajor]

Hiya, you can use a foot pump instead of a bellows.

I made a wooden box with a hole in the top and a wooden rail on it to position a reed block against. The foot pump puts air in one end and I move the reed block to blow/suck each reed in turn. It works for fixing valve/reed problems, I'm about to try it for tuning.

The main problem is low bass reeds don't get enough air to start reliably.

Here's the foot pump I'm using:Amazon product ASIN B001ANYRGE

I have used one of these quite a lot and just took out one valve and blocked the other off with silicone rubber to seal it . the pump then works both ways to blow and suck. I used a wooden box that had contained an expensive bottle of wine ( a birthday present and the contents long gone) to make the air reservoir. A hole in one end to fit the air hose and a hole in the top to match the size of the holes in the reed bank.
It works really well apart from the very lowest notes which can be difficult to start.
The advantage is that it all packs away into a small cardboard box along with all the tools needed .
I use the ironing board to rest it on while working and a free app on my ipad checks the notes.

 

[Glug]

The footpump I used has two ports on the pump part, it blows or sucks according to which port you connect the hose to.

 

[Pipemajor]

If you remove one port and block off the other, put the hose in the port you removed the valve from then it will blow on the down stroke and suck on release

 

[Ventura]

well in the spirit of saying no to overpowered do some damage tools (like a Dremel)
do you really want to risk blowing your Reeds out of their minds with an air compressor source !

or at least blowing the leathers out the window

get a bottle of Nitrogen delivered with a good regulator... clean... no noise...
then a foot operated on off momentary valve feeding your tuning thing

to be honest, any source can work (kinda) i mean i have even used an
electrolux to loosen and clean the dirt out of old old yucky reedblocks
(eletrolux has a flip open top slider so you can have it blo or suck)
and the one i have in my shop is old and wheeeezy

my final solution was a bit more elegant

you can still find quite a few small (single keyboard and a few bass buttons)
reed organs in the Salvation Army stores... from the tabletop EMMENEE
models to the nicer wood body ones built in Italy and sold under many
different brand labels

these have a small (appropriately powered) reasonably quiet electric
blower inside, and chambers for air flow

itook one and removed the keys, reeds, then installed a
new top plate with a middle ridge the length of the top and then
covered it in thin suede leather like you see inside an accordion
under the reedblocks) then a hole(s) on either side of the Ridge
(one side sucks, one side blows) and rechanneled these to the
air pump (plus a small bleeder valve to tweak airflow)

now i can sit and slide a reedblock on either side easily,
watch my tuning meters and make notations on a chart
for all the reeds (having made notations from checking their pitch
inside the accordion first, of course)

i can even sound two reedblocks at the same time so the meusette
of a pair of M M can be heard and adjusted a bit for beats

i do this because i am an amateur, and want to get a feel for
the flow of the pitch difference in and out and the overall
feel for how the reeds are tuned to the accordion in general

and i look close at the ones that need help.. clean them first .. leathers if needed
make small tuning adjustments (bearing in mind the pre-measured
drift when inside) etc.

and i use 2 Korg tuners... their first really good one they made ages ago
that i bought to keep the cordovox in tune (CG-V)
and a more recent Rack mount with a huge display (kinda geared
to guitarists with big stage racks) which you can find used on
Craigslist in the states for a reasonable price

i feed one tuner from a dangling electret (Panasoic) Mic capsule that is
an inch above the reeds and the other tuner picks up the sound from
about a foot away with it's internal Mic

there are also small versions of the Petersen Strobotuner now available

i also have a number of different sized single reed adjustable wood mounts that
slide over a hole for working with unmounted reeds

since i am only tuning my own stuff (or a spot fix for a friend) this works
well for me, as tuning perfection is not my goal, just tuning the individual
accordion so everything sounds good (especially chords) is what i want...
my bit of experience tuning Pianos taught me that tuning perfect
does not always produce the sweetest sound result, and lots of tuning
organs taught me that a tiny bit off in the wrong spot makes that Chord
cut like a jagged saw instead of being sweet and fat
(organs are very unforgiving)

good luck making your tuning rig !

ciao

Ventura

 

[ArtMustel]

Nice idea Ventura. Will look for one of those keyboards. Thank you!

 

[Glug]

It turns out you can do tuning with a foot pump, it's just more difficult.

The frequency reading isn't very steady on lower reeds and you have to sort of average it. It would definitely be better using a bellows.

I did find this though: 900 grit diamond needle files

Small Diamond Files

Our small diamond needle files are unique, they have been designed and produced with precision in mind. These diamond needle files are available in Super Fine 900 grit, they are perfect for more delicate jobs and will leave an excellent finish to your work.Diamond Needle File shapes available in...

www.eternaltools.com

Seems to work very well for filing and scraping, I haven't overshot yet.