Scandalli bass button "rubber band" replacement

[swingbozo]

I somehow ended up with two Scandalli's with bass register problems. The first (white) was dropped from a height and the shock just popped some of the doo-dads out of the thingamajig, plus it dislodged the entire bass assembly from it's holding position. This was easily fixed! Yay! The second Scandalli (black) uses small rubber bands that look like the ones you put on braces to hold the bass button in position. Those little rubber bands deteriorated and a number of bass buttons dislodged. I got the buttons back in place but I need to find some tiny replacement rubber bands to hold the buttons in place. Any reasonable alternative flying around out there?

 

[Ffingers]

The "O" rings used in engineering come in a huge variety of sizes and degrees of elasticity; perhaps one out of those might suffice?

 

[swingbozo]

O-rings! Wow, why didn't I think of that before? That's perfect! Looks like a stop by the local harbor freight is in order.

 

[debra]

Some people use heat-shrink tubing (used in electronics) because it's not difficult to make rings that can be fitted and then shrunk to hold them in in place.

 

[swingbozo]

Another great idea! I just ordered an ultrasound cleaner, some brace rubber bands and O-rings to try out.

 

[Big Squeezy Accordions]

This is always a problem with that Scandalli bass design. As Debra has mentioned, I use heat shrink tubing. You'll want a diameter just large enough to fit over the flared end. You cut off a thin ring of the stuff and shrink it into place by hearing the metal with a soldering iron or a candle lighter with the flame on the lowest setting.

 

[swingbozo]

I picked up the o-ring assortmant from harbor freight. This is next on my project list but life has gotten in the way... Once I try this out I'll certainly report back. I do like the heat shrink tubing approach also, probably a more permanent fix.

 

[pentaprism]

It may be too late. On the other hand you may have them already: dental rubber bands - a few $ for a bag of hundreds.

 

[swingbozo]

It may be too late. On the other hand you may have them already: dental rubber bands - a few $ for a bag of hundreds.

I did get some, but I must have ordered the microscopic kind because they seem super small.

 

[Pipemajor]

I did get some, but I must have ordered the microscopic kind because they seem super small.

I think you will find that they stretch an incredible amount. I use an ordinary lead pencil (short) and thread them over the pointy end onto the shaft and from there they can easily be rolled onto the item using the "thick" end of the pencil.

 

[Ventura]

say guys, were the 1/8" or the 3/16" the best size to get ?

i am seeing them both available in heavy duty thickness on Amazon over here

 

[nagant27]

Ok guys I tried the 1/8inch dental rubber bands in heavy thickness and they are much too loose. I guess I have to try the heat shrink tubing. So before I look for it and buy anything- has anyone done it successfully?? If so what should I get?
Thanks!

 

[Big Squeezy Accordions]

Ok guys I tried the 1/8inch dental rubber bands in heavy thickness and they are much too loose. I guess I have to try the heat shrink tubing. So before I look for it and buy anything- has anyone done it successfully?? If so what should I get?
Thanks!

Yes, I have used heat shrink tubing for this a number of times and it works great. I can't tell you the size offhand, as I have many different sizes and just use the smallest one that can fit over the end of the rod.

 

[nagant27]

Could you put a picture on here or a link to what you are referring to? I’m not sure what it is.

 

[nagant27]

Do you use 1/16 or 1/8 snd it gets smaller?

 

[Dingo40]

I haven't used it myself, but it's something used in the electronics field: tubes of a plastic that shrinks when heated. Apparently, it's available in a variety of diameters.
The source of heat, depending on the location, is commonly a soldering iron, heat gun (or a blowtorch, carefully applied)
See here :

heat shrink tubing - Căutare Google

 

[Big Squeezy Accordions]

Could you put a picture on here or a link to what you are referring to? I’m not sure what it is.

 

[noelekal]

I just had my 1952 Scndalli repaired on Saturday. I reently had a nuisance button collapse and rattle around inside the box.

The technician cleverly used the heat shrink tubing to effect the fix.

I had the "A" button to collapse on me about 30 years ago on this accordion. I told the technician that I managed to fix it, but couldn't recall how I did it.

We discovered that I had used a part of a twist tie off a bread wrapper, tightly twisted, as the retainer. It has held for low these many years with some playing pressure

My question is, did Scandalli later improve the design to do away with the brittle white plastic clips? If they did design an improved mechanism, when was it and which models feature a later improvement?

 

[henry d]

I had a couple to the teeny tiny black "rubber bands" simply die of old age and fall off my Scandalli. The depressing site of a bass button suddenly sticking way up initially panicked me.

After agonizing endeavours with o-rings, twist-ems, bits of tubing, and tiny drops of five minute epoxy on the ends ot the spatula where the "rubber band" had been with the consequent "not much room to work in situ" I settled in on snipping a tiny bit of leather from an old leather valve, same width as the spatula and perhaps an eighth of an inch tall and simply carefully affixing it to the appropriate spot at the end of the spatula with a dap of control gel superglue.

Works well and ought to last almost forever. Easy to emplace with tweezers (with the bass machine unsnapped and lying on the bench).

Sloppy assembly with glue hither and yon on adjacent spatulas could be a real pain, but it really was straightforward and easy to do- something my decrepit eyesight and less than steady hands found fault with in attempting the other methods.

"In the nothing so broken but that superglue can make it worse" category of accordion repair."