Searching for Bass Buttons

[Dennis Landi]

Hello,
I am new to this accordion forum and would appreciate any help provided.
I recently acquired a Noble Starlet piano accordion with 41 keys and 120 bass buttons. Unfortunately, several of the (40) translucent bass buttons are broken with the remainder of these particular buttons being very fragile, due to the UV degradation of the plastic. As a result, I am actively looking to purchase similar translucent buttons in order to keep the accordion looking in its original condition. The button size is 6.75mm x 19.5mm with a 2.5mm diameter hole. Besides searching the internet, I have reached out to several accordion repair shops throughout the country with no luck thus far. If anyone can recommend a shop that might sell the same or similar button I would be very appreciative. At this point, color is not mandatory.
I have provided a photo of both the accordion and a specific button, showing the approximate size (6.75mm x 19.5mm measured with a caliper) and color.

Thanks in advance for your help!
Dennis Landi

 

[petch]

If my memory serves me well it might be worth reaching out to Carini https://carinidena.it/

Perhaps Paul or another forum member might know who to ask about some new old stock parts

 

[Ventura]

caveatas..

pulling the old buttons off, many will crumble.. you need to angle things so the
debris does not fall into the works

second, you probably need to set a dollar amount you are willing to spend
on this project, because anything over $200 makes it a labor of love, as
you would be past the typical selling price for cute old 2 reed student accordions

third, chances are you are going to need to to disassemble the entire mechanism
as the bass linkage is somewhat fragile and easy to bend out of true.. working them with
pairs of really long, thin, strong needle nose pliers would take a deft touch and much patience
and may not even be practical

good luck !

ps: one of our club members has a similar issue with her Centromatic,
and i gave her an assortment of old salvaged buttons just to replace the
broken ones temporarily.. NONE of the buttons i gave her were long/deep enough..
so i dunno if this is an issue with these type crumble sparkle buttons being longer
in general or if that was just the way hers is..

 

[JIM D.]

Many brands of Italian accordions in the the early 50s to the 60's used these translucent bass button tops on
their student model accordions . They are not cellulose but plastic and like any plastic's that are half a century
old have or will soon start to split or break. Ventura posted a answer that was quite correct.
You see , Parts, labor, Disassembly & Reassembly will far outweigh the value of the accordion.

 

[Dingo40]

As a result, I am actively looking to purchase similar translucent buttons in order to keep the accordion looking in its original condition.

Dennis,
Welcome to the forum !
Although it may be a labour of love and exact replacements may not be available, some suitable plain black substitutes should be possible from one of the online accordion parts suppliers.
Perhaps Jim D. or Paul Debra can suggest a supplier of alternative buttons ?
Keep trying and good luck!

 

[Ikesaccordions]

Bass button diameters vary, but did you say 2.5 mm diameter? Anyway I have a lot of junk basses, and I could sell you a set for a nominal fee, if you don't care about the color. I think what makes the buttons fall apart is the unstable coloring in the plastic, Gold buttons fall apart for example, because the copper in the pigment oxidizes. White pigment could be lead, IDK what, and will do the same. I'm not sure what you said the color is that you want, so feel free to remind me, but even if the buttons are a bit larger, you can ream the holes with sandpaper wrapped around a dowel, for example. You would take all the pistons out, lay them in order, and without mixing the up. use an iron to heat the metal below the button and pull (twist) it off. Then use adhesive like E6000 for example to cement the replacement on. As you put the buttons on, you might have the pistons back in, to adjust the height of the button before the glue sets. You have to replace all the buttons for obvious reasons. I have a lot of second hand spare parts so message me the exact diameter and color you are looking for. I doubt the length is critical on such a student instrument, and you will be adjusting the button height by moving them before the adhesive sets with the pistons back in. New buttons would cost you a lot for 120 of them. Going back and looking at your picture, I'm confused about the dimensions. Anyway the length may not be critical. Probably longer is better. You would need to pull off the old buttons, as well as pulling the replacment buttons off te old baass machine I send to you. Usually the smaller accordions like that don't have real long buttons, but that's a Noble, and I think they took pride in being innovative. Noble no longer exists, and gold buttons always disintegrate.

 

[Dingo40]

I have provided a photo of both the accordion and a specific button, showing the approximate size (6.75mm x 19.5mm measured with a caliper) and color.

Dennis,
Interesting: you give the measurements in metric but provide a ruler (for scaling)in imperial inches (with sixteenths).
Multi skilled!

 

[kimric]

You Might find yellow acrylic rod that can be cut to size.

 

[knobby]

The button size is 6.75mm x 19.5mm with a 2.5mm diameter hole.

Bass button diameters vary, but did you say 2.5 mm diameter?

I had to read this a couple of times, but I think the OP means that the bass buttons are 6.75mm diameter with a hole in the middle for the rod of 2.5mm diameter.

Interesting: you give the measurements in metric but provide a ruler (for scaling)in imperial inches (with sixteenths).

Yes, so this shows the diameter as a little over 1/4" (6mm)

 

[Dingo40]

I'm with you, Knobby!

 

[Dingo40]

...that's a Noble, and I think they took pride in being innovative. Noble no longer exists, and gold buttons always disintegrate.

You could say, they went the way of their buttons!

 

[Ikesaccordions]

You Might find yellow acrylic rod that can be cut to size.

Yeah, but then wouldn't each one need t be rounded off for ease of playing? If this were my project. I would just choose an old junk bass mechanism and pull all the buttons off it. New buttons might cost well over $100, just the buttons, and the holes in the new buttons might have to be reamed to allow wiggle room on the pistons.

 

[Dennis Landi]

Dennis,
Welcome to the forum !
Although it may be a labour of love and exact replacements may not be available, some suitable plain black substitutes should be possible from one of the online accordion parts suppliers.
Perhaps Jim D. or Paul Debra can suggest a supplier of alternative buttons ?
Keep trying and good luck!

Thank you for your input. I did not have a mm scale for the photo but I did measure them with a caliper for accuracy. Fingers crossed something will come up for me to use as I have already removed all of the buttons/rods. If I can find an approximate size button I will not be that concerned about the color. Thanks again!

 

[kimric]

It would be a pain to make 120 of them , but you can round them off by chucking them in a drill (if you don't have a lathe) and rounding them off with a file a they spin. You can polish them the same way.
I have dealt with these buttons in the past, it looks like the celluloid button reacts with the end of the rod and the resulting chemical change and swelling (kind of like rust) cracks the buttons. On ones that are merely cracked I have salvaged them with the super thin cyanoacrylate glue and let it wick into the cracks.
I would remove the surviving buttons and reset them on the cleaned off rods. I would reset them with cyanoacrylate glue to prevent future reactions.
You could also remove all the buttons and replace most of them with white ones and use the surviving gold ones to make a pattern.

 

[Dennis Landi]

Thank you for all of your guidance.
After reaching out to numerous accordion repair shops throughout the US and Italy with no success, I am pursuing a different avenue. For less than $10, I have purchased clear yellow plexiglass rods to the required diameter and I have begone the polishing, cutting, and drilling of these rods to meet my specific requirements. I am a hands-on guy and have all of the necessary tools to successfully complete this task. After setting up a few jigs, the first button took less than 10 minutes to complete. After meeting my total requirement of (40) buttons I'm guessing I will be an expert button maker. Who knows maybe I will become a supplier for specialized accordion buttons in my spare time.
Thanks again for your responses and happy playing!

 

[Ventura]

i know a nice lady who would like a few for her Lira

 

[Tom]

Waiting for Gary to join our weekly zoom. I just put on the Lira, which has the bass buttons in good shape for some reason. But now I know.

 

[Dennis Landi]

Noble Accordion Repair Update:

$540 - estimate from a local accordion repair shop in Philadelphia to replace (40) yellow translucent bass buttons.

$10 - cost for (5) 12-inch long yellow plexiglass rods matching the required diameter.

Having a little knowledge, the right tools, and a whole lot of patience - PRICELESS!