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fredwatto12
Guest
Hi everyone. I'm new to the forum and more interested in restoration of vintage piano instruments, than playing. Anybody got any ideas for a simple reed tuning rig? Thanks.
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Hi fredwatto, welcome to the forum. I think I have probably the simplest (and cheapest) tuning bellows you can get. It consists of a wooden wine box that originally contained a fine bottle of wine that my grand daughter gave me for Christmas a few years ago. The wine is long gone but I had kept the box.
I drilled a hole to match the openings of the reed banks in the top of the lid . I bought a foot operated bellows second hand from a vide grenier for 3 euros and drilled a hole in one end of the box to match the hose from the bellows. The bellows has two one way valves so that the bellows only pumps air in one direction, so
I removed one valve and siliconed up the other so that it would "suck and blow" when pumping the bellows. I then siliconed round the edges of the box to make it airtight. I use it on the ironing board when tuning and find it works very well except for the the lowest bass notes as it dosen't have enough air volume to make them sound well, but I have found that these are the least likely to need treatment.
The whole lot fits in a 15x11x12" cardboard box along with the rest of my tuning tools, so can easily be packed away out of sight.
I use Vital Tuner (free) on my Ipad for tuning and find it works very well.
There are loads of tuning videos on youtube so you shouldn't lack information on how to go about it.
I would recommend you read all the previous posts about tuning before attcking the reeds as they may only need cleaning and re valving. Bonne Chance. :ch :b
I drilled a hole to match the openings of the reed banks in the top of the lid . I bought a foot operated bellows second hand from a vide grenier for 3 euros and drilled a hole in one end of the box to match the hose from the bellows. The bellows has two one way valves so that the bellows only pumps air in one direction, so
I removed one valve and siliconed up the other so that it would "suck and blow" when pumping the bellows. I then siliconed round the edges of the box to make it airtight. I use it on the ironing board when tuning and find it works very well except for the the lowest bass notes as it dosen't have enough air volume to make them sound well, but I have found that these are the least likely to need treatment.
The whole lot fits in a 15x11x12" cardboard box along with the rest of my tuning tools, so can easily be packed away out of sight.
I use Vital Tuner (free) on my Ipad for tuning and find it works very well.
There are loads of tuning videos on youtube so you shouldn't lack information on how to go about it.
I would recommend you read all the previous posts about tuning before attcking the reeds as they may only need cleaning and re valving. Bonne Chance. :ch :b
The very simples reed tuning rig is the accordion itself. You remove the bellow pins (or screws or whatever mechanism holds the treble side connected to the bellows), and then use painters tape to cover the holes. You can then play a note (if necessary put your fingers between the first and second bellow fold), measure whether it is too high or too low, remove the treble side and turn it upside down so you can access the reed (inside for pull and outside for push) in order to change it (make higher or lower). Then you put the treble side on the bellows again, check again, and repeat, repeat, repeat...
With a non-cassotto instrument this should work fine. With a cassotto instrument you have to remove the reed blocks each time as you cannot otherwise access them, and when you put the accordion back together you have to turn it to the playing position because the tuning is orientation-dependent.
There are many posts on this forum about tuning setups. My explanation here is the extremely shortened version.
With a non-cassotto instrument this should work fine. With a cassotto instrument you have to remove the reed blocks each time as you cannot otherwise access them, and when you put the accordion back together you have to turn it to the playing position because the tuning is orientation-dependent.
There are many posts on this forum about tuning setups. My explanation here is the extremely shortened version.
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fredwatto12
Guest
Thanks to all for the info. I will try to advance my skills and make a table (i have aquired a set of bellows from an ancient worn out small german accordion).
jollyrogeraccordions
Active member
The 'simplest' tuning rig is: old accordion bellows and two bits of ply, cut to overhang the bellows by, say, 25mm on the sides and 100mm on the ends. Drill two 10mm holes in the top, about the same distance apart as the two opposing holes in the bottom of a reed block. Glue (hot glue is good for this) boards to your bellows and add masking tape to block up any detected leaks around the joints, and presto, you have simple tuning bellows. To enhance your tuning experience...you could cut out a slot in the top 'handles' (by drilling two biggish holes and jigsawing out the timber in between). I have in the past made a fancy top with sliders, to open one, two or three ports when tuning, but the quickest easiest and most effective solution is to get some sheets of craft rubber and cut required apertures in this, and overlay it on the holes. I have stuck a sheet on the top with an oblong slot over the holes. I also have a couple of ply blocks with different holes, that sit over the main two holes..and a stack of sheets with all sorts of slots and oblong holes, made on the fly with a scalpel and as required. Finally, clamp it to your bench (using the bottom end overhang...that is what it’s for) and away you go.
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