stiff bellows

[leeneia]

I've been given an old Hohner student-model accordion. Everything works and it sounds nice, but I have one problem. The bellows seem very stiff. It's hard for me to get them to open, and when open all the way, they don't seem to have opened very far. I've tried stretching them gently, but that doesn't help much.

Any suggestions? I think they are made of leather.

 

[JerryPH]

I am not even close to being an expert, but sometimes it takes a while for older accordions to get into the groove of being used, also, a lot of it could be that you are simply not used to exerting the amount of strength that this accordion requires compared to your past experiences, or it could simply just be old and stiff.

I have heard about people that hung their accordions by a rope attached to the left hand strap to a door knob and let the weight pull it out a bit, leaving it there overnight and this seemed to loosen things up a bit, but I would listen to the advice of a few of the more experienced here before trying this out.

 

[leeneia]

Thanks for your reply. I'm collecting various ideas. I'm afraid to try hanging the accordion by its strap. It's an old one that weighs a lot and could tear itself apart if hung by the strap.

 

[JerryPH]

I totally understand. I wonder where some of the others are, usually we get lots of opinions and ideas?

If nothing else, you can stand the accordion on the floor and try gently stretching it out a bit more to what you figure is a safe maximum and leave it there over night. You may have to pin down each side of the accordion to keep it from closing. That's another something to consider, perhaps.

 

[Nuuksu]

Some accordions have shorter bellows than others. Personally I haven't seen accordion with so stiff bellows that can make playng impossible. Have you looked inside, maybe someone have tried to repair bellows, but have made something totally wrong. If inside is ok then playng is needed, just stretching them don't help very much - play pull and push them

And welcome to forum

 

[Soulsaver]

Hi and welcome. Can you post up a picture of it open all the way, as you describe it? And do you play?