When did Latched on Bellows changed to Pinned-on ?

[Geoff de Limousin]

I am trying to figure out a date when most accordion makers changed over from the older Latch clip system to the Pin fixing of the two ends to the Bellows. I'm guessing it would be in the 1920's but purely based on two dated instruments that I know; a 1928 with latched-on fitting and a 1931 with Pin fixing. But these two are not from the same manufacturer or made in the same country so perhaps they do not form a reasonable basis for conjecture.

Any ideas ?

 

[debra]

I have owned a Hohner Atlantic IV N (made until 1961) which used a latch clip system instead of pins. The Hohner Morino's from the same period used pins.
The latch clip system on my Atlantic was quite leaky. I think in the end the pin fixing won because it is more suitable to keep the bellows virtually air-tight.

 

[JIM D.]

The "V" accordions have gone in the opposite direction, as the older models had bellows pins. The newer 1x , 3x and 8x have the bellows secured with internal screws.

 

[debra]

The V accordions have gone in the opposite direction, as the older models had bellows pins. The newer 1x , 3x and 8x have the bellows secured with internal screws.

That would be nearly impossible with a real accordion. You cannot get to the inside to tighten such screws.

 

[JIM D.]

Actually possible as some Hohner models in the past had screws internally. On the bass side you would remove the 1 piece bass machine to access the screws, and on the treble, remove the grill.

The Hohner Marchesa models for example had internal screws in the front and pins in the back.

http://www.acclab.com/accordionlab/mall/preown/HohnerM2/HohnerM2.htm

 

[KLR]

The diatonic Hohner Shand and Club Morino boxes from the 50s/early 60s used latches instead of pins, I always assumed the PA/CBA equivalents did as well.

My 1904 diatonic has very long wood screws holding things together, for another take on things. I'd imagine with Hohner they switched to pins when they moved on from the whole melodeon look for diatonics to the more modern boxes, whenever that was - early 20s I'd guess. And were the melodeon type external latches ever used on PA/CBA in the first place?

 

[Soulsaver]

The metal Hohner Atlantic had latches at the treble side and internal screws at the bass. As did several other metal bodied Hohners, Lucia, Virtuola and maybe another couple that escape me. I've not had my hands on an Imperator but when I see them advertised, they don't seem to have pins either.

 

[Geoff de Limousin]

Thanks for the discussion everybody. So, there is no cut off point , date wise, when the Latches went out and the Pins came in.. ok. As it looks as if I have just bought a CBA with Latches it will be interesting to compare its construction with others of a similar period.

One other method of fixing the ends to the Bellows , I have an example of here, is Screws in the places where one would expect there to be Pins.... I'm not sure if these are an after market fitment but they look original and certainly work and the box is as airtight as can be expected from an 80 year old accordion.

 

[debra]

Screws where you would expect pins could indeed be indicative of an after market fitment. But screws are occasionally used even now. My new (one year old already) Pigini basson C39 has the bellows fixed with pins except for 2 places where screws were used instead.
One reason why one would replace pins by screws is that pins may become too loose. The pins used on an accordion have tiny differences in diameter (manufacturing tolerance). I religiously ensure I always put the pins back in their original hole. This ensures they stay tight over many removals and reinsertions. When working on old accordions I often find that some pins are tight and others are loose. Most likely they have been switched at some point. There are too many possibilities to try to find the original positions and the holes may already have become bigger by inserting a pin that was slightly thicker than the original one. When all the pins become too loose the real solution would be to move to pins that are slightly thicker by design but there are probably much harder to find than just using screws...

 

[Soulsaver]

Yep (Farfisa owned) Scandalli used screws even in their top models Super VI & Polyphonico in the 60s & 70s.