Accordion update

Just a brief update on my progress with the accordion restoration.

I opened it up a few weeks ago at the bass end, with some difficulty. The pins were rusty and very tight. I'm glad none of them were far enough gone to snap, but I do wonder where I will find replacements. You're always meant to use the originals, but in this case that would be pretty foolish. I have to work out a way to clean the rust residue from the tiny holes, too.

Once opened, my suspicion that a reed block had come loose was confirmed. The glue is so old and hard that it is not holding on to parts as it should. One side of a reed block was stuck to the frame and the rest had fallen away from it. The separation from its own side also means that two of the reeds have fallen out of their mount entirely. It's going to be a tough job getting them back in place and aligned correctly. The presence of thick lines of brittle glue do not help. I have no idea right now if there's a safe way to remove some of it, and what kind of strong glue I need to buy that can glue wood to wood or metal without harming leather.

The other problem with the reeds are the little leather strips that prevent air from flowing over reeds when the bellows are being moved in one direction or the other. Some of them have curled so badly that the bellow action just pushes them further upwards, instead of down to protect the reed. What's worse is that some of these are difficult to reach, inside the hollows of the 'giant harmonica' structure. It will be difficult to unglue them, and perhaps even more so to glue replacements without getting glue on the reeds; this assumes I can find the right kind of soft, fine leather patches.

Since discovering this, I've not touched the accordion. I've been busy working, writing and looking to buy an apartment. I'm hoping to make an offer on a new place in the next week, and if accepted, I'll have to think about packing ready for the new year. This doesn't just mean I have no tie for the accordion, it means I need to work out how to transport it without losing any parts or losing track of the placement of the parts. I can't say I'm looking forward to it.