When was 1304 excelsior accordion made how to#
When was 1304 excelsior accordion made driver#

Some accordions have screws in place of the pins, in which case you will spin them out with a screwdriver. Grip each treble side bellows pin with the pliers and pull it straight out, steadying the accordion with your other hand as you do so. Stand the accordion on its feet, that is, with the bass plate and bass strap down. If you don't have the special pliers made for this purpose, you can wrap the jaws of any pliers with tape to pad them. Avoid marring the pins or the plastic finish on the accordion when you pull the pins. There will usually be three or four on the back and three or four on the front, but there may also be one on the top and one on the bottom. Once that is done, locate and count the bellows pins on the treble side of the bellows.

It is best to remove the shoulder straps and the back pad (if any) before opening the accordion. To return to the table of contents, click here. See the article on making a test bellows. Your work table should also include a tuning bellows, which you can easily make from an old accordion bellows. Good lighting is essential, and an LED headlight (that straps onto your forehead) is essential for looking into tight places. Your work table should be big enough to allow you to spread out the three major components of the accordion (treble cabinet, bass cabinet, and bellows) and still have room to work on a reed block or two. You will also need a razor to cut reed leathers to the proper length. For the most common repair, changing reed leathers, you will find a normally closed tweezers (the kind you have to squeeze to open) indispensable.

When was 1304 excelsior accordion made driver#

To get any accordion apart and the reed blocks out, all you need are a screw driver and a pair of pliers (the best kind is a bellows pin pliers that you can make yourself from an inexpensive end-cutter pliers - see the short article below). The hand tools you need for simple repairs are pretty basic. Mechanical aptitude is really nothing more than the desire to fix things, the ability to remember or record how they came apart, common sense, and perseverance. The most important things you need to repair your accordion are motivation, mechanical aptitude, some hand tools, a work table, a little coaching from someone with experience (like me), and good sources for the correct repair materials.

When was 1304 excelsior accordion made how to#

The articles posted here on how to make specific types of repairs also includeВ instructions on how to make the required tools. If you have a hack saw, a bench vise, a bench grinder, a small drill press, a belt sander, and a couple of files, you can make all the special tools you need. Nearly everything you will need to do can be done with standard tools you can get at the hardware storeВ and a fewВ special tools you can easily make from steel or aluminum rods or in some cases, from hardwood. A sophisticated super-accurate electronic tuner, once a $300 to $500 item, can now be had for just a few dollars at the iPad/iPhone App Store, assuming you already have an iPad or iPhone (download 'n-Track Tuner Pro').Д«ut you don't even need that for most repairs. You donвЂ™t need fancy tools or expensive electronic instruments to fix your accordion.