46/144 Frontalini

[ragtimeman]

Hello All;

I will soon have in my repair shop two larger than standard (46/144) Frontalini accordions that I assume are from the 1950's and they have suffered some damage.

A number of the white keys are missing their celluloid, and I've never worked with replacing keytops before. Can someone please provide me with information about the processes of shaping and attaching new keytops? What are the sources for celluloid and the adhesive used? What are the best methods to use for this type of work? Are there any YouTube videos available that I can view?

Any and all suggestions would be very much appreciated, and Thank You in advance!

John

 

[Ventura]

the industry moved to Lucite keytops many years ago,
so they would be available as a set+extras., but you would have
to replace them all to have a uniform look

the other source is just harvesting from old/graveyard
accordions for good condition tops large enough to
work

but first you probably must see and measure carefully the wood
of the old keys and determine if the tops popped off because
they warped (from heat or UV light) or if they popped because the
underlying wood key warped

you might have a ton of sanding to do first to make them flat
enough again to accept a new keytop

or you can get a sheet of Lucite and cut your own keytops out with
the right equipment, whether a craft type mini bandsaw or
modern laser cutter, that might be the best.. a belt sander
is probably gonna be a big help and buffing equipment

some repairpeople like ike have a large collection/warehouse
of accordions-in-waiting so you might send pictures and model
numbers around to see if there might be a matching or near model
available in entirety for donor parts

Frontalini was an amazing place, with interesting designs and
ideas and style, but they WERE among the first of the old
Giants of the Forest to crash to the ground.. so i would assess the
accordions fully before beginning to first determine ALL the
repair work they are going to require/cost

good luck

 

[ragtimeman]

the industry moved to Lucite keytops many years ago,
so they would be available as a set+extras., but you would have
to replace them all to have a uniform look

the other source is just harvesting from old/graveyard
accordions for good condition tops large enough to
work

but first you probably must see and measure carefully the wood
of the old keys and determine if the tops popped off because
they warped (from heat or UV light) or if they popped because the
underlying wood key warped

you might have a ton of sanding to do first to make them flat
enough again to accept a new keytop

or you can get a sheet of Lucite and cut your own keytops out with
the right equipment, whether a craft type mini bandsaw or
modern laser cutter, that might be the best.. a belt sander
is probably gonna be a big help and buffing equipment

some repairpeople like ike have a large collection/warehouse
of accordions-in-waiting so you might send pictures and model
numbers around to see if there might be a matching or near model
available in entirety for donor parts

Frontalini was an amazing place, with interesting designs and
ideas and style, but they WERE among the first of the old
Giants of the Forest to crash to the ground.. so i would assess the
accordions fully before beginning to first determine ALL the
repair work they are going to require/cost

good luck

Thank you, Ventura, Very Much for your reply. I had found some information in the Reuther book, but was concerned that it is out of date, and I thank you for the updated advice.

The restoration work will proceed, even with knowing the full cost up front. These are two Frontalini accordions, one right hand and one left hand to fit to a European dance organ. There are only 5 of this particular dance organ known to exist and one is in a museum in the UK and I'll be restoring these for a mechanical organ collector here in the US.

In addition to these 2, I will be restoring 2 other accordions that were played on dance organs, but we don't know the make or model of those accordions yet.

This photo of the accordions that I'll be working on are the same as these located at a museum in the UK, the St. Albans organ museum

 

[Ventura]

quite amazing

i cannot tell now, but it is possible those are waterfall keytops,
and can only be re-fabricated
(they were not made using applied keytops)

there is a member here, Paul Debra, who can explain
the process of creating these from acetone soaked
cellulose sheets. They are made one by one on each key
so there are no replacements available as each keytop is unique

however, since these keyboards will never be played by fingers,
it could be possible to make the repairs in a "look-alike" manner
that would pass inspection from a distance

 

[ragtimeman]

quite amazing

i cannot tell now, but it is possible those are waterfall keytops,
and can only be re-fabricated
(they were not made using applied keytops)

there is a member here, Paul Debra, who can explain
the process of creating these from acetone soaked
cellulose sheets. They are made one by one on each key
so there are no replacements available as each keytop is unique

however, since these keyboards will never be played by fingers,
it could be possible to make the repairs in a "look-alike" manner
that would pass inspection from a distance

Here is one of the actual units -

 

[ragtimeman]

quite amazing

i cannot tell now, but it is possible those are waterfall keytops,
and can only be re-fabricated
(they were not made using applied keytops)

there is a member here, Paul Debra, who can explain
the process of creating these from acetone soaked
cellulose sheets. They are made one by one on each key
so there are no replacements available as each keytop is unique

however, since these keyboards will never be played by fingers,
it could be possible to make the repairs in a "look-alike" manner
that would pass inspection from a distance

You can page thru these units and listen to the Bursens unit on YouTube

St Albans Organ Theatre

Working collection of mechanical musical instruments at the organ museum in St Albans

stalbansorgantheatre.org.uk

 

[Ventura]

this organ was likely in a sunlit room for a long time,
as this type of cracking/disintegration is usually from
UV exposure rather than heat/drying out, which usually
shows curling as the cause of fractures

yes these are waterfall style.. briefly, to replace these you will
need to use the original method, softening sheets of
celluloid in a certain strength of acetone until soft/pliable,
then slicing sections, draping over the key and allowing
the excess to droop over the front (hence the waterfall)

one of our members can likely give you some links to
how this is done.. there are some vid's on youtube showing cellulose
application in a factory setting, also showing the adhesive method
(Dingo knows where everything is or how to find it) though
no-one has used waterfall keys since the 1940/s 50/s so
i doubt demonstrations are available..

 

[Ventura]

i suppose there are solenoids/pistons attached under the keys ?

to repair the keys, pulling the axle and getting them free
to work on individually may be necessary

the front section with the 7 selectors would then need removed as well

so this accordion would be described as a 3 reed treble,
with 3 banks of reeds ranged LMH (each an octave apart)

 

[ragtimeman]

this organ was likely in a sunlit room for a long time,
as this type of cracking/disintegration is usually from
UV exposure rather than heat/drying out, which usually
shows curling as the cause of fractures

yes these are waterfall style.. briefly, to replace these you will
need to use the original method, softening sheets of
celluloid in a certain strength of acetone until soft/pliable,
then slicing sections, draping over the key and allowing
the excess to droop over the front (hence the waterfall)

one of our members can likely give you some links to
how this is done.. there are some vid's on youtube showing cellulose
application in a factory setting, also showing the adhesive method
(Dingo knows where everything is or how to find it) though
no-one has used waterfall keys since the 1940/s 50/s so
i doubt demonstrations are available..

Aha! I wondered what you meant by "waterfall". I've also found some advice in the "Accordion Repairs Made Easy" by John Reuther, starting on page 65. Since this book is copyright 1956, it appears to come from the right time frame. I'll send this "Dingo" and "Paul Debra" as well. And Thank You again for your help.

 

[Dingo40]

Here's one old thread FWIW:

Thread 'Replace Keys'

Aug 31, 2020

I bought my Bugari used and it had cracks on some of the keys and one obvious scar. They don’t affect the playing at all, but I just wondered if anyone knows a source for replacement keys. It has a reduced size keyboard.
Also, is it a difficult repair?
Thanks.

• Eddy Yates
• Replies: 25
• Forum: How do I ....... ?

 

[ragtimeman]

Here's one old thread FWIW:

Thread 'Replace Keys'

Aug 31, 2020

I bought my Bugari used and it had cracks on some of the keys and one obvious scar. They don’t affect the playing at all, but I just wondered if anyone knows a source for replacement keys. It has a reduced size keyboard.
Also, is it a difficult repair?
Thanks.

• Eddy Yates
• Replies: 25
• Forum: How do I ....... ?

Thanks, Dingo40. I believe I have 2 keyboard challenges ahead.

 

[Ventura]

didn't you find some factory video, was it from that place
that burnt down last year ? a lady applying black celluloid
to an accordion body ?

 

[ragtimeman]

i suppose there are solenoids/pistons attached under the keys ?

to repair the keys, pulling the axle and getting them free
to work on individually may be necessary

the front section with the 7 selectors would then need removed as well

so this accordion would be described as a 3 reed treble,
with 3 banks of reeds ranged LMH (each an octave apart)

According to the John Reuther book, starting on page 23, Frontalini was one of the makers that had individual key mountings rather than is single axle. And, yes, it appears from the photo that it is LMH. This accordion was made with a pneumatic action of some kind mounted, probably small bellows, behind both the treble and the bass sections. The organ is played by either a paper roll or folded cardboard book similar to a player piano.

 

[ragtimeman]

didn't you find some factory video, was it from that place
that burnt down last year ? a lady applying black celluloid
to an accordion body ?

I don't know who you were addressing this to, but I don't remember a video like that at all.

 

[ragtimeman]

Here is the complete organ on YouTube. Much of the music is provided by different types of pipes.

 

[Dingo40]

This could be relevant:

Thread 'A long chat with experts concerning various aspects of applying and repairing accordion celluloid 🙂'

Oct 30, 2024

From the video notes:
"We have the immense pleasure to introduce you the CAPITOLI Family. Ilario and Mattia Capitoli are working with celluloid since 1984 in Castelfidardo, Italy."

• Dingo40
• Replies: 2
• Forum: The Pub

• 

 

[Dingo40]

didn't you find some factory video, was it from that place
that burnt down last year ? a lady applying black celluloid
to an accordion body ?

Here it is:
(They make it look sooo easy!)

 

[Dingo40]

Here is the complete organ on YouTube.

Complete with an extremely rare, genuine left-handed accordion!

 

[ragtimeman]

Here it is:
(They make it look sooo easy!)

John Reuther explains how to do celluloid work. If that's not practical, I'll find some other way. At this point it's only cosmetic, since it will never be played manually

 

[ragtimeman]

Complete with an extremely rare, genuine left-handed accordion!

super rare! LOL