Bellows pins

[Dingo40]

Can't help noticing how a spell of warm, dry weather (we've just had three days up to 38 degs C) quickly "springs " the bellows pins, so that the pressure of air in the bellows from playing alone is sufficient to (slowly ) drive them out of their seats.
Never mind, a burst of cooler, damper weather will soon fix all that!??
In the meantime, just push them back with your finger!?

 

[JIM D.]

My temptation to reply to this thread is exteme but, I've decided to wait and see the comments on this subject before I respond.

 

[debra]

The "standard" trick is to apply a bit of moisture to the holes, with the emphasis on "a bit", like what you could get inside the holes using a modern (bristled) toothpick. The moisture makes the wood swell just a bit, enough to make the pins stay put a bit better.
The tolerances are small, and not all pins on the accordion are 100% identical, which is why when removing pins for work on the accordion you need to keep them in order so you can put back the same pin in the same hole each time. If some pins are tighter and others are looser then it can help to move them around until you solve the puzzle of where each one should have been in the first place...
Only as a last resort would I get pins that are just a little bigger in diameter and widen the holes to match. So far I have never needed to do this. Finding the right spot for each pin, and a very little bit (not even a whole drop) of water has always been enough.
Note that dry warm weather does not really make bellow pins become loose: the metal expands with heat so if anything the pins should sit tighter in the holes than in cold weather.

 

[Tom]

Now I'm really curious... I do believe the relative humidity around here actually went below 60 once or twice this year...

 

[Ffingers]

Now I'm really curious... I do believe the relative humidity around here actually went below 60 once or twice this year...

Where Dingo40 lives, the Summer RH can reduce to zero and in Winter go to 100%
In between, the two extremes can occur in the same 24 hours!

 

[Dingo40]

Not only do bellows pins fall out of accordions but also wooden handles out of hammer-heads, picks, axes and like tools: doors and windows swell and shrink!?
Annual evaporation is around 9 feet, precipitation around 12 inches ( in a good year)?

 

[debra]

Not only do bellows pins fall out of accordions but also wooden handles out of hammer-heads, picks, axes and like tools: doors and windows swell and shrink!?
Annual evaporation is around 9 feet, precipitation around 12 inches ( in a good year)?

A hammer is made out of metal and has a hole through which a wooden handle is pressed. An accordion body is made out of wood and has holes through which metal pins are inserted. The effect of moisture and of temperature changes is exactly the opposite in a hammer versus an accordion with bellow pins. When it's cold and wet the hammer has a tighter grip around the handle (as the metal shrinks and wood expends) and when it's hot and dry the hammer (and hole) expands and loses grip on the handle. In an accordion when it's colder the wood swells and still grips the shrinking metal pins. When it's hot and dry the wood has less grip but the pins expand and still sit tight.
The reality with accordions is that pins become loose because they are removed and inserted many times (during repair) and some repairers do not keep track of which pin goes in which hole.

 

[Dingo40]

True,
And yet it moves! (Galileo)
So the mystery remains: why is the same pin in the same hole (untouched, in situ) tight in winter yet loose in summer, year after year??

 

[donn]

I wouldn't expect the pin diameter to be significantly affected by temperature, within normal human survivable ranges.

 

[debra]

True,
And yet it moves! (Galileo)
So the mystery remains: why is the same pin in the same hole (untouched, in situ) tight in winter yet loose in summer, year after year??

I don't know, but if it's really too loose in summer, take it out, wrap a small piece of cigarette paper around it and insert again. An even smaller piece of painters tape may also work. (It's thicker, but at least it sticks by itself as it has glue.)

 

[Ffingers]

Not only do bellows pins fall out of accordions but also wooden handles out of hammer-heads, picks, axes and like tools: doors and windows swell and shrink!?
Annual evaporation is around 9 feet, precipitation around 12 inches ( in a good year)?

This year the rainy season here has lasted for over 7 months - so I have a major task now that it has dried up a bit of removing all the surface rust from every tool in the shed - even those in cupboards and plastic containers.
1403 mm of rain, (55.25 inches) for 2021 to date and not even one month without showers.
The forest understory is a disaster just waiting for a spark to set it off, with the next few days weather forecast indicating temperatures in the high 30˚s, posssibly over 40˚C (104˚F), with strong, dry winds coming off the deserts.
Fortunately for us, none of our volunteer firefighters are Covid affected.

 

[Ffingers]

True,
And yet it moves! (Galileo)
So the mystery remains: why is the same pin in the same hole (untouched, in situ) tight in winter yet loose in summer, year after year??

Metal does not expand sufficently to compensate for the shrinkage of the drying wood.
Just as well that they are not screws - you can't have a lot of them loose ;-)

 

[Dingo40]

Ffingers,
... so I have a major task now that it has dried up a bit of removing all the surface rust from every tool in the shed - even those in cupboards and plastic containers.
I smear my ferrous metal tools with a coating of G96 gun oil.
It dries non-oily.
Two treatments and no problems with rust thereafter!??
It is readily available at most gun shops/shooter's supply stores
A quote from Amazon testimonials:

"From the United States​

Anthony J
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
G96 GUN TREATMENT
Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2017
I've been using G96 since 1972 I use it to clean, protect, and lubricate. IT WORKS! I've never had any issues going from warm to cold, EVER! From 72 degrees to 20 degrees. G96 removes any grease film that turns to molasses in sub zero temperatures. I had a gunsmith cut a 22" barrel cut to 18 1/2" The gunsmith told me, G96 is the best gun oil for cleaning, also lath cutting. I introduced G96 to this gunsmith, and he has stocked it on his shelves ever since. He said it's always moved very well. A lot of patrons comment about it. I since moved away from PA, and now live in VA. It's easier to use AMAZON then run a 1/2 hour away to a sporting goods store for G96, unless I need something else. Also, I use the G96 for door hinges, rollers, you name it, I use! A locksmith once told me, do not use WD40 on any door locks. I use G96, and it works! I use it on the locks for my autos. When I use it on door hinges in the house, it lasts for about a year! I can't say enough good things about it. I introduced G96 to my older brothers, and they have been using it since. My two sons are are Marines! They used it before The Marine Corps, and continue to use it today! I also use it on my rods and reels for salt water fishing. I used it on my Penn reels, they're over 30 years old and still work like a clock today! Also to clean Black powder rifles and pistols after flushing them with water.
10 July, 2020
Anyone using this G96 for years will remember seeing on the label Guns, Rods and Reels.
Here's my point, I was cleaning up a reel I had for years. I took it completely apart and found one of the main shaft ball bearings seized up. It looked OK, it wasn't a solid piece of rust. I soaked the bearing in kerosene for about 30 hours...... Nothing! The bearing didn't even loosen up a little! So I said to my self, I'll try soaking the bearing in the G96, never expecting it to work. I looked around for something small to put the bearing in. I found a small cap that would hold about one ounce. I dropped the bearing in and sprayed just enough G96 in the cap just to cover the bearing. 11 Hours later I took the bearing out and tapped on the anvil on my vise a few times. After several tries, to my surprise the bearing loosened up! So I'd sprayed a little more G96 on the bearing to Clean it out. Ounce the bearing felt clear of particles, I used Mobil 1 Mobilith 007 bearing grease. The reel has been working great ever since. I just had to add this to my review."

 

[Dingo40]

Ffingers,
Just as well that they are not screws - you can't have a lot of them loose ;-)
Use Loctite ??

 

[Ffingers]

That stuff is meant to stop your nuts from bolting.

 

[Ffingers]

Ffingers,
... so I have a major task now that it has dried up a bit of removing all the surface rust from every tool in the shed - even those in cupboards and plastic containers.
I smear my ferrous metal tools with a coating of G96 gun oil.
It dries non-oily.
Two treatments and no problems with rust thereafter!??
It is readily available at most gun shops/shooter's supply stores
A quote from Amazon testimonials:

"From the United States​

Anthony J
5.0 out of 5 starsVerified Purchase
G96 GUN TREATMENT
Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2017
I've been using G96 since 1972 I use it to clean, protect, and lubricate. IT WORKS! I've never had any issues going from warm to cold, EVER! From 72 degrees to 20 degrees. G96 removes any grease film that turns to molasses in sub zero temperatures. I had a gunsmith cut a 22" barrel cut to 18 1/2" The gunsmith told me, G96 is the best gun oil for cleaning, also lath cutting. I introduced G96 to this gunsmith, and he has stocked it on his shelves ever since. He said it's always moved very well. A lot of patrons comment about it. I since moved away from PA, and now live in VA. It's easier to use AMAZON then run a 1/2 hour away to a sporting goods store for G96, unless I need something else. Also, I use the G96 for door hinges, rollers, you name it, I use! A locksmith once told me, do not use WD40 on any door locks. I use G96, and it works! I use it on the locks for my autos. When I use it on door hinges in the house, it lasts for about a year! I can't say enough good things about it. I introduced G96 to my older brothers, and they have been using it since. My two sons are are Marines! They used it before The Marine Corps, and continue to use it today! I also use it on my rods and reels for salt water fishing. I used it on my Penn reels, they're over 30 years old and still work like a clock today! Also to clean Black powder rifles and pistols after flushing them with water.
10 July, 2020
Anyone using this G96 for years will remember seeing on the label Guns, Rods and Reels.
Here's my point, I was cleaning up a reel I had for years. I took it completely apart and found one of the main shaft ball bearings seized up. It looked OK, it wasn't a solid piece of rust. I soaked the bearing in kerosene for about 30 hours...... Nothing! The bearing didn't even loosen up a little! So I said to my self, I'll try soaking the bearing in the G96, never expecting it to work. I looked around for something small to put the bearing in. I found a small cap that would hold about one ounce. I dropped the bearing in and sprayed just enough G96 in the cap just to cover the bearing. 11 Hours later I took the bearing out and tapped on the anvil on my vise a few times. After several tries, to my surprise the bearing loosened up! So I'd sprayed a little more G96 on the bearing to Clean it out. Ounce the bearing felt clear of particles, I used Mobil 1 Mobilith 007 bearing grease. The reel has been working great ever since. I just had to add this to my review."

That has me wondering just how well it might work on mildly rusty squeezebox reeds.

 

[Dingo40]

That has me wondering just how well it might work on mildly rusty squeezebox reeds.

I'd be worried it could make them all fall off (ie the reed plates from the reed blocks, the valves off the reeds?).
I'd keep G96 away from any "organic " materials: wood, leather, wax etc.?

 

[donn]

After a while I think you'd also have a nice protective layer of dust and lint on your reeds, trapped by the oil.

 

[Ffingers]

After a while I think you'd also have a nice protective layer of dust and lint on your reeds, trapped by the oil.

I'm messing about with a couple of defunct-and-well-past-it accordions in an attempt to get to understand their operation and then possibly learn how to do some basic maintainance on working instruments, so I have stuff on which I can experiment with various cleaning and protective materials. I'll keep you all informed as to progress.