Reed Block Plate Gasket Question

[mpscholle]

I am working on and Lira model 20 accordion, 120 Bass.

The registers were completely seized up in aluminum oxide corrosion. So when I took the Reed plate off of the key pallets plate, where the keys press, there was lots and lots of corrosion between the Reed gasket and the Reed plate.

Now that Ive gently cleaned both of those pieces I need to start putting things back together. My big question here is other than the screws that hold the gasket to the block plate should the gasket be glued to the plate? And if so do you know of what glue I should use.

Link to picture
https://photos.app.goo.gl/SMTcn4VZZPLriVUp1

Any help is greatly appreciated thanks again

 

[debra]

I have not seen this a million times, but when I did that block plate (which the register slides go through) was only screwed and not glued.

 

[JIM D.]

Is the old gasket in one piece ??
If not you will have to fashion a new one.
Screw the plate back down &
If the old gasket is still in one piece, just tack in place and fasten the reed blocks in place.
you can tack it with a liberal amount of white glue.
If you need a new gasket, find a quality chamois cloth - glue it to the plate & cut the openings with a razor knife.
https://www.amazon.com/Original-Ger...&qid=1516737027&sr=8-4&keywords=chamois+cloth

 

[mpscholle]

Yes. The gasket is one piece. I worked on cleaning it up for a while. I have it pretty refreshed, and it seems like it might work.

It is very hard to tell, but it looks like at one time there may have been a small amount of adhesive on the gasket. But if there was it would have been very very little. I'll reattach and see how it goes without glue. If there are problems then I'll try glue I suppose.

If all else fails does anyone one know of a good replacement material? I think this one is goat leather.

Kindly Matthew

 

[mpscholle]

Is the old gasket in one piece ??
If not you will have to fashion a new one.
Screw the plate back down &
If the old gasket is still in one piece, just tack in place and fasten the reed blocks in place.
you can tack it with a liberal amount of white glue.
If you need a new gasket, find a quality chamois cloth - glue it to the plate & cut the openings with a razor knife.
https://www.amazon.com/Original-Ger...&qid=1516737027&sr=8-4&keywords=chamois+cloth

Thanks. I would never have thought of using a shammy!!!

 

[mpscholle]

I have not seen this a million times, but when I did that block plate (which the register slides go through) was only screwed and not glued.

Thanks Paul. Ill try without glue first!

 

[JIM D.]

If its in good shape, you might try strips of --
https://www.amazon.com/Scotch-Doubl...=1516750108&sr=1-3&keywords=double+sided+tape
to hold it in place.
The plate is made to be screwed on - the gasket is fastened to the plate.

On some accordion models (not many) the plate is plain aluminum or brass and the gasket is glued on the bottom of the reed block.

Lira accordions were made by International of Italy and of sturdy & quality construction.
They never made junk and a box well worth refurbishing.
:tup:

 

[mpscholle]

If its in good shape, you might try strips of --
https://www.amazon.com/Scotch-Doubl...=1516750108&sr=1-3&keywords=double+sided+tape
to hold it in place.
The plate is made to be screwed on - the gasket is fastened to the plate.

On some accordion models (not many) the plate is plain aluminum or brass and the gasket is glued on the bottom of the reed block.

Lira accordions were made by International of Italy and of sturdy & quality construction.
They never made junk and a box well worth refurbishing.
:tup:

Jim thanks for your response! Im definitely going to try it with just the screws and no glue.

I wish the gasket was in better shape. But it may be okay.

Also thank you for telling me about the Lira. I have looked all over the internet and have found very little about the company.

Im pretty close to having restored the entire treble side, and Im hoping to start the bass side next week. The goal is a complete restoration. After Im done with the Lira I am starting on a ACME, that needs a lot of love.

 

[JIM D.]

Is it one of these ??
https://www.google.com/search?q=Lir...uhwe_YAhXJ6lMKHdMIDrwQsAQIVg&biw=1024&bih=510

Liras were well made with a unique shift machine that worked perfectly .
They never sold well as most found the cosmetic grills they had looked like a trinket from a 5 & 10 Cent Store.
:lol:
P.S if the reed plates in your box have the name LIRA stamped on them - their Hand Made.
:tup:

 

[debra]

...
On some accordion models (not many) the plate is plain aluminum or brass and the gasket is glued on the bottom of the reed block.
...

Yup, on my AKKO there is a thin leather gasket glued on the bottom of the reed block. My other accordions have the gasket fixed in the accordion itself. I prefer the latter because each time you remove a reed block (and put it back) you risk one of the corners of the gasket to come loose, despite it being glued thoroughly to the reed block.
Creating a new gasket is a bit of a pain because of the many precise holes it needs, so Im carefully avoiding ever needing to do that...

 

[mpscholle]

UPDATE: last night I went down and started working on the Lira. I am going to have to glue or tack on the gasket to the Reed plate. The holes for the screws going into the Reed plate and the gasket are too worn out to continue to hold the gasket to the plate. So glue it is.

Does anyone have a recommendation on the glue to use? Been trying to research this for a few days and I think that the beacon fabri Tac could be a good solution.

I also did inspect the Reeds this morning and it looks like they do not have Lira engraved on them. So I guess that means they were not and made reeds.

 

[nagant27]

Ive seen a couple Lira accordions and both had the stamped, hand made reeds Jim is referring to. I remember distinctly that every single reed plate was stamped so it stuck in my mind.
Are you removing all the reeds and revalving as well on this accordion?

 

[JIM D.]

The lira name would be a stamp into the aluminum plate. Some Lira's had hand made reeds without the stamp.
Fabri Tac would be my glue of choice, but first I would put some in a small container and thin it with small amount of vm&p naphtha (lighter fluid).

 

[mpscholle]

Ive seen a couple Lira accordions and both had the stamped, hand made reeds Jim is referring to. I remember distinctly that every single reed plate was stamped so it stuck in my mind.
Are you removing all the reeds and revalving as well on this accordion?

When I got the instrument it was in such bad condition it was so bad I could not even test it. When I took it apart the Reeds look like theyre in relatively good condition as far as corrosion or rust goes. A few of the Reeds have teeny tiny tiny fragments of rust but I dont think itll affect it too much.

Some of the valves for the reeds are curling a little bit too far away from the opening. So my plan is to just fix the Reed valves that are curling too much. And use the re-curling method on the leathers and reapply them. At least by doing that I would be able to test the instrument and see what the overall sound is like and tuning.

 

[mpscholle]

The lira name would be a stamp into the aluminum plate. Some Liras had hand made reeds without the stamp.
Fabri Tac would be my glue of choice, but first I would put some in a small container and thin it with small amount of vm&p naphtha (lighter fluid).

Thanks for the advice on thinning out the fabric Tac