Thanks everyone for the encouraging comments, which, however just added to my frustration: the sad-looking Scandalli was just out of reach, too far away for collection to be practicable, and the seller didn't seem to want to pack and freight it. It sat, folorn and unlovely, apparently unwanted, even at NZ$40 (approx 20 quid), for over a week on the 'net, and then the listing disappeared - it was gone, perhaps to the dump. I grieved: so close, and yet so far. I hoped that the world hadn't lost a potentially superior accordion. It surely deserved to be rescued and made playable, if possible.
And then, on Fathers' Day (3 Sept. in NZ), my wonderful daughter presented me with a large box. She had persuaded the seller to send the accordion to her!
I had resigned myself to my 'loss', and the possibility that this accordion had been lost to the world, and had just about convinced myself that the thing was probably too far gone, or had been raided for its reeds, or that, because Domestic Management keeps telling me I have an enormous backlog of more important things to do, I was better off without it. However, now it's here, and it's going to be quite a project! It will be a complete strip-down and rebuild. I quite understand that it wouldn't be a commercially viable undertaking, but it's not going to cost all that much in parts (apart from the mute 'lids'), and my labour is free - and I enjoy this sorth of thing, so it's fun.
At first sight, from the outside, it looked rather dismal. Five of the six mute 'lids' are missing, the plating of the sixth is a mess. The black celluloid is scratched, furry-dull and filthy, and an area is damaged, with some missing. Moving the bellows produced sundry unauthorized wheezes and squeaks. The bellows locking mechanism is missing. A couple of keys stick, and the facings of two have separated from the wood. Neither treble nor bass switches worked. Treble grille/cover thumbscrews (?) have been replaced by self-tappers, wrecking the threaded inserts, one of which appears to have been dug out with pliers (Aargh! Morons!). Strap attachment bracket plating is alarmingly corroded, which looked like a bad omen.
I feared the worst as I opened the box, having discovered corroded-solid slides, corroded, immovable fixings, and widespread moth attack in my little Paramount box, whose restoration progresses slowly (much indecision about sourcing parts and materials).
But, inside, it's all there, except for the moving parts of the bellows locking mechanism! No corrosion! Every screw tested so far can be turned. All slides move freely, albeit a bit 'scratchily'). As one would expect, it needs all the reed valves to be replaced, some attention to the pallets, and some keys need to be freed up. A couple of white keys look to have warped sideways a little. It was a welcome bonus to discover individually removable keys. The reeds (not hand-made) are all present, only a few with minimal surface rust spotting, the bellows look reasonable (can't test yet), and haven't been damaged by the (missing) locking claws. It has been dropped on its feet, one foot is missing, the bass plate is a bit bent, and the adjacent woodwork has suffered consequent damage with cracks, but none is missing. Oh joy - a removable bass machine - and not mangled! A few bass buttons are a little wonky, their pistons being a little bent, just below the buttons.
A couple of the treble reed blocks are warped, the fingers of the rotating parts of the bass switch mechanism are variously bent (how on earth...?), but, mercifully without damage to the alloy actuator slides upon which they bear.
There is damage to the celluloid at the tight compound curve at the lower edge to the front right corner of the side of the keyboard, with an area of it missing. This is my main worry, having no experience of such work, or of having worked celluloid. Happily, the matt-finish celluloid polishes up easily, so that's a relief, and the lack of pattern should make celluloid repairs easier. The other work required doesn't really frighten me - although the sheer amount is rather daunting - and I'm equipped and happy to make components in metal, wood and plastic. I aim to return this box to its former glory, but it's going to take a long time...
So I'd like to throw myself at the mercy of the forum: I'll need help with this job, and getting any in New Zealand is very unlikely. I don't know enough about accordions... The biggest questions (at the moment...) are:
1) Can anyone supply information to allow me to make the bellows locking mechanism? Photos with a ruler included, dimensioned drawings, etc. would be ideal - a big ask, I know. (Ffingers, are you feeling generous?)
2) I may have misunderstood this, but the flat, pierced, alloy treble pallets seem to be held onto the key rods by a strip of thin leather, probably glued (the exuded material is transparent and brittle, unlike wax) the leather being wound around the key rod and through parallel slots in the middle of the pallet, between which the pallet material is raised (so the leather thickness doesn't deform the felt). This appears to bind the pallet to the rod (see pix). Have I understood correctly? Is this a standard technique? Can it be non-destructively taken apart and the pallet re-attached, and without having to start the binding process from scratch? Some pallets need to be moved, some, perhaps all, will need to be re-faced.
2a) When re-facing, how does one decide the thickness of pallet facings to use (there are different thicknesses on the treble side, presumably non-original)? I realise that this will affect key height, but this can be altered.
3) The original mute 'lids' are in two parts. The main 'lid' parts are missing. It looks like they were originally soldered to the short, hinge parts, all of which remain. These appear to be soldered to brass bushes, which are rotated by screws in the actuating rod. One-piece mute covers are available from Carini "De.Na." and others: they are made differently, however their major dimensions are probably compatible, but it's not clear how they are supposed to be attached to the bushes. (And how on earth does one navigate the chaos that is Carini's web site?)
3a) Are there the equivalent of 'car breakers' who supply salvaged used parts for old boxes?
4) The bass strap is screwed directly to the case with two woodscrews and washers - there's no hook. Is this likely to be original?
The treble switch keys and the white piano keys are yellowed and stripey'. Is this an intentional faux bone effect, or is this the effect of age and staining? A gentle exploratory polish of the master switch didn't change it much. Of course, if it's intentional, I don't wish to risk rubbing it off.
5) What timber is likely to have been used for the casework? Poplar, perhaps?
6) Is it likely to be fruitful to contact present-day Scandalli (in English...) for information?
7) Am I asking too many questions...?
