Tuning kit????

[debra]

If I may comment on the tool kit shown in the beginning of this thread. Some members seem to feel it's expensive. I must say I differ
with the comment "expensive". I personally feel the price of the kit is an insult to the intelligence a perspective customer. The tools in
the kit can be substituted with common tools & pieces we all have.
Read here ---

https://accordionrevival.com/ACCORDION_REPAIR1.php#voicing_reeds

Very true! What is really important for tuning that people tend not to commonly have at home are small files.
I would recommend something like thie file set available from Carini. You can also buy scratchers and larger files separately from them, and you will also need some type of wetstone (grinding stone) to sharpen the tip of scratchers....
But of course what you need by far the most is *skill* and that only comes over time. Often when I get an accordion in for tuning (from friends only) they will not have had any maintenance for over a decade, and likely about 10 high reeds or so will not play at all, and have been treated badly by the last repairer to touch them... and then it requires the right tools and skill to get all of them to sound properly again (without replacing any)... but it took me years to get to that point.

 

[ArtMustel]

I use this to hold reeds in place when filing or scratching:
https://www.harborfreight.com/feeler-gauge-32-pc-63665.html
It has every gauge you may ever need, from large bass reeds to piccolo reeds.
For lifting interior reeds I use simple crotchet needles.
For filing and scratching something like this:
https://www.harborfreight.com/12-piece-precision-needle-file-set-4614.html?_br_psugg_q=small+files
For reed waxing I made a traditional waxing spoon from a soup spoon that I hammered down until flat, then cut the upper part of it leaving only the handle and the half-moon. It works absolutely well.
Of course I am not a pro accordion tech, but all the above serves me well. (i am a pro-cheapskate though...)