Water damage….
- Thread starter 32251
- Start date
Looks like a total loss to me.
Ventura
Been here for ages!
the question is, seriously, how could you NOT know this one was a
total loss just from external observation ?
for it to have lain wet long enough to begin to seriously rot,
then dry out so completely as to crack the wood in multiple places
even through and through, would should have made this thing
stink to high heaven and make you sneeze immediately upon
opening the case.
it is nice that you seem to be willing to save almost anything,
but OMG
your time is worth more than this
total loss just from external observation ?
for it to have lain wet long enough to begin to seriously rot,
then dry out so completely as to crack the wood in multiple places
even through and through, would should have made this thing
stink to high heaven and make you sneeze immediately upon
opening the case.
it is nice that you seem to be willing to save almost anything,
but OMG
your time is worth more than this
32251
Active member
Only saw some pics online. I knew it was very suspect, but cheap enough. No case. I have a plan for it. The key side is fine.
You know what? This is 100% a lost cause, but I would love to see what our man here does with it! 
32251
Active member
Well under way. I will post what I did with it. Let me see how my idea turns out. Cleaning/tuning the reeds right now.You know what? This is 100% a lost cause, but I would love to see what our man here does with it!
Keep posting updates!
Vladimir M.
Active member
Almost everything can be almost completly repaired and restored (except human health, of course). In the case of things, it's always just a matter of willingness to invest resources in the form of money, materials and time. So why not? This instrument? Maybe a total loss. But at the same time, the beginning of a new personal journey (=gaining new experiences) if you want to devote time to such a seemingly "lost" thing.
Best regards,
Vladimir
Best regards,
Vladimir
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You are right in theory but in terms of the economic reality this instrument is a total write-off. What this accordion requires is a very expensive restoration or partial rebuild... and unless it is a very cherished heirloom it's really not worth it. Accordions and water do not mix.
Vladimir M.
Active member
After all, I meant it exactly in this sense. When repairing an expensive instrument by an amateur, damage is almost always guaranteed. Here, our forum member pays only with his time and his determination (from the context, I understood that he wanted to repair that poor box himself...). Forgive my rudeness, but I think that the reeds of such an instrument will no longer hurt when scratched with an electric engraver, for example. In this case, ther is no risk of damage, since there is already total damage, there is nothing left to lose, only experience can be gained. Maybe. It is different with paid services, of course. High instrument repair bills are always painful. In my humble opinion, they would probably exceed the price of a new instrument in this case. But that's how it is. A free human being is free to use his time and resources, assuming he knows what he is doing...
Best regards,
Vladimir
True! For 90% of us it’s all for fun. I mean, really, we spend our time making music, which is “not worth the time and money spent” so why not restoring unrestorable accordions? Which is crazier, really?
32251
Active member
I have made a living playing music on guitar and bass and other instruments all my life. I’m 73 and I’m playing 5 broadway theater shows in the next few months. Have a pension from the musicians union. Been there…played that. I have seen the music biz change to an almost unrecognizable state. I can honestly say that if I was 19 and starting over, I would not pick being a professional musician as my career. I don’t see how a young person could make a good living like/ I did just playing gigs. There are no more 6 night a week jobs. I remember working some places 5 or so years in a row 6 or 7 nights a week. There are no more recording sessions as that is all done on computers using samples. For at least 20 years, I went to one of several studios every day recording all sorts of music. All the studios I worked at have shut down years ago. I also have built almost 100 guitars/basses from raw lumber and fixed hundreds. I know about working on so called basket cases and time management etc., but I also still enjoy the challenge of fixing something in my shop that others might throw away. Sometimes it’s just the satisfaction of doing it. My wife is more practical. She calls it the “Christmas tree light syndrome “. I will spend time trying to fix a cheap string of lights….she says just throw them away and buy another set and gives me the don’t waste your time speech. I have heard that speech many times.
I have now bought 50 accordions in the last few months and have repaired and sold all of them. I only work on cheap used units. I am not interested in newish expensive accordions. Best to all.
Ventura
Been here for ages!
would you consider going through a warehouse of old accordions
and picking out 20 or 50 of them hands on so as to at least avoid
to some extent the crap shoot issue ?
i went back and looked at all those cracks/fissures in the wood.. i can't even
imagine how the reedblocks will have a chance to press on that plate
and be relatively air-tight
repair reuse renew recycle raccoon..
but yes, fixing the series light string.. since we were kids, right ?
those christmas lightbulbs got HOT.. there is a satisfaction keeping
something from the landfill that GenX will never comprehend.. they
would rather outlaw plastic grocery bags than get into the habit
of re-using them all to hold garbage or weaving them into rugs
and doorstops like the inventive Asian recyclers do
and picking out 20 or 50 of them hands on so as to at least avoid
to some extent the crap shoot issue ?
i went back and looked at all those cracks/fissures in the wood.. i can't even
imagine how the reedblocks will have a chance to press on that plate
and be relatively air-tight
repair reuse renew recycle raccoon..
but yes, fixing the series light string.. since we were kids, right ?
those christmas lightbulbs got HOT.. there is a satisfaction keeping
something from the landfill that GenX will never comprehend.. they
would rather outlaw plastic grocery bags than get into the habit
of re-using them all to hold garbage or weaving them into rugs
and doorstops like the inventive Asian recyclers do
32251
Active member
If I lived close, I would rent a truck!
Let’s say this was some gee whiz zillion dollar vintage accordion and some one wanted this restored. What I would do is spread titebond glue or epoxy…your choice…. In all the delaminated plies of the old plate and glue on one side of it a 1/8th” piece of really good clear Baltic birch plywood. There would need to be a 1/2” nice and flat piece of something on each side as clamp cauls and all the clamps you can cram in there to press it all together. Now you have one side nice and flat. You then use the original plate holes as templates to rout out with a bearing edge router bit. The bit follows the edge of the holes, so that is easy enough. Then glue another piece of birch ply, or maybe a piece of mahagony veneer on the other side and again rout the openings. You would have a very nice surface to work with on both sides. You can use a small sanding block to level out any high spots on both sides. You would actually have a stronger plate to work with. Would this meet your approval?
Btw, I partially used this approach on the water damaged basket case I’m working on, but my end game is totally different.
32251
Active member
I will keep you posted. Thanks for your interest.
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