Frequently Asked Questions regarding Tedrow Concertinas
Q: How long did it take you to learn to build concertinas?
A: Honestly, I am still learning! Most of the instruments
that I build have subtle differences in the dimensions. I
pay close attention to small details in construction and am
willing to go back to the drawing board at the drop of a hat, or screw
or pad or hammer or tongs. I built my first musical instrument, a
banjo in high school in the late 60's. So the answer is.....over
30 years? If you would like to have some additional background on
me or the shop look here
Q: Do you build those concertinas from a kit?
A: No, there are no concertina “kits” available. Each
instrument begins with properly dried woods selected for their utility
and appearance. The wood is resawn and dimensioned here in the
shop, as evidenced by the copious saw dust in the shop.
Q: ”Do you use a laser to cut those fancy ends?”
A: I believe I’ll take that as a compliment, but no,
I cut the all my concertina ends by hand with a
Hegner scroll saw. And yes, it does take a long time as
each cut requires the saw blade to be removed and replaced through a
small hole in the top. Hand cut fretwork requires many many hours
of practice, but it is worth the effort when it produces a little piece
of art.
Q: How long does it take you to make a concertina?
A: One week (without distractions!) for a concertina with
traditional Italian
reeds. Much (much!) longer for an instrument with traditional
English reeds.
Q: Can you make a concertina from my wood? I have a piece of my
grandmothers cupboard.
A: Oh yes. I can almost always find a way to incorporate
your family history into an instrument for you.
Q How do you make the bellows?
A: Like this I
build traditional cut card bellows of leather and a
neutral
Ph cotton ragboard. That means each individual trapezoid is hinged
with linen and leather. Bellows properly built in this
manner play beautifully when brand new and will retain their utility
for one hundred years. Other than the obvious financial benefit, I can
see no advantage building with a contiguously folded cardboard.
Q: Do you make all those little parts inside the concertina?
A: I make the springs by hand with a lovely little spring
making jig that I built. The buttons are turned by hand on a
miniature lathe. English felt bushings are cut and installed by
hand. The levers and posts are hand riveted, measured and installed by
hand.
Q: What kind of reeds do you use on your concertinas.
A: I use traditional Italian steel reeds for my Standard Tedrow
concertinas. I build traditional English style reeds for
custom instruments.
Q: How do you tune a reed?
A: reeds and reedframes are carefully hand profiled to a desired
pitch and fine tuned using hard steel files and a
stroboscope. That is a succinct description of a
complicated and lengthy process. It easily takes as
much time to build a set of reeds as the entire balance of the
concertina!
Bob Tedrow
http://hmi.homewood.net