Reed Adjustment and general "debugging" of Tedrow Concertinas
Bob Tedrow
Homewood Music

3027 Central Ave
Birmingham, Alabama 35209

Tedrow Concertinas, like all  hand built concertinas are comprised of hundreds and hundreds of  parts.   All parts and materials are chosen with great care with respect to durability, functionality and longevity.  Quite a bit of all concertinas are of course built with natural materials, wood and leather.  These materials are subject to the vagaries of temperature, humidity and stress.  Even though the instrument is  built with considerable love and care and with careful craftsmanship,  a concertina can and probably will need some adjustments, particularly when the instrument is new and the parts are getting used to sleeping in the same bed.  Occasionally, a piece of wood will expand, contract which can result in a errant note, sticky button,  buzz etc.   In addition,  a bit of detritus, speck of sawdust,  piece of bellows leather, cat hair or whatever may completely stop a reed from speaking.  Do not be alarmed and do not feel intimidated  by your concertina  or your ability to make a minor adjustment when need be.

I hope this brief web page will help you decide whether you can make an adjustment to your concertina yourself or if it is time to visit the shop in Alabama.

All Tedrow concertinas carry a lifetime "guilt"  guarantee to the original owner....If I feel guilty about a problem, I will repair it free of charge.  I would feel bad if you dump a pint of Guiness in your concertina, but not guilty.  You understand.



Here is an old friend from 2003 with a buzzing reed.  First, we will take note of the offending button (s) so that we can trace it to the proper reed.



You will will need to obtain a 3/32" "allen wrench" to loosen the endbolt holding the concertina together.  Remove all the bolts to allow the top to be removed from the concertina.  Sometimes the top "marries" adjacent wood, the lacquer will hold the top firmly in place.  A dull knife can be inserted in the seam and the top will come off.


The end removed, showing the action components. 


The reedframe/action board section is set inside the bellows frame.  It might require a dull knife to assist in its removal.  


Reed pan removed to expose the bellows interior.


Flip the reedpan over to view the reeds. There are two reeds/reed frame.   Remember, the  "push" reeds are visible, the "pull" reeds are on the back side of the reed frame.  The reed is  metal, the valve is brown leather.

Look for any obstructions between the reed and the reed frame.


A proper screwdriver is used to remove the 2/56 brass binding head screws that secure the reed frame to the reed pan.  They are tapped into the wood and are there to secure the reed in place, they should be snug only.  Remove the two screws to look at the inside reeds.





Don't forget to put the reed back in the same orientation as it was found!



Try giving the reed a "flick" with the dull knife to dislodge any foreign material
Screw the concertina together and see if that corrects the problem.  If there is an additional problem, please describe it to me and I will provide the information you will need to assess the issue.

Bob Tedrow

hmi@scott.net