This is where we left off yesterday. After I am satisfied with the line up of the six panels, they are glued and left to dry.
Over to the drill press where I carefully drill a hole down about 1 1/2 inches through the panels. This particular concertina has a 3/16" wall. I usually make the walls 1/4" Maple is heavier than mahogany and I want to keep the weight down. A Zephyr is about 5 11/16 across the top when completed rather than a standard 6 1/4"
The saw blade is set just short of cutting all the way through the panel
We have sections for the top, reedpan and bellows frame here. I am leaving a maple cap on the bellows frame section to hold threaded brass inserts.
The converging lines help me to orient the sections as I build. It is a bummer to forget this step...
.......because the pieces are
hard to get back together later
All the sections are neatly rendered flat and clean
The rough cut sections of a concertina
Well, I am no photographer. I am trying to show you a nice tight joint here.
Installing threaded brass inserts. I actually re-invented the threaded brass insert. On my early concertinas I drilled and tapped the inside of brass wood screws to make my own. Surprise, you can buy all you need.
The tops ready for gluing on the book matched birds eye maple
preparing the tips of the cap screws. You can see here where I let a piece of metal get out of contol on a mini lathe and the resulting whack on the thumb nail and hand.
A trial fit of the case parts.
Shaper table up next
Many a concertina got chewed up in this proceedure, ending up in the dumpster.
top, reedpan section and bellows frame
Cutting the chevrons. Butt joints are not very strong.
Nice looking, too bad it gets covered up with leather and no one gets to see it.
