Installing leather harmonica valves

[@shoutsandwhispers2840]

Excellent and informative instruction! Thank you.

[@BrendanPowerMusic]

Have you tried artificial leather for valves (eg. Ultrasuede)? It has the same nice nap for good sealing and quiet action, but doesn't dry out and curl.

[@rickmagley]

Could you tell me where to find shellac? I've searched all over the web and only find nail polish or gallon cans of varnish. Thank you so much for this great information!

[@jonahpaz.]

Hi. Where can I find valves for my chromatic harmonica in the USA? I can't find any online store that sells them. Hohner's website ran out of stock for a long time by now.

[@stimmrad]

Hi Jonah, sorry for the delay in replying. Hopefully Hohner USA will get more in before long. In the meantime, I find I can keep my valves serviceable for a long time by regularly cleaning them, using an ultrasonic cleaner such as used to clean jewellery. I immerse the reedplates in warm water with a few drops of detergent, gently lifting each valve so the fluid can get between the valves and the reedplate, and between the layers of the valves. Run the machine, then rinse and dry the reedplates and that’s about it. Of course any damaged valves may need adjusting or replacing, but most only need cleaning.

[@iamhe999]

Thank you very much! very helpful!

[@gustavgnoettgen]

Great, I need this. Thanks!

[@stimmrad]

You should be able to find a pint or quart bottle of shellac wood sealant at your local hardware store. Shake it up then pour a little into a small jar, leaving it open for a couple of weeks until the alcohol evaporates enough to leave it the consistency of thick honey. If it gets too thick just add a little more shellac from the big container. Alternatively, I think that most woodwind pad glue is made of shellac. But the Italian accordion technicians I worked with just made up their own valve cement from a bottle of wood sealant.

[@sorinpetcut3992]

Thanks for the tip!I hope this technique works for the accordion also. I have this issue for my accordion.I have a question: this is holding on time?

[@stimmrad]

Hi Sorin, I have found that the shellac can sometimes grow weak and the leather valves start to fall off in accordions where the valves have not been replaced for perhaps 30 or 40 years, but for an instrument being played, the valves will probably need to be reset or replaced long before that. One other point: old valves can sometimes grow stiff and choke the airflow past the reed. After servicing a valve as shown in the video, hold it by the end to be glued and give the free end a little flick to test its tension. If it it too stiff, repeat the procedure, curling the valve from the same end, but with the valve inverted so that the napped, or fuzzy side is facing out. Then repeat the process yet again with the grain, or smooth side facing out. Then test the stiffness of the valve. Repeat this process until the leather has relaxed to the desired tension.

[@nihalfernandofernando2261]

Please tell meharmonica reed plet open but with aut skus

[@stimmrad]

A reedplate held on by nails instead of screws can be removed by prying it off with a knife. Carefully insert the blade between the reedplate and comb, taking care not to touch any of the inside reeds, then lift the back of the blade to pry off the reedplate, a little at a time as you move along the edge of the reedplate. If you were to lower the back of the blade to pry off the reedplate instead of raising it, the edge of the wood comb might be damaged.

[@hansvanhouten1781]

Hi Rick, I have an old Hohner student 4 that has all leather reed valves curling up. How old is too old to re-curl? Is there a point when you buy new leather covers instead of re-curling? Thanks!

[@stimmrad]

Hi Jo, The older Hohner accordions, from around pre-WWII, used the same kind of brown leather valves like the harmonica valves shown in the video. Sometimes these valves grow stiff and need to be rolled up knap side out before rolling knap side in as in the video. This is to reduce the valve's tension, and the process may need to be repeated a couple of times until the tension is reduced to the desired amount. If the valve is too stiff it won't open enough during play to allow the reed to speak freely, and can result in a muffled tone and flatted pitch. This problem occurs more often in harmonicas as their valves can become wet from playing, growing stiff when they dry out. Post-war accordions used plastic valves on the higher pitched reeds and leather or Vileda (synthetic leather) valves with plastic over-layers for the lower pitched reeds. The leather on these valves is usually the blond coloured leather used in Italian accordions. This type of leather can become too stiff to recondition satisfactorily. And old, stiff Vileda valves are pretty much beyond reconditioning. If the old type leather valves are not filled with grime and tar, you should be able to recondition them. However, there is another issue in dealing with accordion reeds, and that is the wax. In old accordions, the reed wax can become dry and brittle, with the result that the reedplates can become loose and rattle during play. In order to do a proper job on the inside valves, you'll need to remove the reedplates from the wooden reedblocks. The old wax will then be useless for re-setting the reedplates, and new wax will need to be applied. Going to all this trouble in overhauling the reeds, you'd probably be better off using new Italian leathers or new Hohner plastic valves. Honestly, if you value the instrument and intend to play serious music on it, you might consider taking it to a qualified accordion technician. Otherwise, you might find some KZbin videos on overhauling reedblocks. Here's a video showing a reedblock being waxed: waxing Hohner diatonic accordion reeds Best regards, Rick

[@hansvanhouten1781]

Rick Epping Thank you so much for the reply. I can tell you have lots of knowledge and it's great you share some of that with folks on youtube! I'm going to use up some of my free time with trying to repair this 20$ Hohner I got at a garage sale. It would have been thrown away if I didn't buy it so no harm done if I screw up. I feel like it can only get better with the shape that it is in now. The reeds all have spot rusting on them and all the leathers are curled up but they all seem pliable. I know that with all the rusting on the reeds that they are probably all out of tune. I'm going to re-valve all of them and go from there. I might try to scrape the rust off of the reeds if they are in fact horribly out of tune. The wax on a few is cracked and needs repair. I'm not sure about taking all of them out to mess with the insides of the reeds. I'm hoping I can steady my hand enough to re-valve the insides with leathers without taking the reeds off the blocks. We'll see how it goes. Like I said, with the shape it is in now, anything fixed on this accordion is an improvement. It sounds like you've repaired an accordion or two, do you find the process rewarding or annoying? Would you recommend a source that supplies good priced leather or plastic reed valves? Thanks for your time Rick.

[@stimmrad]

Jo Dirt'e Hi Jo, Steel reeds can take a fair amount of rust and still be ok after the reeds are de-rusted, cleaned, oiled and then scrupulously wiped clean of all excess oil, but they will require re-tuning, which is another subject altogether. It is possible, using tweezers, to remove and replace the inside valves without removing the reedplate from the reedblock. It's a tricky technique that requires some practice. After applying the cement to the valve (shellac for leather, other cement like Evo-Stik for plastic), you need to hold the valve on one edge, over the cemented area, but just on the very edge, and position the valve in place. Then roll the tweezers over the top of the cemented area as you release the valve from the tweezers, applying pressure to secure the valve in place. It's something that's normally only done to replace the odd defective valve and would be quite time consuming to do for all the valves. You can also try massaging the inside valves flat by stroking them with a flat stick, screwdriver, or some such tool. Not totally effective, but it helps a little. Here's one online dealer who sells plastic and leather valves: www.accordiondepot.com/ I recall his name from years ago, but not sure if I ever had any business with him. I have purchased leather valves from Carini, located in Castelfidardo, Italy. Here's their website: 151.1.156.236/jsp/index.jsp It's all in Italian. Ventilli pelli is leather valves, ventilli plastica is plastic and ventilli pelli e plastica is leather with a top layer of plastic. The page for these items is: 151.1.156.236/jsp/categoria.jsp?martigrp=FISCOM&martisgr=VOC# Best regards, Rick

[@jjkanuck628]

recondition my Hohner 64 Chromatica Pro... Here is the leather glue I have used works great on the leathers on my diatonic accordions. Indian Head Gasket Shellac or Versachem Lion Gasket Shellac, available in little brown 2 ounce plastic bottles