Major update
Reducing this story’s length
It’s now summer 2018, and I have stayed away from this web site for far too long.
The short story is that No. 2 was also driven by a challenge - I was challenged to get it ready for Consairtín 2015 in Ennis. And it was finished and, yes - it did play - but not as well as it should. But what can I expect when I am so arrogant that I file/profile the reeds the week before I go to Ireland?
So right now, it is waiting for a renewal - new reed pans, or sets of reed pans, maybe? A couple of kind people have donated pieces of wood, cut the correct way, so the incentive is there to make new pans and new reeds (tongues).
DIX reeds
There is also fact that the Czech Republic factory ”HARMONIKAS” is now making a concertina version of their DIX accordion reeds. They are used in two commercial concertina brands, and it is tempting to think about what can be done with them.
https://www.harmonikas.cz/en/dix-concertina-1#obsah
But No. 2 does look good, I think (next page), and it has become my wife’s favorite instrument. Maybe the fact that I took the reed pans out has something to do with that...
Is this the end of No. 1, then?
Of course not, but in 2014, I understood that the accordion-reeded No. 1 had come the end of its duty, or rather, my requirements for the instrument had gone up. That was the main reason for making of No. 2. But since No.2 is, so far, “on leave”, does that mean that I am back at square 1?
No - I went ahead with an idea that had been simmering for a while: I have a Wheatstone from 1909 with a great sound, which I hardly ever play, because it’s an English concertina (hint: joke)...
So why not ”borrow” the reed pans/bellows frames of my 1909 Wheatstone and (simply) build new end boxes - a new kind of hybrid! It would be non-invasive, of course - the original instrument could always be restored - it’s like a ”No concertinas were harmed during the making of this web site”-kind of thing.
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