Just finished assembly of the first accordion. Still need to tweak the flappers and do the tuning. Reeds are Cagnoni, bellows are Galassi. Frames are Mahogany with Curly Maple inlay. Faceplates are Sapelle. All hardware is brass including flapper arms. All corners are mitered. Stops play when closed.
Many thanks to my wife for bankrolling the project, Dad for supplying the wood and misc bits,taps,etc., Bruce for taking the time to do a set of plans and sharing them (free of charge no less), Steve for operating and referring me to the "Boxbuilder" Yahoo group, Greg Mouton for providing parts and info, John Roger for sharing his knowledge with all the guys on the forums, Tina Pilione from Savoy Music Center for supplying the DIY dvd, Marc Savoy for sharing his accordion building knowledge through the DIY dvd and all the other fine folks who have shared their ideas and questions along the way.
It has been an enjoyable project and I look forward to building more. The twin to this one is about 1/2 finished.
Greg
Great job! I have always thought that mahogany would make a geat looking accordion, but I have never seen one. You mentioned Dad for the wood. Is Dad a luthier?
Thanks Ganey,
No, Dad, like me, just has the great love for a nice piece of wood or woodwork when he sees it. Just can"t seem to keep on walking past without stopping to look or buy. Thats why both our basements and shops seem to have piles of the stuff everywhere.
Thanks Antoine,
Sorry about the omission. Thought I had it all covered. It is in the key of C. The twin to it will also be in C but with Antonelli reeds and stops out to play.
I am going to try and keep this at the hobby level since I enjoy doing it so much. Now if only I could learn to play!!
Greg
Great, really a fantastic effort!
How do the reeds sound? How did you make the buttons? Is it wood with messing?
And more important: what will be the BRAND NAME?
What kind of metal did you use for the flapper arms?
I noticed Marc's and Larry's seem very similar. I haven't observed too many other accordions.
All I know is that Marc's flappers can be bent back into place very easily, but another box I have doesn't have easy bending flapper arms. I can't tell which is better.
Thanks for the comments guys. I will try to respond to everyones questions in this reply.
Gus,
The reeds are much brighter than my China box. I dont own or have access to a La. handmade so I dont know how they compare there. The Cagnoni and Antonelli is what Greg Mouton uses in his boxes. The buttons are hardwood dowel rod stock with brass rivets set in to the top. The buttons and stops are black enamel with clear polyurethane. Not worried about a brand name now just building a good box.
Opelousas,
I did not tune the reeds before, just out of the paper wrapper onto the reed blocks. I still have not done the final tune.
Maz,
The other prairie is in the midwest Mo.-Ks. Crazy place for a Cajun accordion builder!!
Jim,
Flapper arms are brass. I softened the ends of the arms to coin them for the screws but should have softened the whole length. They are really hard to adjust.Marc uses copper ground wire which will bend a bit easier. I considered copper but didnt want to spray paint them to look like brass.
Don,
The twin to this one will be for sale after this one goes through some testing. I want to get it in the hands of some folks that can really play and get their feedback. I want them to be right before the get put up for sale.
Hope I got everyones questions answered.
Thanks again,
Greg
Tommee,
You are probably going to be my test bed. I need to get it tweaked and tuned and then I want to scoot over your way to twist your arm to play it. Hope all is well over that way.