Re: Sticky Key on Cajun Accordion


"DoN. Nichols" <dnichols@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:fggmpt04qg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
According to Bruce <NCPartisanRanger@xxxxxxxxx>:
On Nov 1, 6:36 pm, dnich...@xxxxxxxxxxx (DoN. Nichols) wrote:
If the rod is a precise standard diameter (inch or metric,
depending on where it was made -- measure with a micrometer), what I

[ ... ]

The reamers have straight flutes, and a short bevel on the end
which does the actual cutting.

An alternative might be a drum sanding which fits inside the
hole. used with a Dremel -- carefully.

Hi, DoN. Good info. The rod in question* is the rod that the
keys/buttons pivot on. I haven't measured one but "about the size of
the lead in a standard wood pencil" would be about correct.

Hmm ... I would probably have called that some stiff steel (or
iron) wire, not "a rod". :-)

Your
point about a standard number/letter drill pulling into the hole is a
good one - we're talking about a very small hole and even a much
smaller amount of material to be removed. I was thinking that it
might be possible to take a very small piece of emery paper, roll it
up "like a cigarette" with the abrasive on the outside, and insert
that in the hole but likely the hole is too small for this; but this
may be possible.

Hmm ... I would probably consider the round file out of a small
set of Swiss pattern needle files as being likely to fit the hole.

Or -- if the "rod" is a bit larger, there are hacksaw or coping
saw blades which are round wire with diamond or carbide chips bonded to
the outside. They are usually advertised as being able to cut glass.
So -- snip off the attachment ring at one end, and you can thread it
through the hole.

(* Original poster didn't specify the make, place of manufacture, or
age of instrument, so we can only guess here.)

Understood. I've seen button boxes (but not Cajun ones) with
rods on the order of 3/8" or so. Hmm ... since it was a Hohner, that is
more likely to be a metric size, so somewhere between eight and ten mm,
with the 10 mm being the closest to the 3/8" guess -- 9.525 mm

I've been told that Louisiana builders bore this hole oversize and
put in a bearing of nylon or "Delrin" to prevent the problem of the
pivot for the key sticking to the rod.

O.K. With Delrin, or even more so with Nylon, the chance of a
drill bit "screwing" into the bushing is pretty great -- unless you
remove the bushing from the lever and grip it in a collet in a lathe.

polish the rod in that area, too.

Right -- if you have a bench grinder, put a cloth wheel on it,
and load it with something like jeweler's rouge

A good suggestion! I'd check the area both above and below the
sticking key area. I wouldn't want to thin down the rod so much that
it left adjacent notes sloppy (but with a minimum amount of care, I
don't think that this would be likely).

I don't think that you can remove that much from even that small
a rod with jeweler's rouge -- its primary purpose is to make a really
shiny finish -- and for more serious metal removal you have to precede
it with something like Tripoli compound. But that thin a rod would be
likely to get bent if the wheel grabbed it, so perhaps not there.

Both these would resolve the issue if the problem is that the key
is sticking to the rod. Probably slightly more likely is the problem
of excess width of the key/ slot too narrow in which case he has the
issue of removing material squarely from parallel surfaces. It may be
that the "high area" that's causing the sticking will be apparent as a
discolored or shiny area when the parts are disassembled but --
whatever he finds upon disassembly -- he'll need to be careful to not
remove too much wood and to keep the surfaces flat. It will probably
be easier remove wood from the side of the key than from the slot but
if there's a "high area" on the side of the slot, he may have no
choice but to work in the slot. In such case, keeping the area flat
and parallel will be a must.

Agreed. The benefit of working with the key instead of the slot
is that if all else fails, you can make a replacement key, while the
slot requires replacing *all* the slots in most cases -- all cut in a
single piece of wood.

It's a tricky, touchy repair. As I said in my first post, DAMHIK!

O.K. I won't. I know that warning acronym all too well.
(Though I don't normally encounter it in *this* newsgroup. :-)

Squeeze On,
DoN.

I haven't read all the postings on this, but have any of you actually seen
the problem? I don't remember any information about what kind of Cajun
accordion, or how old, or any picture being posted. Are you recommending the
owner do all this stuff? Are you sure that is the problem?


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