Fix an accordion keyboard with this easy to follow ‘how to’ guide. As much fun as accordions are, they can be quite intimidating to take apart, clean, or fix. There are very few accordion builders and very few accordion restorers as well- professional or amateur. Most accordions are antiques, which means that most accordions are in some state of disrepair. The most common problem with accordion keyboards is that they are dirty, and contain oxide and/or gunk thats gumming them up. This can be obvious, as when a key stays depressed when pushed, or subtle, like some keys might have a slightly delayed response that can be hard to recognize if you haven’t played a recently cleaned accordion. There can be other probems with keys, however, which I try to get at in step #7.
Before we get started, though, I’d just like to disclaim a few things.
For one: All accordions are different. Chances are, your accordion will have a keyboard somewhat like this one’s, however because so many companies make accordions and because they can be very technical instruments, there could be some accordions around that make this instructable completely irrelevant
Because of this, fanatical and meticulous caution should be taken. losing a screw could prove very hard to replace, and I like togo to the extreme of putting the same screws back in each same hole every time. Also, don’t force your accordion to do something just because it was how mine was put together in the picture. Try to mechanically comprehend the process and look at your accordion from every angle to see if it works the same as mine. I’d love to answer any questions of yours if at all possible.
Enough of me worrying you, though. As important as being careful with your accordion is having fun and doing it for the love of your instrument.Onward, then…
Removing the faceplate/ grill This Accordion's grill has 7 screws. I have an accordion that has only 2 screws, and one that shoud use 4 screws (but uses duct tape instead because I lost all the screws travelling. Don't let it happen to you, it sucks) so your's is probably different Also +100 Meticulous Accordion Fanatic Points if you can put each screw back in the same hole when you're done! Once all the screws are unscrewed, CAREFULLY lift the plate off. Some of them are stubborn, so be patient. Also pay close attention to how the register switches relate to the grill. Remember to breathe, and set the grill somewhere safe to the side.
Removing the spindle (s) On the bottom edge of your keyboard (past the highest pitch, or towards your feet when you're playing) is a small metal thing with a screw in it. Unscrew that screw to fing (one or) two metal nubs that are the beginnings of the spindles. If your accordion is in not-too-good shape, getting the spindles out might be a little bit hard. In my case, once they were about an inch or two out, they came out pretty easily. Don't bend the spindles, try to pull them straight out.
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Putting the keys back on Putting the keys back on can be painstaking, but you'll get good at it fast. As in step #4, you may have to put the keys back on out of order. Think ahead. Begin by Putting the spindles into the holes they came out of(with the pointy side first). Then grab the highest key (or 2 highest keys, in my case) so that you're holding the spring up next to the key. Put the spring where it should be (in my case, in the wood slat-holes for black keys and just before the red pads for black keys). Then Put the Slats in the Slat-holes and move the top of the key back toward the reeds so that the flanges fall into the spaces in between the spindle slats so that the holes in the flanges line up with the spindles. This is hard, and requires patience and trial and error. Look at how the valves line up for help. Push the spindle through the flange hole gently until you see it come out of the next spindle-slat. Then test that the key is on correctly by pushing it a few times. Once your sure that it is, pull the spindle out just enough that the point of the spindle is hiding in the wooden spindle-slat-hole, waiting to be stuck through the next flange. Then repeat. Over and over and over and over... Once you get the first few keys of each color, use them as reference points in putting the next key of that color in. Be sure to give each key a test-tap or two, because sometimes they look like they're in but actually aren't, and you don't want to forget to test the keys until after they're all put on and have to take a bunch of them back out...
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