Squeezebox Repair Tips

Here you will find tips for common and easy accordion repairs you can do yourself with no special skills and a modest investment of time and equipment. Thanks to contributors to the Squeezebox Newsgroup, especially Alan Polivka, for much of the advice given here.

Grillecloth Needs Replacing

Q. The cloth underneath my treble grille is stained and ripped. It looks really nasty and is no longer doing its job of keeping out dirt particles. Can I replace it myself or should I have this done by a professional?

A. This is one of the easiest repairs you can do yourself, and not expensive, but it can be time-consuming. A piece of grillecloth large enough to replace the treble grille of a full size 120 bass accordion will run you about $10 - $12 at a retail accordion supply house. They come in various colors and materials. Silver and gold are popular, and can be had in stiff metallic screening, semi-stiff woven cloth, or soft woven cloth. I prefer soft cloth - because of its closer weave, it does a much better job of filtering dust, and is easier to apply, as it will stick to the back of the grille as soon as the adhesive becomes slightly tacky. You need a stronger "tack" to get a stiff material to adhere, especially a metallic surface onto a metal grille. However, metal screening generally lasts longer -- it is harder to poke a hole in it and it takes longer to deteriorate from age. If you use cloth, avoid light non-metallic colors such as beige or white, which will not age gracefully.

You will need a screwdriver with the proper blade for the grille screws, a can of spray glue from the hardware store which should run about $9, painter's tape, a scissors, and a sharp exacto knife. I use 3M Super 77 Multipurpose Adhesive - it contains no ozone-depleting chemicals. Because the spray glue is toxic and extremely flammable, you should follow safety directions on the can carefully, and perform this operation outdoors or with very good ventilation. Ideally you should wear protective goggles, painter's mask, and plastic gloves. A sawhorse and a drop cloth are a good idea if you don't want to spray adhesive all over your patio. Keep pets and children safely away while you are working. No Smoking.

Remove the grille: usually there are a series of tiny screws holding it into place. If there are nail type pins instead, to avoid marring the grille or stripping the pin heads, you may want to use a specialized pliers called a bellows pin puller. You can find one on the HMT Repair Parts and Supplies page. If the screws or pins are rusty, bent, or stripped, you should replace them. If you're lucky, there is a quick release mechanism at either side of the grille, and you won't have to bother with loose bits of hardware. When you take off the grille cover, you will expose the treble valve board. Chances are it's dirty and there are dust bunnies in the corners - vacuum or pluck them out. Don't bend the valve rods - if they don't seat properly, you'll have notes sounding when they aren't supposed to. As long as you're there, you may as well check the valve pads and level the keyboard. Clean the keys too - directions below.

Once you have the grille off, carefully remove all the old grillecloth and glue residue from the back, and clean the back of the grille - rubbing alcohol is OK for celluloid, denatured alcohol will work faster on metal or wood. Don't use anything oily or soapy, or the fresh adhesive may not hold. If the backside of the grille is wood, you should follow the cleaning with a light sanding using fine grit sandpaper. If it is metal, you can use steel wool. You'll get better results if you take the time to clean all the residue. If you hate to scrub, you can soak a plastic or metal grille overnight in a solution of vinegar and water. The next day, the old grillecloth and adhesive should come off easily. If you need to clean or remove tarnish from the front of the grille, this is the time to do it. If a metal grille is badly rusted or pitted, try polishing it with very fine steel wool - it will leave tiny scratches all over but will look better than it does now. If you have an electric drill and wire brush and buffer attachments, you can try buffing out the rust and scratches. You can also spray paint the front of a grille that is hopelessly stained or corroded, before you attach the new cloth to the inside. Remember to wear protective eyewear and a filter mask, and follow the directions on the can. Let the paint dry thoroughly before proceeding - overnight, if possible.

Check the positioning of the cloth before you spray the adhesive. You can mask off the edges of the back of the grille on the level of the screw holes and on all the edges that will touch the frame of the accordion, so that the grille will still fit in place after the cloth is applied, and you're not turning the screws through the cloth. If the open grillework continues to the sides of the grille, make small cuts in the grillecloth with the scissors so that it will fit into the corners and edges. Don't bunch or double up the material - you only want one thickness of grillecloth at any given point, so that it will fit evenly and neatly - this usually means cutting out small triangles in the corners. It's best not to cut the grillecloth to size all around before you glue it in place, even if you think you have measured accurately - with soft cloth, it's easy to misjudge the size and stretch, resulting in a cloth that is too small.

Place the grille face down on a large dropcloth (or a large piece of wax paper or parchment paper), or on any hard surface you don't care about, and spray the back with glue, following the instructions on the can. Spray evenly and lightly, don't overspray, clean up any drips immediately, and don't move the grille once you have begun spraying. When the glue is tacky, carefully apply the cloth with the shiny side down (the side that you want to show through the grille), and press it into place, paying particular attention to corners and edges where the grille bends. Smooth from the center out to the edges so that the material is taut against the grille. Allow to dry completely before touching or moving the grille. If you are using a stiff material and it is reluctant to stick all around, either wait for the glue to dry to a stronger tack, or apply metal weights to hold it down. Weights won't work on vertical edges, so you may want to use small spring clamps or clothespins. To avoid scratching the outside of the grille, use rubber or plastic tipped clamps.

Once it is completely dry and you have a good application of the cloth, use the exacto knife to trim away all the excess. Remove the masking tape. Then clean up any loose threads, exposed glue residue or excess glue, before reattaching the grille. Check the front also. Save the trimmed pieces of grillecloth - they can be used later for patching holes, or if there is enough left over, you can use them on the bass side so you have matching grillecloth.

Cleaning Keys and Buttons

Q. My treble keyboard has pencil markings on it where someone wrote in the names of the notes. How can I remove this safely?

A. You can usually clean the keys using GooGone or OrangeClean, which are citrus based solvents that should not harm the plastic - test in an inconspicuous place first. These solvents will also clean up gum labels and adhesive residue. You can also use Murphy's Oil Soap, vinegar, or rubbing alcohol, which are safe on plastics, but somewhat less effective. Be careful not to spill any liquids between the keys - apply to a cloth first, then wipe on, let sit for a minute, and rub off. You may have to rub really hard to remove the markings.

Avoid denatured alcohol, which is a powerful and toxic solvent. It will mar the surface of most plastics, but sometimes offers a quick solution if the keys or buttons are stained to an ugly dirty beige color. Superfine grit sandpaper can take the stained surface down to the original color underneath, but will leave small scratches on the keys that can grab dirt and finger oils and make them difficult to clean later. I wouldn't use steel wool or sandpaper on a piano accordion keyboard, but I have done it with bone, shell or plastic melodeon buttons, later sealing the surface of the buttons with a couple of coats of polyurethane to return it to a slick surface that will not attract grime. If your keys are so UGLY that you just can't stand it, and you're artistic, try painting the tops (carefully!) with a plastic-safe hobbyist's paint in any color and design that pleases you, then finish with a clear sealant. You'll have a unique custom keyboard . . . but you might have some trouble reselling the accordion later.

Levelling the Treble Keyboard

Q. Some keys on my accordion are sticking up higher than others. I can't do a glissando and one key is so far up it is making it quite difficult to play. Is this something I can fix myself?

A. That depends. Sometimes these repairs are very easy, other times they require the services of a professional. This is one of the most common repairs on older accordions, or even new accordions where someone has been careless with the keyboard. There is a simple adjustment you can try yourself, and if that doesn't work you will probably want to send it to a repair shop. Keyboard repairs can get quite expensive, so make sure your accordion is worth it before you commit to a repair bill. For this simple repair you will need at least 2 tools: a screwdriver with the proper size blade for the grille screws, and a treble key rod setting tool. The key rod tool is available from the House of Musical Traditions.

If you have treble notes that are sounding when you are not pressing a key, you probably have a leaking valve, and you also need to follow this same procedure. Before you remove the grille, you need to determine which keys you will adjust. Set the accordion on a table with the keyboard edge facing you and the keys parallel to the table. You will look at the keys edge on to get an idea of how you will approach the levelling job. This will be easier if you place a ruler or other very straight piece of wood across the keyboard, then look at the keyboard edge at eye level. Your goal is twofold: adjust as few keys as possible, and adjust to a playing height that is comfortable for you and quiet for the keys. Now mark each of the faulty keys with a little piece of masking tape so you can identify them easily once the grille is off. Do this also with any notes that leak.

If you are one of the lucky people that has thumbscrews on your grille, or a quick-release mechanism for the grille cover, then you won't need the screwdriver. Most accordions, however, have several small screws that are holding the grille in place over the treble valves. Unscrew these and carefully remove and set aside the grille cover. If the grille surrounds and locks over your treble registers, you will need to be extra careful that you do not damage the switch mechanism when you remove and reassemble the grille cover. Put the grille screws in a small jar and close the lid - you don't want to lose these. If any are rusted, stripped out or missing, you should replace them. Don't try to reuse damaged screws.

You are now looking at the exposed key rods and valve board. While you have the grille off, this is the time for some housekeeping. Pull out the dustbunnies, swab the valve board, vacuum, remove the grime from the exposed parts of the treble keys, check the valve pads for wear or failing adhesive, etc. This is also a good time to repair, clean or paint the outside of the grille, or replace the grillecloth. If you plan to have the grille off for a long time to allow paint or adhesive to dry, you should cover the accordion with a large plastic bag or dust cover to keep dust and dirt out of the exposed valve board.

Now look at the key rods - the numerous long metal rods running from the ends of the keytops to the valves themselves. The rods are probably made of an aluminum alloy, which is durable and not brittle, yet soft enough to bend when strong pressure is applied. You may see little scratch marks in the metal - that is where a previous repairman adjusted the angle of the rods. Notice how most of the scratches are closer to the key than to the valve. That's because if you adjust the rod too close to the valve, the angle will be steeper and the valve may not seat properly. Symptoms of a non-seating valve are continuous sounding of a note, or the note sounds at a somewhat higher bellows pressure, when you are not playing its key. (The reason these notes don't sound all the time is, if the valve is only leaking a very small amount of air, it will require greater pressure for enough air to reach the reed to cause it to speak). Valves can be replaced if they are so old they don't do their job anymore. You can replace either just the felt/leather valve pad itself, or the entire valve assembly: the wood, metal or plastic piece that is attached to the end of the key rod, usually with wax.

The adjusting tool has a notch at either end. One notch is larger than the other so you can get the best fit. Begin in the center of the keyboard and work to the outer edges - this will make minute adjustments easier as you go along. Levelling an old keyboard is often a matter of compromise - you may not be able to get all the keys lined up at exactly the same height, but you want to have an average height that you can live with. There is not much you can do with very old keys that have sideways warpage - one side will always be higher than the other, so a perfect levelling job is impossible.

Take the keyrod tool in your "smart" hand. With your other hand, hold down the key that you want to adjust. This will lift the key rod up and away from the other rods, and will open the valve. Now hold the tool perpendicular to the rod, with the lower notch facing the rod, and lock the notch sideways onto the key rod. There will be some play - the notch is wider than the rod. Nudge the opposite end of the tool slightly away from you, so that gentle pressure is applied to the rod, just enough to bend it downwards very slightly. Now release the key and check the height. Continue until you have reached the target height. If the key is too low, you will apply pressure in the opposite direction. You must do this slowly and by degrees - if too much pressure is applied to an old rod, it can snap at the key end. Don't try to make big changes across the whole keyboard, or you could end up with a lot of valve leaks. It is often very difficult to reach and bend the shorter rods that connect to the black keys, so it's best to avoid adjusting them.

Once you think you have the action properly adjusted, test the keyboard before you put the grille back on. Carefully strap yourself into the accordion, being very protective of the exposed valve assembly. Unsnap the bellows clips (the little straps that hold the bellows closed when you are not playing the accordion). Now test the keyboard. Try scales, chords, glissandos. Listen for excessive key clacking - this may be an indication that your key height is too great. It could also be that you need to replace the felt underneath the keys, or that some treble valve pads are worn and need replacement. You want to make sure that the keyboard is comfortable to play, and that you have not created any valve leaks during the adjustment process. When you're done, secure the bellows clips, put the accordion carefully back on the table and reassemble the grille. Test again with the grille in place. If the key height is too great, you might now hear the rods clicking against the inside of the grille, especially if the grille has warped with age and is slightly concave. If the grille is metal, you might try bending it slightly so that the rod ends will not strike the inside.

Leaky Bellows

Q. My accordion has a little air leakage at one place where the bellows frame joins the accordion. I know that this is coming from here because when I apply pressure it becomes air tight again. On an older accordion when I had this problem I just ran a piece of electrical tape over the affected area.

A. It sounds as though the bellows gasket is worn out. This is a very common problem. The gasket should be replaced. You can buy self-adhesive bellows gasket material from accordion supply houses - it is quite inexpensive. Some people replace the entire gasket with the appropriate size of adhesive-backed weather stripping, but I do not recommend this. Bellows gasket material is much preferable. It is denser than weatherstripping, as it has to withstand higher pressures. The seal does in time become permanently compressed and then no longer works properly and thus needs to be replaced. This should be done routinely when the seal appears to be even a little worn.

Another problem with weather stripping is that some types of foam rubber will crumble after aging. Many folks use it anyhow.

A better, but more time consuming solution is to replace it with some very soft leather, e.g. something like chamois texture. It should have a smooth soft nap side exposed after attaching it.

How to Apply New Bellows Tape

Use ordinary white glue for putting on bellows tape. The standard technique is to spread a bunch of the glue out on a board. Then lay the strips of tape on the board and press them onto the glue (with a piece of wax paper on top of the tape, to keep the glue from getting all over your hands). This gets just the right amount of glue on the tape. Then apply the tape to the bellows.

If you are using ribbed bellows tape, be sure that the diagonal ribbed pattern is going in the same direction from one fold to the next. The bellows need to be pressed while the tape dries (under quite a bit of pressure, e.g. at least 50 lb.). Put strips of wax paper between the bellows folds while the glue dries so that they do not stick together.

Use 3/4" wide tape unless you are putting new tape over the top of old bellows tape. In that case, use 1" tape.

Tips for Reed Skins (Leathers, Valves, Flaps)

Q. Some of my reed leathers are curled up, and the reeds are making a funny noise. Do I have to replace all of them, or is there a quick fix?

A. Ideally, you would replace a curled leather, but if you are in a pinch and do not have a supply of replacement leathers, there is an emergency remedy. A badly curled reed skin can be removed and straightened by creating a sort of spine down the center (by pressing into the leather with a sharp pointed object to create little bumps), then shellacked back into place. Some repairmen use a piece of metal with a slot in it and a blunt ice pick to do this reshaping. The spine adds to the stiffness of the reedskin. Avoid ridging the free tip of the leather.

If the leathers need conditioning, are very dried out, worn, or cracked, you don't want to apply a leather treatment as if they were a pair of gloves or slippers. You should replace them entirely, rather than risk getting anything on the reeds or affecting the adhesive that holds them in place. Don't try to straighten the skins by wetting them down. Saliva or anything containing water is not recommended for use with reed skins. The reason is that piano accordions with non-stainless steel reeds (which is most PA's) depend on the reed skin to absorb moisture in order to prevent the reed tongues from rusting. This is not a problem if you live in a very dry climate. But for the rest of us, it is a concern over time.

Q. What about valves that are missing entirely? Are you better off ordering them from a supplier, or can you make them yourself?

A. The smaller piccolo reeds in a PA are not intended to have any reedskins at all, so if you don't see leathers on them, they are not missing, they were never there to begin with.
It is extremely difficult to get leather with all the right properties for reed skins. Even the old time pro repairmen usually get their leather for reed skins from accordion supply houses rather than trying to pick it out themselves at a leather shop. Many modern accordion builders are now using plastic skins, or a combination of plastic and leather on the larger reeds. You can buy reed leather assortments here.

The traditional adhesive for use on leather PA reed skins is shellac. It holds leather to metal well enough and it dissolves easily with standard solvents. Since accordions are designed to be overhauled (re-waxed, new skins and re-tuned) every 20-30 years, this is an important consideration. Shellac does not adhere as well to plastic reedskins, so many modern repair shops use a specialized plastic cement. If you're using shellac, pour a small amount into a clean open glass container and allow it to become thick overnight before using -- it will adhere better.

Use common sense when affixing leathers. Never touch the reed with your bare skin - the acids in your skin can etch the metal. Using a flat toothpick, apply a thin layer of adhesive to the top fourth of the length of the leather - only enough to hold the leather in place. Any excess adhesive can squeeze out and foul the reed. Press leather gently into place on the reedplate. Do not move the leather or attempt to play the accordion until adhesive is completely set and dry. Never glue the metal reedplates in place. The proper material to affix reedplates to the wooden reedblocks is accordion wax.

Silent or Missing Notes

Q. My accordion seems to be in pretty good shape, but when I press one key I hear nothing but air whooshing through the accordion. There is no note sounding on that key. Is the reed broken?

A. Maybe, but the most common cause of missing notes on old accordions, especially when you have the "whooshing air" symptom, is that the reedplate has fallen out of the wax. A clue that this is the case is that if you shake the accordion, you can hear something loose inside. That's probably your missing reed. Sometimes the missing reed will lodge in a bellows fold or elsewhere and you won't hear it rattling around. Complete instructions for rewaxing reeds can be found in the book, Accordion Repairs Made Easy. However, spot rewaxing can be done as a stopgap measure. In an emergency, you can reuse the old wax, but this is not recommended and is only a very temporary repair at best. If the old wax is brittle, this reed (and possibly others) will fall out again when the accordion is bumped.

In order to access the reedblock, you need to open up the accordion at the bellows. The bellows are attached to the ends of the accordion with straight pins called bellows pins - these are basically shiny nails with either round or flat heads, and you have to pull them. On some accordions, some or all of these pins may actually be screws. In this case, you'll use a screwdriver instead of pin pulling pliers.

Supplies needed: Masking or painter's tape, bellows pin pulling pliers, assortment of small screwdrivers, accordion wax, soldering iron.

Mark the end you will remove with a small piece of masking tape, and a corresponding piece on the bellows frame at that same spot. This is so you can reassemble that end to the bellows with the proper orientation. Using a bellows pin pliers and pulling straight out, grasp and pull the pins on the side of the accordion that has the missing note (usually, that would be the treble side). There might be as few as 4 or as many as 8 of these pins. Make sure you get all of the pins - there may be some on the top and bottom of the accordion, not just on the long sides. If any of your pins are bent, or become bent as you remove them, they should be replaced. It's a good idea to have a small supply of replacement pins of various sizes on hand, in case any become lost or damaged. Keep the pins in order so that you can reassemble them in their own holes. Many old accordions have pins that are not identical -- some pins are shorter or wider than others, or may have been replaced at some time during the accordion's past. If you don't take care, you may not have a good seal when you reassemble, or you may not be able to get the bellows back on at all. A few minutes of extra caution now could save you a lot of aggravation later -- by my calculation, if you have 4 pins and 4 holes, there are 20 possible combinations of pin positions. I use a piece of masking tape to line up the pins in order.

Undo the bellows clips (there should be 2 of these, unless you have an internal bellows locking mechanism, which is rare). Now carefully remove the bellows to expose the reedblocks - you may have to wiggle it off if it is reluctant to come loose. Find the block that is missing a reedplate. Some blocks are designed with extra spaces that appear to be missing a reedplate, but that isn't what you're looking for. You won't see any old wax on these spaces, nor a valve hole. Locate the missing reedplate - it's either loose or stuck in the bellows folds, somewhere inside the accordion (unless the previous owner has already removed it and thrown it away, not knowing what else to do with it). Do not touch the reed itself with your bare hand, only the metal plate holding it. If you can easily remove the reedblock from its moorings, first make a small pencil mark on the wood so you know which way it was oriented, then remove it. The block is usually held down, at least at one end, by a simple swivel clamp mechanism. Sometimes you have to unscrew this to loosen it enough to swivel the clamp and free the reedblock. This will make it easier to work on the reedplate that needs to be waxed in.

Before you scrape off the old wax, match up the wax still left on the reedplate to the wax still left on the block, so you know which way the reed was oriented. (This is of PRIMARY importance on diatonic button accordions, where these notes are actually different pitches). Now carefully scrape off the old wax from both the block and the reedplate. Use a small handheld battery-powered vacuum (such as are used in cleaning electronic equipment) to clean up any little chips of wax - you don't want this debris to foul any of the reeds). Position the reedplate in its slot on the block, pinch off some new wax, roll it into a long thin piece, and wrap it around the reedplate, pressing lightly to hold it in place. Make sure the business end of your soldering iron is clean. Heat the soldering iron to the lowest possible temperature and melt the wax into place, making sure there are no gaps around the plate. Be extremely careful not to let any wax drip inside the block or onto adjacent reeds. Allow to set completely before reassembling bellows, keeping work covered to avoid dust contamination. Don't play the accordion for at least an hour. Before you reattach the bellows, check the condition of the bellows gasket.

This kind of repair should be considered a temporary fix only. If the wax has failed on one reed, it will soon fail on the rest. Your accordion may be due for a complete rewax and overhaul.