Bellows Gasket Replacement

[varney]

I have a nice six fold Wheatstone bellows which I'm refurbishing but the internal brown material on the inside of the frames has been gouged out in places. I'm not sure what this brown gasket material is ( some kind of leather, I'm guessing, )as it's different to the normal chamois used on Lachenals etc. Rather than try to replace it I want to line the interior with chamois leather. I'm planning to glue this over the existing brown material as the reed pan which I'm trying to fit is smaller than the original pan, so extra gasket material is necessary anyways.

 

My question - is it better to fit the new chamois so it comes up the frame wall and out over the top of the frame, or should I bring it up flush to the top? I may need to lift and pack under the chamois I'm fitting so I'm not sure how best to glue this in if it needs lifting later. The 'over the top' approach seems to make sense if I need to go back and re-pack under the chamois....

 

Anyone have any suggestions on how to approach this job?

[Guest HallelujahAl!]

Up and over the top is the only way that makes sense to me - as well as being visibly much nicer to look at. Bog standard chamois will do the trick.

[Theo]

Yes, up and over the top, but you should remove all the old material first, packing underneath before gluing down the new material. Two reasons not to leave the old material:

 

1 - the old has bits gouged out so is not a flat surface to build on - the low points may leak air after the new material is fitted.

2 - the gasket on the top surface will be double thickness and will show at the join between bellows and action box.

[varney]

Thanks for that swift advice Theo and Al. I've had a test run on a scrap bellows here and the over the top method does look very good. Will set about doing the job now....

[david robertson]

Thanks for that swift advice Theo and Al. I've had a test run on a scrap bellows here and the over the top method does look very good. Will set about doing the job now....

Two more small points. 1: I would advise you to stick the chamois round the inside of the bellows first, then use a hole punch to make the holes for the end bolts before you glue it to the outward-facing edges. It also helps to cut the chamois a bit too wide, then when you have glued it, you can place the bellows end down on your cutting mat, and trim off the surplus with a scalpel. 2: Whatever you do, you will probably find that the edges of the new chamois will show, because the leather binding is supposed to be wrapped over the seal by 1mm or so. You may need to re-bind the ends to hide the edges. Good luck!