collapsing bellows

[Robert Booth]

Hi, All

 

My old bastari has bellows that collapse right in the middle when I pull anything more than G*E*N*T*L*Y.

Any tips for a simple fix?

Thanks,

Rob

[Chris Ghent]

Sadly, nothing that doesn't start with the word new. Sorry...

 

After a few minutes thought, if you are desperate for a few more miles you could try bending up a hexagon from spring wire and insinuating it into the fold on the inside. Note this solution rates about 7.8 on the crude fix index (CFI). You could also look for someone with a similar model with a complementary issue and make one good one out of the two.

 

Chris

[Frank Edgley]

Replacement bellows from Stagi are not that expensive.

[Anglo-Irishman]

Replacement bellows from Stagi are not that expensive.

 

That's the way I went when the bellows of my Stagi started collapsing. Concertina Connection was still in the Netherlands then, so I posted the old bellows to Wim and got new ones back - and they fitted perfectly.

The price was not trivial - it was only worth it because the reeds and action were still quite satisfactory. Under those circumstances, good, new bellows vastly improve the playability and sound of the instrument.

 

Before that, I'd identified the cause of the collapsing. The glue bond between the leather and the card of the bellows had somehow dissolved, and I was able to prolong the agony by inserting new glue at intervals. When the intervals got too short, I gave up and ordered the new bellows. I think I may have caused the problem myself. When the Stagi was new, and the bellows still a bit stiff, I treated them with leather balsam to keep them from cracking. It seems that the balsam seeped through and weakened the glue.

 

Cheers,

John

[David Barnert]

I have an old Bastari that had similar problems 20+ years ago. After trying several fixes suggested by a concertina guru that didn't work well, I tried something that would be an anathema to the concertina cognoscenti but it has held up all these years. I ran a bead of silicone caulk on the inside of each outgoing fold of the bellows.

[Robert Booth]

Hi, Guys,

 

thanks for the answers; sorry it took so long to respond.

 

Sounds like Chris' and Franks advice is (sigh) the way to go, but, what 's there to lose trying Davids' suggestion first?

 

Cheers, RB

[David Barnert]

... but, what 's there to lose trying Davids' suggestion first?

If you do, let us know how it turns out (you don't have to wait 20 years).