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Several of the "points" on the bellows of my 48 key Lachenal EC have air leaks. Someone appears to have done a previous home repair that might have included silcone glue. A photo of what I'm looking at is attached below.

 

I do have the Elliot repair manual. I'm not sure if I'm interpreting his instructions correctly. It sounds like I need a strip / strips of leather called a top skive or top run. Where in the USA is a good place to order these, and what term do I use to order them in the US? Maybe once I see what these look like, the answer to my question(s) will be obvious, but do you just patch the affected points, or is the correct repair to run a top strip the whole circumference of the affected pleat? Elliot's book mentions using PVA (Elmers glue / white glue). Is that what you all use or do you use hide glue? I have hide glue, so using that instead isn't a problem. Do I also need to add a patch on the inside of the bellows? If so, what material do I use there?

 

This problem must have been addressed here previously, but I wasn't successful in finding threads using the search function here. Is there an old thread here, or a web site somewhere on the net illustrating what needs to be done?

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Hi RWL,

 

I did a similar repair on a similar concertina not long ago. I can tell you what I did - and leave it to the experts to weigh in on whether it was "correct" or not.

 

Although I'm in the US, I bought leather from concertina-spares.com in the UK. Shipping costs 3 pounds and takes about a week. It's not a bad deal if you need to order other things at the same time. (Spare springs are good to have on hand! Get some, if you don't have them already.)

 

The leather I bought is listed as "Thin leather black .. 1 3/8" x 0.2mm - for patching or binding." It's just what it says - leather that's been shaved down to 0.2mm thickness. I suppose there must be plenty of sources for such leather, but you need to make sure it's sufficiently airtight.

 

I used PVA glue, and patched only the holes, not the whole circumference. I found that I could cut the patches much smaller than I initially thought I'd have to - make them just barely big enough to cover the hole. It's difficult to tell where the patches are now, unless you're looking very closely.

 

For the worn corners, I patched only the outside, not the inside. However, the bellows also had a leak in one of the gussets, which I patched from the inside (using the same leather).

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Several of the "points" on the bellows of my 48 key Lachenal EC have air leaks. Someone appears to have done a previous home repair that might have included silcone glue. A photo of what I'm looking at is attached below.

 

I do have the Elliot repair manual. I'm not sure if I'm interpreting his instructions correctly. It sounds like I need a strip / strips of leather called a top skive or top run. Where in the USA is a good place to order these, and what term do I use to order them in the US? Maybe once I see what these look like, the answer to my question(s) will be obvious, but do you just patch the affected points, or is the correct repair to run a top strip the whole circumference of the affected pleat? Elliot's book mentions using PVA (Elmers glue / white glue). Is that what you all use or do you use hide glue? I have hide glue, so using that instead isn't a problem. Do I also need to add a patch on the inside of the bellows? If so, what material do I use there?

 

This problem must have been addressed here previously, but I wasn't successful in finding threads using the search function here. Is there an old thread here, or a web site somewhere on the net illustrating what needs to be done?

 

Hi RWL,

 

For holes of the size you are looking at here I would not use the lighter leather material, I would use top run or top skive (same thing), if you have several folds with holes, and some folds with several holes I would strongly suggest re-binding all the folds -going all the way round. By re-binding the folds you can seriously extend the life of the bellows (assuming that the gussets are reasonably sound). I recommend Elmer s or PVA because most people can easily get it and it works well.

 

Looking at your photographs I wonder if your instrument is needs more than the local patches.

 

You should be able to get the materials through Concertina-Spares, in the UK, or contact the Button Box in the US am sure that they can help you.

 

Dave

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If I may just add a couple of things to Dave's spot-on summary, not only is 0.2mm too thin for the job in hand, but 13/8" is way too wide - you would have a devil of a job working it flat round the corners.

What you need is 3/4" x 0.5mm, skived both edges, which is the stuff Dave is talking about from concertina-spares.com

You will, of course, need to skive the ends where they overlap - shave the underside of the overlap, and the top side of the underlap, as it were. Arrange for the join to be on the bottom edge of the bellows, where it will be least visible.

One more thing. When the job is finished, you'll notice that your new top-run has covered up part of the old decorative papers, so you'll probably want to order a new set of those as well (also available from concertina spares). Good luck!

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To clarify, the suggestions are to put a new strip of leather over the top of the existing material?

 

And to do so for each fold/peak, because if one needs it they could all do with it and it'll look a lot better?

 

Malcolm

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If I might piggyback a little on this thread, has anyone repaired a bellows by removing the old leather (maybe excluding gussets) and replacing it?

 

I have a 20b Lachenal on which the leather binding the last card to the bellows frame (and also, therefore, covering the frame) appears to have been munched by some critter, exposing the cloth hinge underneath in places. (Also, as above, some corners are leaky.)

 

Perversely, perhaps, I would like to try a repair (secure in the knowledge that I can get a replacement from Concertina Spares if I mess up!). This job is some way in the future.

 

Has anyone tried such a repair? And with what outcome?

 

TIA

Malcolm

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To clarify, the suggestions are to put a new strip of leather over the top of the existing material?

 

And to do so for each fold/peak, because if one needs it they could all do with it and it'll look a lot better?

 

Malcolm

Correct in every particular.

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If I might piggyback a little on this thread, has anyone repaired a bellows by removing the old leather (maybe excluding gussets) and replacing it?

 

I have a 20b Lachenal on which the leather binding the last card to the bellows frame (and also, therefore, covering the frame) appears to have been munched by some critter, exposing the cloth hinge underneath in places. (Also, as above, some corners are leaky.)

 

Perversely, perhaps, I would like to try a repair (secure in the knowledge that I can get a replacement from Concertina Spares if I mess up!). This job is some way in the future.

 

Has anyone tried such a repair? And with what outcome?

 

TIA

Malcolm

I don't know whether anyone has tried it, but I would suggest that if they have, they should have their bumps felt as a matter of urgency. If the bellows-end binding is in poor condition, simply cover it with new leather - concertina-spares.com will supply 1 1/2" x 0.5mm, skived both edges, which is ideal. If the insect attack has left deep craters, you may want to fill them before covering with new leather. Remember, too, to tuck the last 1mm of the outer edge of the leather over the bellows-end seal.

Skive the ends in the same way that you would for the top-runs, and try to have the overlap end at one of the bottom corners.

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If I may just add a couple of things to Dave's spot-on summary, not only is 0.2mm too thin for the job in hand, but 13/8" is way too wide - you would have a devil of a job working it flat round the corners.

Just to clarify, I didn't (and am not recommending to) use the entire 1 3/8" width to cover the corners. Rather, I bought a strip that happened to be 1 3/8" wide, and cut much narrower pieces to cover the leaks.

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Thanks for all of the replies so far. A couple of further questions.

 

What do you use to skive leather? Is there a special tool for that. How do you do it?

 

Is there a good web page with pictures somewhere showing the process of patching a bellows? I've been to Bob Tedrow's site to see his method of making a bellows from scratch.

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Thanks for all of the replies so far. A couple of further questions.

 

What do you use to skive leather? Is there a special tool for that. How do you do it?

 

Is there a good web page with pictures somewhere showing the process of patching a bellows? I've been to Bob Tedrow's site to see his method of making a bellows from scratch.

The best tool is a Scharf-fix machine, but this will cost you something over £300. If you buy your binding leather from concertina-spares.com, it will already have the edges skived, so you only have to worry about the ends. With a bit of practice, you can achieve good results with a simple surgical scalpel, but do change the blade often - you'll be amazed at how quickly leather will take the edge off a blade.

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Thanks for all of the replies so far. A couple of further questions.

 

What do you use to skive leather? Is there a special tool for that. How do you do it?

 

Is there a good web page with pictures somewhere showing the process of patching a bellows? I've been to Bob Tedrow's site to see his method of making a bellows from scratch.

The best tool is a Scharf-fix machine, but this will cost you something over £300. If you buy your binding leather from concertina-spares.com, it will already have the edges skived, so you only have to worry about the ends. With a bit of practice, you can achieve good results with a simple surgical scalpel, but do change the blade often - you'll be amazed at how quickly leather will take the edge off a blade.

 

There are various hand safety skivers around, I think I must have tried and rejected them all. I use a number 9 shaped scalpel and I keep stropping it on leather impregnate with Jeweller's rouge.

 

Dave

 

 

 

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