badok88 Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 Hello, I just bought some concertina bellows for my stagi concertina and unfortunately they don't fit. The with across the sides are the same but it has an extra lip. That is problem number one. The next problem is that holes are too big on the new bellows. Thank you for looking, Badok88 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglo-Irishman Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 Badok88, Some years ago I had to replace the bellows on my Stagi Anglo. I got in touch with Concertina Connection (then still in the Netherlands) and they got me to send them my old bellows. They stripped the leather off the old bellows frames and built the new bellows on them - and the result was a perfect fit! They were very good bellows, too - my Stagi now sounds twice as good as before, though nothing was done to the reeds or action. Cheers, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badok88 Posted November 23, 2013 Author Share Posted November 23, 2013 Hello John, Thank you for your idea but I think my mum and I have an idea for the new bellows. What we are going to do is put some wood filler down the holes and screw the end bolts into them. Is this ok? We will then paint the rim so it looks like normal bellows. Cheers, Badok88 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglo-Irishman Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 Badok88, Bear in mind that the Stagi end-bolts (like those of vintage concertinas) are machine screws, not wood screws. They need a tapped hole in a piece of metal within the bellows frames to mate with. If the tapped holes in the new bellows are too large for the original end-bolts, the best thing to do would be to obtain bolts of the appropriate diameter (e.g. from the supplier of the new bellows) and drill out the holes in the end-plates and action box of the concertina to fit. Cheers, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAc Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 (edited) . Edited March 4, 2016 by RAc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malcolmbebb Posted November 27, 2013 Share Posted November 27, 2013 Hi, If you got the bellows from a dealer, I suggest that you contact them and see what they can suggest. I agree with Ruediger - I don't think it will last very long if you use wood filler. Apart from being worn, what's wrong with your old bellows? Might they be repairable? Oddly enough I was considering a very similar problem recently, with a set of Stagi bellows on Ebay (that I didn't win!) with a view to fitting them to a non-Stagi box with the same dimensions. That would have involved me finding out the thread size of the new bellows, getting some screws in that size, then opening out the holes in the concertina to use the larger screws. Presumably you don't have that option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Taylor Posted November 28, 2013 Share Posted November 28, 2013 Badok: Have you seen this page: http://www.concertina.net/gs_stagirepair.html George explains how to repair an existing Stagi bellows using some cheap/free materials. Maybe you should consider his approach and if it works then return or sell your new bellows on. Don. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badok88 Posted December 2, 2013 Author Share Posted December 2, 2013 Thank you for your responses, In the end the wood filler didn't work so we chucked them - they only £10. I have put tape on the holes in the bellows so that should do for now. Badok88 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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