banjojohn Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Just bought these lovely gloves from Oxfam in Newbury yesterday, but 'oh dear' I just don't seem to be able to get my hands into them... Any ideas as to what good purpose they could be put to... ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 Just bought these lovely gloves from Oxfam in Newbury yesterday, but 'oh dear' I just don't seem to be able to get my hands into them... Any ideas as to what good purpose they could be put to... ? WP_20151220_001.jpg Find some deserving person that they fit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Barnert Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 If it doesn't fit, you must acquit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banjojohn Posted December 24, 2015 Author Share Posted December 24, 2015 (edited) I recently acquired an apparently French made English concertina (under the gloves in the photo). It has what seems to me to be a rather unusual (plain flat) reed pan, with surface mounted reed shoes, fixed with small screws. The reed valves are not the usual shape, but larger and wedge shaped, quite a few are badly 'gravity curled'... I am planning to replicate replacements and was hoping that the leather in these gloves might be a suitable source of material for this purpose... For photos of the reed pan on this instrument, please see my other posted topic on this forum 'Concertina Maker or Distributer, W. Coleman & Co.' http://www.concertina.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=18324 Edited December 24, 2015 by banjojohn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Johnson Posted December 25, 2015 Share Posted December 25, 2015 Might work especially for smaller ones. Glove leather is usually tumbled longer to increase it's suppleness past whatis ideal for valves. Two things to keep in mind. Valve leather needs to want to spring back, not be floppy. For most leathers, this is optimized by aligning the long axis of the valve with the direction of least stretch of the leather. For the part of the hide from the spine to about 2/3 of the side towards the belly, this direction is essentially nose to tail. Towards the belly the direction can change a lot, and each few squar inch piece needs to be tested. Stiffer material will be closer to the spine, more flexible towards the belly. You can experiment. Take a valve sized strip cut cross grain and a similar one cut with the grain and give each a flip with your finger. You should notice quite a difference. Kangaroo is the only leather I have noticed that seems to have little stretch in either direction. For leathers that gave ( for other uses ) been tumbled to long, I have gas dome success wetting them, spreading them flat on a pie the if glass hair died out, and letting them dry. Leather is a bit like felt, in that the fibers soften when wet, and tend to lock into a shape when dry, unless they are kept moving past each other in the drying process ( the tumbling part, used to be staking ). The glass approach reverses that to a degree, and I have found the effect lasts as long as I have been using it. ( at least ten years ). For some leathers like alum tanned, you need to be careful not to soak the leather, just wet it till saturated with a sponge. Soaking in a bowl or tub will remove some of the alum ( it isn't washed out in manufacture,) and de-tan the leather. Other tanning processes more permanently change the leather proteins and aren't particularly degraded by being wet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Barnert Posted December 25, 2015 Share Posted December 25, 2015 Might work especially for smaller ones. Glove leather is usually tumbled longer to increase it's suppleness past whatis ideal for valves. Two things to keep in mind. Valve leather needs to want to spring back, not be floppy. For most leathers, this is optimized by aligning the long axis of the valve with the direction of least stretch of the leather. For the part of the hide from the spine to about 2/3 of the side towards the belly, this direction is essentially nose to tail. Towards the belly the direction can change a lot, and each few squar inch piece needs to be tested. Stiffer material will be closer to the spine, more flexible towards the belly. You can experiment. Take a valve sized strip cut cross grain and a similar one cut with the grain and give each a flip with your finger. You should notice quite a difference. Kangaroo is the only leather I have noticed that seems to have little stretch in either direction. For leathers that gave ( for other uses ) been tumbled to long, I have gas dome success wetting them, spreading them flat on a pie the if glass hair died out, and letting them dry. Leather is a bit like felt, in that the fibers soften when wet, and tend to lock into a shape when dry, unless they are kept moving past each other in the drying process ( the tumbling part, used to be staking ). The glass approach reverses that to a degree, and I have found the effect lasts as long as I have been using it. ( at least ten years ). For some leathers like alum tanned, you need to be careful not to soak the leather, just wet it till saturated with a sponge. Soaking in a bowl or tub will remove some of the alum ( it isn't washed out in manufacture,) and de-tan the leather. Other tanning processes more permanently change the leather proteins and aren't particularly degraded by being wet. Dana, this appears to have been "corrected" by some automatic process as you were typing, generating phrases like "spreading them flat on a pie the if glass hair died out" which are beyond my ability to decipher (I got the "piece of glass" part, but then I get lost). Please go through your post (that you obviously put a lot of effort into and no doubt contains the wisdom of much experience) with an eye toward editing all these irregularities ("I have gas dome success," etc.) so that we may have a clear idea of all you have to say. And Merry Christmas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimLucas Posted December 25, 2015 Share Posted December 25, 2015 Please go through your post (that you obviously put a lot of effort into and no doubt contains the wisdom of much experience) with an eye toward editing all these irregularities ("I have gas dome success," etc.) so that we may have a clear idea of all you have to say. "For leathers that gave ( for other uses ) been tumbled to long, I have gas dome success wetting them...." That bit, at least, appears to be mostly due to the left hand hitting keys adjacent to the ones intended. I believe it should be: "For leathers that have ( for other uses ) been tumbled too long, I have had some success wetting them...." An object lesson in why one should always proofread -- and edit, if necessary -- before posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdms Posted December 26, 2015 Share Posted December 26, 2015 ...leathers that gave ( for other uses ) been tumbled to long, I have gas dome success wetting them, spreading them flat on a pie the if glass hair died out...Dana, this appears to have been "corrected" by some automatic process as you were typing, generating phrases like "spreading them flat on a pie the if glass hair died out" which are beyond my ability to decipher (I got the "piece of glass" part, but then I get lost). Please go through your post (that you obviously put a lot of effort into and no doubt contains the wisdom of much experience) with an eye toward editing all these irregularities ("I have gas dome success," etc.) so that we may have a clear idea of all you have to say. And Merry Christmas. David, I think the phrase that's eluding you is "hair side out." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Taylor Posted December 26, 2015 Share Posted December 26, 2015 Maybe the last verse of this song? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banjojohn Posted December 26, 2015 Author Share Posted December 26, 2015 (edited) Dana, Thank you for your most detailed comments, I am very grateful to you for taking so much time to respond, thanks also to Jim for 'cracking the code' not to mention Don's delightful verse reference!!! Yes, I think I am beginning to understand this now! Edited December 26, 2015 by banjojohn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banjojohn Posted December 28, 2015 Author Share Posted December 28, 2015 'Hair side out'.... been thinking about this some more... Is the 'hair side' the side from which the animals hair grew, ie the smooth side of the leather, or is it the side of the leather which is rougher and with it's fibres, giving it a furry appearance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex_holden Posted December 29, 2015 Share Posted December 29, 2015 'Hair side out'.... been thinking about this some more... Is the 'hair side' the side from which the animals hair grew, ie the smooth side of the leather, or is it the side of the leather which is rougher and with it's fibres, giving it a furry appearance? Hair side is the smooth side; the fluffy side is referred to as "flesh side". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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