Valve leather suppliers

[rcr27]

On 4/6/2020 at 1:21 PM, Theo said:

 

I use 600g art paper.

 

Where can I find one like that online? Is there any on ebay? I can never get a perfect circle with the card that I’m using... I use a wad punch and a steel mallet, and punch against wood. The felt and the leather come out well in shape but the card just looks horrible on the edges. 

 

Edited February 28, 2021 by rcr27
Grammar

[W3DW]

Rather than using a hammer, put the punch to the card and rotate it to cut through. 

[SteveS]

Is your wad punch sharp enough?

How is your wooden block setup?

Set your punch and wood block so that you're punching parallel with the grain of the wood, this way you're punching along the wood fibres and it'll preserve the sharp edge of your wad punch for longer.

Edited April 6, 2020 by SteveS

[rcr27]

It’s probably that the punch is not sharp enough, any ideas on how to sharpen it? Only few of my pads have come out well round, the rest tend to delaminate on the edges. I bought some pads from ebay but they are too big for my concertina hence I’m trying to make my own. I found that the card used on these is a lot stronger than the card I’m using, could that be the problem as well? 

 

Edited February 28, 2021 by rcr27

[rcr27]

45 minutes ago, W3DW said:

Rather than using a hammer, put the punch to the card and rotate it to cut through. 

I tried that but I find it to be a lot harder and less precise in my opinion. 

[Don Taylor]

1 hour ago, SteveS said:

Set your punch and wood block so that you're punching parallel with the grain of the wood, this way you're punching along the wood fibres and it'll preserve the sharp edge of your wad punch for longer.

Not sure if this is what you mean, but I would set up the wood block so that you are punching into the ends of the wood fibres, not across the grain.

But, better still:

https://www.sailrite.com/3-Tips-for-Better-Hole-Cutting

 

47 minutes ago, rcr27 said:

It’s probably that the punch is not sharp enough, any ideas on how to sharpen it?

That punch looks pretty knackered.  See:

https://www.sailrite.com/Can-I-Sharpen-My-Hole-Cutter

[SteveS]

8 minutes ago, Don Taylor said:

Not sure if this is what you mean, but I would set up the wood block so that you are punching into the ends of the wood fibres, not across the grain.

But, better still:

https://www.sailrite.com/3-Tips-for-Better-Hole-Cutting

 

That punch looks pretty knackered.  See:

https://www.sailrite.com/Can-I-Sharpen-My-Hole-Cutter

Yes, punch into the ends of the fibres of the punch wood block.

Also, as the article say, use a mallet not a hammer to strike the cutter.

[Theo]

4 hours ago, rcr27 said:

Where can I find one like that online? Is there any on ebay? I can never get a perfect circle with the card that I’m using... I use a wad punch and a steel mallet, and punch against wood. The felt and the leather come out well in shape but the card just looks horrible on the edges. 

 

 

 

Just search for 600gsm watercolour paper, or 640gsm

 

Your punch definitely needs sharpening.  If you know someone with a Tormek grinding wheel you could improve it.

I punch onto a plastic block sold as a kitchen chopping board.  It's cheap and effective.  I use a set of punches I made to fit into a small hand press.

[Theo]

This was the last lot of card I bought from artdiscount.co.uk/, cost in 2018 about £30 for 5 sheets just under A1 size.  Should last me for years!

 

 

[rcr27]

1 hour ago, Theo said:

I use a set of punches I made to fit into a small hand press.

Is that the eyelet machine? I have bought that hand press as well with the purpose of making pads instead of using a mallet but I can’t quite find the right way of doing so. 

[Theo]

My press is a Brauer toggle press similar to this one

[Dana Johnson]

21 hours ago, Theo said:

Your punch definitely needs sharpening.  If you know someone with a Tormek grinding wheel you could improve it.

I punch onto a plastic block sold as a kitchen chopping board.  It's cheap and effective.  I use a set of punches I made to fit into a small hand press.

I get my clicker and arch punches from a die company and the cutting pad material they supply is similar to the plastic cutting board material though a little tougher.  It preserves the punch sharpness.  Once it gets too chewed up on the surface, you can take a skim cut off the surface on a small portable  planer often found in small wood shops to resurface it.  It comes a little thicker than 1 cm, so you can resurface it a number if times before it needs to be discarded.  Whatever surface you were punching in has sure wrecked that punch!  

[SteveS]

I may have asked this before in an earlier thread, but any recommendations for felt suppliers?

Thanks

 

 

Edit: - here's the link - https://www.woolfeltcompany.co.uk/

1.5mm poly felt

Edited April 8, 2020 by SteveS

[rcr27]

It was definitely the wrecked wad punch that was causing the problem. Just gave it a good sharp with the dremel and happy days!  (Photo shows the original ones, dodgy attempt, and final attempt). I’m wondering if pads shrink with age?

 

[RogerT]

Reviving this old thread...

I’m still trying to find the leather used for making concertina valves...the white stippled stuff. It’s lighter, thicker but springier than accordion valve leather. I might be able to get some samples from Russells, but on page 4 of their catalogue they have various leathers. 
‘Sueded Persian Pallets' sounds promising....but then so do a few of the other descriptions. I was put onto Russells by an organ builder. Didn’t think at the time to inspect his collection of leather...

https://www.russels.com/files/resources/specialist-leathers.pdf

[Tiposx]

Try C.A. Cornish

https://www.cacornish.co.uk/

[Chris Ghent]

Putting the (sharp) wadding punch in the quill of a drill press will give you straight sides to your pads. And no, don't turn it on while pressing the pads, just bear down on it.

[Dana Johnson]

If the leather is actually white and not very light blue grey, it is probably alum tanned or tawed.  It was commonly used in concertinas in the past and you’ll find many vintage concertinas of good quality that used it.  It has the benefit of being quite springy for its thickness without being stiff or heavy.  The big problem with it is that over time, it corrodes the brass of the reed shoes next to it.  I discovered this on one of my instruments back for tuning after about 10 years and noticed the corrosion only on the reeds next to this kind of valve.  Haven’t used it since.  Here’s a pic of a Wheatstone tenor reed pan with the original white valves.  You can see the corrosion primarily next to the valves, but spreading a bit from there.