Lappy Posted February 1 Posted February 1 Is it OK to wash chamois in laundry detergent to get rid of fish oil?
Chris Ghent Posted February 2 Posted February 2 If you don’t give us the rest of the story this is just a tease… 2
Lappy Posted February 2 Author Posted February 2 35 minutes ago, Chris Ghent said: If you don’t give us the rest of the story this is just a tease… I want to use the chamois to make the gaskets between the bellows and reed pans. i would like to remove the fish oil so that the glue works well.
alex_holden Posted February 2 Posted February 2 I've never found that to be necessary. Is the chamois you bought particularly oily?
Theo Posted February 2 Posted February 2 Same here, I’ve used off the shelf chamois for gaskets without any problems gluing it. Oil is an important in the final parts of the tanning process. It helps the leather to stay soft and resilient. Removing the oil is likely to make the chamois less soft and resilient. Those are the properties that make it a good gasket material. 1
Lappy Posted February 2 Author Posted February 2 Yay! saves me work washing it It’s not particularly oily. Thanks for your helpful advice.
Cathasach Posted February 3 Posted February 3 On 2/1/2025 at 5:11 PM, Chris Ghent said: If you don’t give us the rest of the story this is just a tease… This really did sound like you'd accidentally opened a can of sardines over your chamois 1
Chris Ghent Posted February 3 Posted February 3 OK, I get it, I never knew it was fish oil. I have always loved the smell of chamois, in fact I think I give it a sniff everytime I work with it. I thought it was mineral oil of some sort. Very hard to get good quality chamois, the leather itself can be OK but the thickness varies wildly across the skin. There is a clothing quality which is terrific but hard to find. It has no smell.
Lappy Posted February 4 Author Posted February 4 The chamois on Amazon that is labeled Alberta sheepskin is very thin and has no irregular lumps. I’m experimenting with gluing it using different types of glue.
alex_holden Posted February 4 Posted February 4 3 hours ago, Lappy said: The chamois on Amazon that is labeled Alberta sheepskin is very thin and has no irregular lumps. I’m experimenting with gluing it using different types of glue. Thicker chamois is preferable, but it can be difficult to find and consistency is more important. I once bought a skin that seemed unusually thick at first feel, but it delaminated into two very thin layers when I cut it. I use fish glue to attach it to the wood.
Chris Ghent Posted February 4 Posted February 4 I bought a couple of skins from a good retailer in Sydney a few years ago and it was perfect, about 1.8 mm with minimum variation. Strangely it had no smell (disappointing!). When it was gone I went back thinking I would buy a bundle. I showed them a scrap and they said “ we have never sold anything like that…”
Lappy Posted February 12 Author Posted February 12 On 2/3/2025 at 11:41 PM, alex_holden said: Thicker chamois is preferable, but it can be difficult to find and consistency is more important. I once bought a skin that seemed unusually thick at first feel, but it delaminated into two very thin layers when I cut it. I use fish glue to attach it to the wood. Would it be OK to glue 2 layers instead of 1?
Chris Ghent Posted February 12 Posted February 12 You are relying on the chamois to be a crushable gasket with some rebound. If the glue became a significant part of the overall thickness it would lose that conforming attribute. With two layers you have twice as much glue. Other leathers will work, suede, which has two coarse sides, is a reasonable substitute, though it is harder to put around the inside of the bellows frame because it does not stretch as easily when it comes to bringing it up and over the corners of the top edge. You definitely need the stretch in that direction. 1
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