Impact Adhesives eg Evostick

[Alan Day]

I have always used Evostick for pads it is flexible and does not age harden.

In the past I remember somebody using Evostick to repair an air hole in his bellows ,from the inside, neat. Leaving it overnight to dry. I have never done it but it worked for him.

Al

[Clive Thorne]

My 55 year old pokerwork melodeon has an even older set of bellows fitted. These have recently developed small holes in the leather gussets, at the narrow ends rather than the the wider parts.  I have used a small drop of UHU (the clear solvent stuff - not the paper glue) on the holes, and it has worked (So far) perfectly.  

 

Not sure if I'd use it o a concer except in an emergency.

Edited February 24 by Clive Thorne

[Alan Day]

It is not such a crazy idea ,I understand bagpipe bellows get treated with some sort of adhesive .Left to dry for sealing air holes in the construction.

Al

[fred v]

I have used Barge Cement, a form of contact cement to fix pin hole bellows leaks. It is a leather glue and doesn't harden.

[wschruba]

I use brush-on electrical tape on cheap concertinas.  It can be loaded into a [cheap] irrigation syringe, and piped directly into a hole, or brushed on [the inside of] the bellows.  Available in white and black, you can select one that winds up blending into the repair to make it less obvious.

 

For more expensive instruments, I use internal leather patches made from thinned skiver, attached with hide glue.  It can be tricky to apply the patches into valleys, but that can be done with a loosely wadded piece of cotton/using loom wastings (that are used for french polishing).  Anything more complicated than that goes out.

 

Occasionally, you can make an external repair with skiver and bevel the edges down so it is (more or less) invisible, but that really demands an all-leather, high quality bellows, or it will be incredibly obvious even after staining.

 

I've seen buckled cards before, and splinted them with a piece of rag board.  Since it is a "permanent" repair, I have no qualms using contact cement/other choices.  I usually wind up using hide glue, though, since there are inevitably holes that need patching with skiver...

[SIMON GABRIELOW]

Years ago I used Copydex glue and a thin material to patch over concertina bellows  ( my first 20 button Anglo).. it seemed to work but is a very messy glue to use, and tends to form fibre like  stringy bits in it when it dries.

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