Leather Bellows And Wooden Ends

[greenferry]

I hope this isn't a dumb question. I already looked in the Maintenance section and didn't find the answer. I am wondering if the leather on the bellows needs any special care as to cleaning and / or moisturizing of any sort? The black leather bellows on mine is just very slightly dusty, and seems kind of dry.

 

Also, do the wooden ends need any special treatment, such as lemon oil or anything? (I have a Morse treble with cherrywood ends and it's about 2-3 years old)

[Galley Wench]

I hope this isn't a dumb question. I already looked in the Maintenance section and didn't find the answer. I am wondering if the leather on the bellows needs any special care as to cleaning and / or moisturizing of any sort? The black leather bellows on mine is just very slightly dusty, and seems kind of dry.

 

Also, do the wooden ends need any special treatment, such as lemon oil or anything? (I have a Morse treble with cherrywood ends and it's about 2-3 years old)

 

 

Hi there

 

As no-one else seems to have replied I will attempt to give you an answer. I am very new to this myself and thought that someone else could probably help you more. But by some strange quirk of fate I just happen to have a copy of David Elliots Concertina Maintenance Manual at work with me.

 

His instructions are to occasionally polish the leatherwork, particularly on the bellows hinges, and gussets. He suggests the use of a shoe cream like 'Meltonian Shoe Cream' and to use a soft cloth taking care not to rub against the lay of glued overlapping leather bits. This will protect, keep supple, and reduce wear and creaking sounds from the bellows.

 

The book does give much more helpful advice and gave me the courage to take the end of one of my concertina's. Didn't do much other than give it a quick blow to clear any dust (don't know why cos when I got end off it was spotless) but hey It was a first for me and I was quite chuffed with myself. I suggest that you get yourself a copy.

 

Hope this was of some help.

[PeterT]

The black leather bellows on mine is just very slightly dusty, and seems kind of dry.

 

Hi Barbara,

 

I use a small (half inch), pure bristle, paintbrush. I keep this specifically for dusting delicate objects, and concertina bellows.

 

Regards,

Peter.

[greenferry]

David Elliots Concertina Maintenance Manual ... His instructions are to occasionally polish the leatherwork, particularly on the bellows hinges, and gussets. He suggests the use of a shoe cream like 'Meltonian Shoe Cream' and to use a soft cloth taking care not to rub against the lay of glued overlapping leather bits. This will protect, keep supple, and reduce wear and creaking sounds from the bellows.

 

The book does give much more helpful advice and gave me the courage to take the end of one of my concertina's. Didn't do much other than give it a quick blow to clear any dust (don't know why cos when I got end off it was spotless) but hey It was a first for me and I was quite chuffed with myself. I suggest that you get yourself a copy.

Dear Carol,

 

Thanks for looking up the info in David Elliot's book, and I will certainly get a copy of it. So -- soft cloth, Meltonian shoe cream, careful about the glued leather bits that overlap.

 

You have a lot more courage than I do, to open the ends of the concertina. Congratulations!

Edited March 21, 2006 by greenferry

[Dirge]

Don't you need to do that occasionally with new concertinas?

[greenferry]

Don't you need to do that occasionally with new concertinas?

Could you clarify a bit?

[d.elliott]

Modesty forbids me to say that the book can be got through mally.com, or Mel Bay sites, or through David Leese who sponsors this site.

 

if you do a search, you might find it helpful to spell Elliott with two 'T's

 

 

cheers

shhhhh

you know who!

[greenferry]

David D. Elliott, The Concertina Maintenance Manual, 2nd edition 2003, Dave Mallinson Publications, 52 pages, ISBN 1899512675

 

Yes indeedy, they have it RIGHT HERE in Massachusetts at the good ole Button Box -- and price plus shipping $23.45 is less than at another US seller (Elderly instruments $24.05 even though they say it's discounted; compare Mel Bay $24.45). Another good reason to buy from the local small sellers. I think I will get one when I am there for the Workshop in three weeks.

[Galley Wench]

if you do a search, you might find it helpful to spell Elliott with two 'T's

 

 

cheers

shhhhh

you know who!

 

 

Sorry Dave - and I even had the book in front of me! Great book, might take me a while to get round to actually doing something other than opening one up but I am sure I will get there.

[JimLucas]

I hope this isn't a dumb question. I already looked in the Maintenance section and didn't find the answer.

It's been discussed before, but you need to be careful how you search. In the "More Options" search I looked only for the word "bellows" but restricted my search to titles only. Then I checked out a few that I thought might be related and selected the following:

Squeaky Bellows, Can you use shoe polish?

Conditioning Bellows Leather

 

I am wondering if the leather on the bellows needs any special care as to cleaning and / or moisturizing of any sort? The black leather bellows on mine is just very slightly dusty, and seems kind of dry.

You think it should be "wet"? More seriously, what do you think it should look like, and why do you think that? If it's smooth and dry but not cracking, then I think that's good. If there's dust, removing it with a soft brush will most likely remove the dry look. I don't think the dust itself will hurt the bellows, but if you're storing the concertina where it collects dust, you might wonder about dust or other "pollution" getting into the reeds, too.

 

I personally have never used shoe polish or any other compound to "condition" or "clean" bellows, nor have I felt the need to. I've seen many a bellows 50, 100, or more years old showing no sign of either deterioration or "conditioning", and some of them have clearly seen heavy use. The finish on a good vintage bellows not only protects the leather, but most likely will prevent any conditioning compound from getting to the leather itself, unless it's something that can soak through a protective "lacquer". If it can do that, it will probably do more harm than good.

 

Those bellows I have seen with cracking or other deterioration (not counting wear from rubbing) have all been lesser models, which I assume used lower quality leather. I suspect they would have deteriorated even with preservative treatment. My suspicion is that "conditioning" the bellows, whether with shoe polish or with something else, does more to preserve the caretaker's feeling of having done a proper job than to preserve the leather itself.

 

Yours isn't a vintage bellows, but I think it is made in essentially the vintage way, and so should be treated similarly. I think my Ceili anglo is about twice as old as your instrument, and it's given me no indication of needing any special care for the bellows (or any other parts).

 

However, it would probably be better for you to get advice directly from Rich Morse than from us "random" C.net members. He is not only responsible for the design of your bellows, but he has probably done more research into materials, durability, etc. of bellows and bellows materials than any other regular poster on C.net. The same advice goes double for care of the wooden ends, since that should depend considerably on the finish that was applied to the ends, and he knows what that is and how it should be treated.

[greenferry]

Jim,

 

Thank you for taking the time to offer your advice on this. What you say sounds very reasonable and rational. I should ask the folks at the Button Box when I go there in a couple of weeks (unless Rich Morse himself happens to read this discussion thread and can make some comments here?).

 

My concertina is in excellent condition but just has a fine coat of dust on the bellows that came with it. I don't know why it didn't occur to me before, but in addition to a small paint brush, it seems as though I could use Dust-Off to get the dust out of the folds of the bellows. Anybody see any problem with that (chemicals, etc.)?

 

I keep it stored in its little case when I'm not playing it.

 

Barbara

[d.elliott]

Jim and I have different views, and possibly differing experiences that form those views.

 

I have seen top quality instruments with bellows disintegrating, and/ or very brittle, equally I have seen those that are good for many years to come.

 

Bellows condition seems to be influenced by various scenarios:

 

1. obviously mechanical damage & accidents

2. the original 'quality' of the leather, I suppose particularly the curing process used.

3. storage conditions, particulalrly damp and condensation, then drying

4. prolonged period of not being played

5. poor clamping when not in play

 

any combination of the above

 

Experience says:

 

Laquers crack, leather dries and grows stiff, sometimesbellows get noisy in play and their folding pats can rub showing the bright marks in gusset folds. Others suffer from extensive glue failure. Often fold outer corners rub through..............

 

You cannot always vouch for the concertina's prior life and its previous care; you can only treat and manage what you inherit. I have found the limited application of Meltonian shoe cream in gussets areas (avoiding contamination of papers and the weakening of glue bonds, or the lifting of lapped leather edges) is an excellent way to preserve and improve what I have had to work with. It will only clean lacqured areas (where applicable), but it will get into cracks in lacquer and into worn areas to feed the leather, lubricate rubs and creaks, and its available in many colours.

 

As to dust in the bellows folds, it attracts more damp and dust, don't be paranoid, but occaisionally lightly brush it off as Jim suggests.

 

Often the build up of fibres and dust collecting in the inside of leather folds is far more horrifying!

 

Dave

[Paul Read]

I've found the same as Dave. Stiff and brittle bellows have been brought back to life using shoe cream. If left untreated and played, the gussets will often split.

[JimLucas]

I've found the same as Dave. Stiff and brittle bellows have been brought back to life using shoe cream. If left untreated and played, the gussets will often split.

As Paul and Dave regularly restore instruments, they must see many more that need such treatment than I have. I accept their conclusion. But that leaves me with two questions:

... 1) Does a "stiff and brittle" bellows that's been treated with shoe cream then last indefinitely, or does the leather eventually decay within a few years?

... 2) Do you also recommend such treatment for bellows that are not "stiff and brittle", or should they be left alone?

[Paul Read]

I've found the same as Dave. Stiff and brittle bellows have been brought back to life using shoe cream. If left untreated and played, the gussets will often split.

As Paul and Dave regularly restore instruments, they must see many more that need such treatment than I have. I accept their conclusion. But that leaves me with two questions:

... 1) Does a "stiff and brittle" bellows that's been treated with shoe cream then last indefinitely, or does the leather eventually decay within a few years?

... 2) Do you also recommend such treatment for bellows that are not "stiff and brittle", or should they be left alone?

 

Dave has done more than me, I believe but my take on it is:

 

With newer bellows such as on the Morse that was discussed, I would be inclined to leave it and just clean off the dust as necessary as long as the leather looks good, but keep an eye on it. My comments apply mostly to the older instruments where stiffening/early cracking are becoming evident.

 

Once it becomes necessary to apply the cream I always tell my customers to keep on applying every 6 months or so which is what I do with my own. It can make a big difference in old bellows. Don't use wax as this is thought to affect the glue and use the cream sparingly.

[wes williams]

... 1) Does a "stiff and brittle" bellows that's been treated with shoe cream then last indefinitely, or does the leather eventually decay within a few years?....

I can't claim a vast amount of experience, but here is an example. Over 35 years ago I carefully treated the dips of my 46K Maccann (so roughly 90 years old then) with Co-Cho-Lin (aargh! say many people) on the recommendation of some stable-hands I knew. The dips were brittle, creaky and dusty. Today they are creaking a bit since it only comes out of the case a few times a year, but they are still in better condition than originally, and show no sign of disintegration or decay. Other concertinas treated the same way almost as long ago have also shown no problems.

[d.elliott]

I've found the same as Dave. Stiff and brittle bellows have been brought back to life using shoe cream. If left untreated and played, the gussets will often split.

As Paul and Dave regularly restore instruments, they must see many more that need such treatment than I have. I accept their conclusion. But that leaves me with two questions:

... 1) Does a "stiff and brittle" bellows that's been treated with shoe cream then last indefinitely, or does the leather eventually decay within a few years?

... 2) Do you also recommend such treatment for bellows that are not "stiff and brittle", or should they be left alone?

 

Answer to point 1

 

Once the decay has started you cannot reverse it, however you can delay the inevitable, and treat the symptoms of creaking bellows and some of the stiffness; thus extending the life of the bellows. Some bellows just go powdery or just split on touch or movement, no amount of 'makeup' will sort them out.

 

Answer to point 2

 

If it aint broke, dont fix it. However I do occaisionally 'polish' my own instrument bellows, particularly if I have been, or am about to, play out in English weather, but generally I just dust and clean. A bit of shoe cream on the gussets can do no harm, but its messy and can contaminate bellows papers as well as clothing.

 

There is a preparation called leather balm, a Swiss concoction used by the horsey types on tack, that I have used on very brittle but not de-natured leather, but only very, very sparingly. It worked reasonably well, but left an oiled finish at first

 

Dave

[accordionmagic]

There is a preparation called leather balm, a Swiss concoction used by the horsey types on tack, that I have used on very brittle but not de-natured leather, but only very, very sparingly. It worked reasonably well, but left an oiled finish at first

 

Dave

 

I find that coloured shoe polish works well to restore the colour and shine of bellows in good condition but as Dave mentions above, leather balm can actually 'restore' dry old leather back to a flexible and useable state while also improving the look. Anyone who's daughter has horses or looks after them should ask her what she uses, mine came up with this; SAPO leather balm and it works very well indeed.

 

Cheers

 

Roy