How Would You Reinforce A Bastari Bellows

[stevejay]

Can a Bastari bellows be reinforced for added strength. Or just live with it until it fails, which it will.

Thanks

[Theo]

Where does it appear to be lacking in strength? Where the problem lies will have a big influence on how to make repairs.

[stevejay]

Maybe just steel tips on the ends of the bellow, especially where it comes into contact with my leg.

[David Barnert]

My Bastari Hayden "popped" soon after I got it many years ago. Bellows folds that were supposed to go in went out. I tried several times to fix it using suggestions from acknowledged experts (gluing butterfly shaped bits of cloth to the insides, etc.).

 

Then I tried something radical. I put a bead of silicone caulk on the inside of every "out" fold. Left it in closed position for a few days to harden.

 

Never been a problem since.

[stevejay]

My Bastari Hayden "popped" soon after I got it many years ago. Bellows folds that were supposed to go in went out. I tried several times to fix it using suggestions from acknowledged experts (gluing butterfly shaped bits of cloth to the insides, etc.).

 

Then I tried something radical. I put a bead of silicone caulk on the inside of every "out" fold. Left it in closed position for a few days to harden.

 

Never been a problem since.

[ragtimer]

My Bastari Hayden "popped" soon after I got it many years ago. Bellows folds that were supposed to go in went out. I tried several times to fix it using suggestions from acknowledged experts (gluing butterfly shaped bits of cloth to the insides, etc.).

 

Geez David, how hard were you pushing those bellows? Trying to get bass notes to speak up to tempo?

I've scared myself a few times with how hard I've pushed my Stagi, but no problems -- so far --yet.

"So far, yet" may be the operative words -- had it less than two years.

 

Also probably good not to open the bellows too far, where "too far" is defined as when an "in" fold pops out.

 

I do agree with another poster that bellows wear across the knee and lap will be a problem, though I've been told that better technique would reduce the risk :-)

--Mike Knudsen

[David Barnert]

My Bastari Hayden "popped" soon after I got it many years ago. Bellows folds that were supposed to go in went out. I tried several times to fix it using suggestions from acknowledged experts (gluing butterfly shaped bits of cloth to the insides, etc.).

Geez David, how hard were you pushing those bellows? Trying to get bass notes to speak up to tempo?

I've scared myself a few times with how hard I've pushed my Stagi, but no problems -- so far --yet.

"So far, yet" may be the operative words -- had it less than two years.

I wasn't playing inordinately forcefully, although at the time I was playing in a large session indoors at Ashokan, so I was probably playing a bit louder than I normally do. I suspect that the difference between what happened to mine and what didn't happen to yours has to do with instrument-to-instrument variation, a not-too-uncommon phenomenon among inexpensive concertinas.

[ragtimer]

I wasn't playing inordinately forcefully, although at the time I was playing in a large session indoors at Ashokan, so I was probably playing a bit louder than I normally do. I suspect that the difference between what happened to mine and what didn't happen to yours has to do with instrument-to-instrument variation, a not-too-uncommon phenomenon among inexpensive concertinas.

 

I agree that playing in sessions with others (I now play in a small Celtic group) is a sure-fire way to find yourself squeezing much harder than usual.

 

Anyway, it seems that I got a Stagi with good bellows. Whew! --Mike K.

[David Barnert]

Anyway, it seems that I got a Stagi with good bellows. Whew! --Mike K.

Mine was a Bastari.

[stevejay]

Hi

 

I have a leak on one of the bellows corners. I can actually feel the air sometimes. I was going to use some type of tape on the inside. Any goo, glue or silicone seems a bit drastic, but I don't know.... So what is a simple fix for a leaking bastari bellows on one of the "points" or corners? This is where the metal tips would have helped prevent this

 

Steve

 

ps

 

It's great to havew a 30 button, admittedly a somewhat unreliable one, but it is much more interesting to modulate keys, and I really enjoy the key of D, it is now my favorite. Even A isn't too bad, and I enjoy the differences in timbre it produces, if this is actually the right word for tonal differences between keys

[stevejay]

Can a Bastari bellows be reinforced for added strength. Or just live with it until it fails, which it will.

Thanks

 

Anyway the fix was easy and successful with duct tape of the same color. On the corners affected I simply used 3 small strips, one over the hole and two on either side as what almost looks like a "butterfly bandage"

It works perfectly, and sorry to ask this idiotic question in the first place. I am weary of constantly servicing this old Bastari, and will be looking for a new one. Vintage seems like a gamble.

[Stephen Chambers]

I am weary of constantly servicing this old Bastari, and will be looking for a new one.

Steve,

 

I've been repairing concertinas for 35 years now, and you're learning the hard way why I hate working on Bastari/Stagi/Brunner instruments. Their problems commonly don't have a real solution, only a "make-do" one, because of their poor design/workmanship/materials, and the only thing you can guarantee, at the end of all your work, is that the instrument is likely to go wrong again, soon.

 

Vintage seems like a gamble.

I don't think that's quite the word I'd use to describe a (maybe) 20-year old Bastari.

 

In car terms the word vintage is used to describe those built between 1919-1930, and I would think similarly for concertinas, certainly made before the Second World War anyway. So continuing the "used car" analogy, maybe a "clapped-out old banger" might be nearer the mark? (Or whatever the term is Stateside?)

 

Sorreee!

[stevejay]

In car terms the word vintage is used to describe those built between 1919-1930, and I would think similarly for concertinas, certainly made before the Second World War anyway. So continuing the "used car" analogy, maybe a "clapped-out old banger" might be nearer the mark? (Or whatever the term is Stateside?)

 

Sorreee!

 

Agreed.. I meant paying $400 or more for a 30 button Lachenal thats going to need another $300 to make it truly playable. I wasn't really clear

[Stephen Chambers]

Agreed.. I meant paying $400 or more for a 30 button Lachenal thats going to need another $300 to make it truly playable. I wasn't really clear

Steve,

 

I'm sorry, I misunderstood you then.

 

In that case, my advice would be to grab that $400 Lachenal (if you can possibly find it) and see what you can make of it. It will be money much better spent, and a good investment, both financially and (better still) in your concertina-playing future (though I realise that not everybody has it to spend at present).