More Leaky Bellows

[Ruth Lloyd]

Help!

I have a vintage English concertina, not sure of the maker but it has rosewood ends with brass inlay and steel reeds; the bellows have been replaced but they have recently developed a pretty significant leak, between the wooden end and the bellows itself (themselves?). It feels like it's sort of come unstuck, where the leather meets the wood. Could anyone suggest how to fix this? -- either permanently or at least so I can play my gig this weekend? (Duct tape??) I live way back in the boonies of northwestern Canada, so short of sending it to England, having someone else fix it doesn't seem to be an option.

I've tinkered with loose reeds and broken springs before, but messing around with anything that doesn't simply unscrew strikes me with some trepidation ...

Thanks in advance of anything you might suggest!

[Greg Jowaisas]

Ruth,

If you can locate the specific area of leakage that will help diagnosis.

 

When looking for leaks I wet my lips, open my mouth and move my head around the compressing bellows until I can feel the escaping air.

 

If you are sure the leak is between the end and the bellow frame which is where the chamois of the bellows makes a seal the cause might be:

 

a warped soundboard

an end bolt which no longer tightens

more than several loose end bolts not completely tightened

 

or a problem nearby which affects this area.

 

I would begin by making sure all the endbolts are snug. If the one closest to the leak won't tighten properly you may have a stripped end bolt or set (that the bolt tightens into).

 

If this doesn't seem to be the problem you can check the soundbord by taking off the 6 endbolts and lay the end, soundboard down on a flat surface to check for warping. Rough up the entire surround of chamois on the edge of the bellows pan with a small, stiff brush or as Dave Elliott suggests the tip of a flat blade screwdriver. You may want to lay the bellows pan against the table to check for warping as well. Before reassembling make sure you check the soundboard for cracks which could result in leak you might associate with the bellows.

 

Sometimes just roughing the chamois seal and snugging the end bolts will make a leak better or disappear all together.

 

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

 

Greg

 

PS. PLEASE! Don't use duct tape or any other kind of tape on your bellows.

[stella24]

Good advice, Greg. I would add not to be too forceful with the tightening of the bolts, and to use thumb and forefinger to pinch with all your might the bellows frame and sound board together as you tighten the bolt. So many concertinas have been over-tightened when warping was the problem, causing permanent damage. w.

[john T]

The sections of leather that make-up the bellows are made from ‘pneumatic’ leather as my suppliers described it.

It was called this because it was used in church organs for the pneumatic valves that operate inside the ‘wind chests’ allowing the flow of air to the pipe. So the leather could not afford to leak or the pipe would cipher.

Pneumatic leather is so thin and fine that a skin can be scrunched up into a ball that will fit in your hand.

It has a soft velvety (unfinished) surface on one side, and a treated glossy finish on the other – or outside.

The unfinished side can be easily glued to the wood or card sections of the bellows, but the finished side won’t hold the glue; so to glue one piece of leather to another when you are mating the unfinished to the finished, the inner finished surfaced must be scuffed with fine sandpaper and the outer piece can be ‘skived’ to leave a seamless join.

 

Sometimes, the scuffing isn’t good enough, and a joint breaks down and allows a leak.

In the earlier days of manufacture the glue used would be hoof or hide (rabbit skin was very popular) and this isn’t very flexible once dry, so leaks form in leather covered sections mostly where there are joints which are worked.

Often though, they leak where the edges get knocked about or worn.

 

PVA woodworking adhesive works for repairs.

 

If the leak is under one of the outside paper (or leather) trapezoid sections of the bellows, you will need to lift this off first. That won’t be easy, but you can do it without damage to either the instrument or the section. Let me know in this case.

 

Kind regards – John Timpany.