Melodeon.net Forums
Discussions => Instrument Design, Construction and Repair => Topic started by: John MacKenzie (Cugiok) on March 11, 2018, 03:41:06 PM
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OK folks, can I get some hints as to how I go about this task, please?
SJ
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On my recording king I glue some small bits of chamois material over the pins holes from the inside, it worked wonders on tightening things up.
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Yes, thin soft leather glued from inside. Chamois is suitably soft, but can be porous so there are better materials. The leather diamonds sold by Charlie would be better, but will need to be cut to size.
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Thanks Theo, that's exactly what I wanted to do. Glued with what adhesive?
SJ
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I use this Leather Glue (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tandy-Leather-Factory-Eco-Flo-Multi-Colour/dp/B003W0GFTU/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1520788082&sr=8-13&keywords=Leather+glue)
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I use the same glue, though my aversion to Amazon means I get it locally from the excellent Le Prevo leather in Newcastle who can supply just about anything for leather work. http://www.leprevo.co.uk/photos/leathercraft-cement.htm
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My mother has a 'make do and mend' needlework volume. The 'underwear' section contains instructions for 'darning your gusset'. Is this appropriate?
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Fits in well with the reaction I got chez nous, when I said I had a leaky gusset.
SJ
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Sorry, what's gusset?
Soft material in the bellow corners? ? ? Or what?
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Yes diamond shaped area between card board openings in bellows corners, also apparently a portion of underwear where leaks may occur.
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On my recording king I glue some small bits of chamois material over the pins holes from the inside, it worked wonders on tightening things up.
What caused me to ask was . . . . . pin holes from the inside . . . ?
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Well the pin holes went right though and I repaired them from the inside.
(Pin holes weren't made by pins (:)) they were just there when I got the box and probably due to wear.
Yes, thin soft leather glued from inside. Chamois is suitably soft, but can be porous so there are better materials. The leather diamonds sold by Charlie would be better, but will need to be cut to size.
I just happen to have some so I used it and figure the glue would provide a seal to the porous material.
Probably a bit of corner cutting (pun intended) on my part and I should have got the right stuff.
It seems to have done the trick, I guess time will tell if it last.
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Right I'm doing the glue in leather diamonds to the inside game. I'm also glueing little diamonds on the outside, cut to the same shape as the leather showing at the corner.. I have found that one of the large pieces supplied by CGM makes 4 pieces for the inside, and one of those makes 4 wee diamonds that fit the gap on the outside.
What a fiddly blinking job it is!
Sir John
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Only on a melodeon forum would a topic entitled 'Replacing leaky gussets' be deemed SFW ::)
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Recently we've also had, fingering, and at the moment we have, playing with friends, but to the pure of mind all things are pure.
SJ >:E
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What's SFW please?
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'Safe for Work'
More often found in its inverse abbreviation, as in 'Warning: NSFW', implying you wouldn't want it on your screen when your colleagues/boss walked past...
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Thanks Anahata, that would be a completely foreign situation for the likes of me! I suppose many groups use abbreviations which are specific to themselves.
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Like MAD you mean Edward?
SJ
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Exactly, Sir John.
But it's good you can come here for therapy, we're all in the same boat, after all. More tea, anyone?
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Sorry, what's gusset?
Soft material in the bellow corners? ? ? Or what?
The word 'gusset' in UK English at least is considered funny by some. It sounds rude but isn't actually rude. After a bit of 'research' on Google I found other similar words that raise a smile - if you are a Brit and have a slightly dirty sense of humour. Examples of other innocent but rude sounding words are 'flange', 'penal' and, perhaps, 'poop deck'. Many of us (me included) will have been grinning widely every time somebody writes the word 'gusset'. If anyone wants to add to my erudite explanation, please feel free. (:). (Nick CB...where are you).
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In particular, pants/trousers have a gusset in the crutch area, as does underwear, more notably mentioned with regard to female underwear (maybe it's just the company I keep).
That should narrow down the area of research.
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Also a term use in house construction for a member of wood or metal that holds two other pieces together.
So like in a roof truss where pieces are not nailed together but rather held together by a metal gusset plate. These are usually stamped or punched into the wood so that little tabs of metal dig in to the wood, surprisingly strong.
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'Truss' is also a word that has comic uses.
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Also support. As in: Thank you for your support, I shall always wear it.
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To get back to the original topic. I am wondering if Hohner ever used other fabric for this purpose? When I look at the existing gussets on the bellows, they are shiny black on the surface, but underneath, and looking at them from the inside, they are a sort of fluffy white material. Photo attached hopefully.
SJ
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From a position of unassailable ignorance it looks to me like oil cloth, aka American cloth. Whatever it is it looks completely perished.
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The ones I’ve seen like that were white leather with a black surface.
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Thanks Theo, I did wonder, but it doesn't look very leathery now.
SJ
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Old leather can do that.
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It looks like I'm going to have to junk these belows, it's like Whack-a-Mole. Repair one, and another one goes. The leather is sort dry and crumbly, with cracks everywhere.. I suppose I could try stripping them down completely, and renewing all the leather, but that would mean removing and then replacing all the corners too. Time to look for a new set methinks.
SJ
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Assuming there are only 1 or 2 gussets in need of replacement, is there a way to remove the old ones with minimal damage to bellows tape, paper and cardboard ??
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You can cut the old one out, but to get rid of it completely you would need to remove the metal corners, which trap the corner of the gusset. Then when you have done that you need to repair/replace the bellows papers, which cover the opposite corners of the gusset.
SJ