Discussions > Instrument Design, Construction and Repair
Rubber latex for sealing bellows.
Anne Croucher:
I found that the corners of the bellows on the Honer Ariette Cajun style in C were leaking air, and that the diamonds are made from a mesh material with a layer of rubber on the inside. The mesh was fine, but the rubber had perished and split.
I bought some liquid latex, and removed the ends of the box, stretched it out on a board, carefully clamping the ends and protecting the wood with corrugated cardboard, then I painted the latex inside and outside using a torch to see that the holes were filled up - did one side outside, other side inside, then turned the bellows top to bottom and repeated the process.
After impatiently waiting for it to dry I replaced the ends to see if it had made a difference.
The leaking is very much reduced already and the box is now in full voice.
I will probably check with the torch again to see if I can make further improvements, maybe put on another layer of the latex, let it dry thoroughly and dust with french chalk or talcum powder.
Winston Smith:
I just love to hear of your improvisations, Anne, and wish you the best of luck with them; even though some others might be wincing at the very thought of them.
george garside:
I have used 'glove' leather to patch and make airtight the inside of the bellows corners. It is very thin and flexible and I obtained a supply by acquiring ladies gloves that were no longer a pair!
george
Anne Croucher:
this is a link to a photo of the problem - it is the outside of the bellows with my finger on the inside of the gusset to show the problem - it was by no means the worst.[/url[/img]
https://imgur.com/Ai7f6nU][/url
Anne Croucher:
--- Quote from: george garside on January 25, 2018, 05:07:04 PM ---I have used 'glove' leather to patch and make airtight the inside of the bellows corners. It is very thin and flexible and I obtained a supply by acquiring ladies gloves that were no longer a pair!
george
--- End quote ---
There was nowhere to patch - there was nothing but the splits in the rubber layer, the mesh is intact and I spent some time in removing any loose rubber before painting in the new latex to close the gaps.
The box has four voices, it don't half make some noise now - I'll take it apart again at the weekend and check over the individual gussets for any missed bits, but the difference it has made to the play-ability is quite considerable. For the cost - under £10, and the time taken it is a very effective fix.To replace the gussets would have meant removing the old ones - which are under the bellow cloth and the metal corners - and they are firmly glued onto the card - it would not have been sensible to try to disassemble the bellows, which were physically intact, just not airtight due to the rubber layer perishing with age.
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