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[Ellie]

Hi all,

My box is a couple (3 ish) of years old now, has never had anything done (at least, not while I've owned it), and has been played quite hard (especially before I bought it). Have been noticing that the bellows seem really loose, so much so that it seems to be affecting how I play now (if I just leave the bellows to droop they're at full stretch in a matter of seconds). I presume this is to do with air-tightness where the bellows meet the box, as I can't see anything obviously wrong with the bellows. Is it easy to fix? Can I do it myself, or do I need to post it off to an expert?

(This is probably common knowledge, but if so, it's common knowledge I don't possess...yet!).

Cheers 

[pete /acorn]

Hi Ellie,
Has this happened since you put new bass board on,I would check if the air is leaking past air valve,if so try bending the wire connecting rod a bit,it may just be out of adjustment.
Pete

[Ellie]

That's possible, though they have been getting steadily looser for some time now. Will double check that tonight.

[Lester]

Will you be at Knowl Hill this month if so I can have a look fo you?

[Ellie]

Intending to be   (especially if an almost expert opinion is on offer!) 

[Graham Collicutt]

Check to see you haven't lost a bellows pin.

Graham

[Owen Woods]

Try timing your bellows to go to fully open under gravity, that should give you a benchmark. There are lots of places where a box can leak, gaskets, pallets, diamonds, even the strap screws or the joints in the wood. No idea how you find out which mind They can be notoriously difficult to pin down.

[Theo]

There are lots of places where a box can leak, gaskets, pallets, diamonds, even the strap screws or the joints in the wood. No idea how you find out which mind They can be notoriously difficult to pin down.

Good list!

Tools to track down leaks:

1 - feeling the air escaping with a sensitive part of the anatomy, eg palm of hand, or moist lips (yes really!)
2 - listen with ear up close to the suspected leak
3 - dust the suspect area with powdered talc
4 - listen with a stethoscope

the last two are particularly useful for identifying leaky pallets.

if so try bending the wire connecting rod a bit,it may just be out of adjustment.

I would not recommend doing this unless you can detect air leaking from here, otherwise you may create a new leak.

[Owen Woods]

1 - feeling the air escaping with a sensitive part of the anatomy, eg palm of hand, or moist lips (yes really!)
2 - listen with ear up close to the suspected leak
3 - dust the suspect area with powdered talc
4 - listen with a stethoscope

I hadn't come across the last two, good tip! So a stethoscope is another one for the list of "Things that are useful for melodeon repair that you wouldn't expect"

[Ellie]

Many thanks to Lester for sorting this out for me tonight  Seems it was the air button/valve that needed adjusting. Box is now a pleasure to play again 

[blafleur]

In addition to Theo's list, I've been using a flashlight in a dark closet, taking one side off then shining the light up the other side, then switching.  It's become my favorite method of chasing leaks, especially pallet leaks.  Wife is a bit worried seeing me come out of the closet with an accordion, though.

[Lester]

The button mechanism which is part of the bass end plate on Ellie's Salterelle was binding very slightly when it was not pressed which caused the pallet to be very slightly open all the time. Just a matter of a small trim of the button with Terry's trusty swiss army knife was all that was needed to sorted it out :)

[pete /acorn]

Hi Lester
I made the new end plate for that box,used a rivet normally used on leather to fix the button,had it just moved slightly.The rivet was the same as original.
Could it do with another tap with a hammer to tighten it.

Pete

[Lester]

Hi Lester
I made the new end plate for that box,used a rivet normally used on leather to fix the button,had it just moved slightly.The rivet was the same as original.
Could it do with another tap with a hammer to tighten it.

Pete

Pete,

The non-hinge end of the hole the button goes through was just very slightly tight on the button, all I did was scrape the varnish off the button where it was binding and this cured it so it was just the matter of the thickness of a coat of varnish.