======
or is it best to keep the hinge outside the clappers? Like so:
|=====
o
|=====
Sorry about the bad ascii graphics.
It seems to me not too many makers use metal hinges. I have them (metal hinges), and much prefer them to leather hinges, or to bellows without any hinge. Here’s an image of one of my sets. You can almost make out the hinge. Joe Kennedy made this following the same basic design that Geoff Wooff uses for his bellows hinges. All parts are hand made, of course. I don’t think you can buy any of these parts.
djm
I’ll give you fifty bucks for that set of pipes… whaddya say? 
You’re funny. How about if you just give me fifty bucks?
to djm: yeah, I had noticed that type of hinge in other pictures and was rather intrigued. Looks like a hinge made of tubing, or something. Seems very practical.
very nice, btw.
ONE of your sets?? How many do you have?
Two - full B set, full D set (and a Cnat chanter on the way) - all by Joe Kennedy.
(Stop drooling on the keyboard, Joe. It makes them stick.)
djm
… sorry. 
Marc van Daal Hinge
works fine
Carel
An interesting topic that came up as part of a discussion in Vermont was regarding bellows and the movement of the arm. The notion was that your arm (mine at least does this) pivots from the shoulder and as the elbow moves away from the body there is an arc created. A natural movement would benefit from a bellows that did not have a solid metal hinge but a more flexible style hinge like leather. A solid metal hinge would create more motion/friction with the clappers/paddles (whatever you’d call them) and because of the straight, rigid movement they may actually contribute to injury over a long period of playing.
For the record, I have a set of Joe Kennedy bellows that are absolutley terrific! They have a metal hinge and I can’t complain - but I’m not your industrial strength user.
Thoughts?
… the line, the styling, the homage to ergonomics… the fecking “I ain’t gonna give up anytime soon, SUKKAH” reality of a bellows made to “take it”… sh*t, what more could one ask for?
That’s not a hinge, it’s a fortress. 
does it shoot potatoes?
Sounds more like someone dreaming up excuses. What I noticed having used hingeless and leather hinged bellows is the tendency for the cheeks to close askew. Someone may like to go scientific on this, but I doubt that this is the most ergonomic movement, nor the most economic way to move air. The metal-hinged bellows feel good and solid to me, and a smooth pump of the bellows brings the cheeks together exactly where they should be.
All that being said, if your set isn’t leaking like crazy, I don’t believe it makes that much of a difference whether you have hinges or not. Everyone who goes hingeless (unhinged?) seems to get by just fine. So that brings it down to looks and feel. I like the looks and, more importantly, the feel of my metal-hinged bellows over hingeless bellows. If anyone is contemplating getting one versus the other, I would think you would want to actually try both types and then verify your budget. There are more important things to put your money into on a set of UPs besides the bellows. If the budget allows for it, get what feels best for you.
djm
well, the bellows I previously made had a flexible hinge, and it kinda drove me up the wall, so I’m thinking for personal preference I’ll go with a metal hinge.
I find the flexible hinge more comfortable, and I don’t think you necessarily lose any pumping displacement volume of efficiency.
Some of the old makers used flexible hinges as well, though I think a few experimented with more rigid hinges. Here’s a bellows made by Denis Harrington around 1850, which shows a painstakingly made metal reinforcement at the hinge end, but the hinge itself seems to have been intended to be a flexible lace (as it is in the restoration):
It’s possible that there was once a metal hinge included, but it doesn’t look that way to me, there don’t seem to be any telltale marks on the brass cladding.
Can someone supply an end view of some older bellows?
The clappers tend to shift to one side (lower?)
We’re not pulling up on the bellows when we play, but always pushing slightly downward.
This is my theory -
The leather hinged/non hinged bellows have a tendency to close skewed because they allow for the natural movement of your elbow, meaning the elbow and shoulder are subject to minimum stress whereas the bellows leather hinge/gusset is subject to more wear from continually closing skewed. Conversely, the metal hinged belows closes correctly but at the expense of natural movement in the arm/shoulder. That metal hinged pipers may feel comfortable simply means they may not be aware of internal musculo-skeletal stresses slowly wearing away at their …um…musculo-skeletal bits.
Soooo…hypothethisisis being - leather hinged bellows may wear out more quickly but arm and shoulder less likely to be injured in the long term.
If I had a choice between my arm and my hinge, I’ll sacrifice the hinge which can easily be replaced.
Like I said - just a theory.
Cheers,
DavidG
I believe this album of DMQuinn’s is publicly viewable, lots of nice pics of older bellows here:
http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=4287392977
NOTE: the captions for these images seem to have gotten out-of-order, so some guessing is required.
Thanks Bill.. great shots but not what I was looking for.
That curved piece of wood on the body side of the bellows was interesting!
DavidG… I tend to agree, let the leather ‘twist’ and remove stress. But look at the end view.. are the clappers even ? I think not and the leather will take that shape and shift more as time goes on.
Yeah, the French wooden inlet connector is unusual; I believe it’s from the Musette de Coeur style of the 16th and 17th centuries. I have one set of bellows like that, interesting to look at and very robust, but not exactly comfy.
Maybe these pics (also from DMQ) are better?