Question about bellows connections. I am a relatively new player but experienced with bellows from scottish smallpipes. The bellows connection that came with my uilleann pipes has a tendency to slip and disconnect in a way that my smallpipe bellows don’t. While I could just use the smallpipe bellows I’m still trying to determine if its me, the equipment or some combination. I have attached a photo for reference.
My smallpipes use a hemped wood joint but the uilleann bellows use a straight rubber on metal joint and that is where the slipping happens. These bellows in general tend to move more because the belts aren’t directly screwed to the wood but I’m wondering if there are adjustments I should do to make playing with these bellows more reliable.
These connectors are nice mostly because they resist bending to the point where a kink is formed and airflow is blocked due to the shape but I think they’re pretty short on their own for most applications. If the tube is too short to reach your air intake on the bag then it’s going to want to pull itself off the bellows. This might be a problem requiring a more involved solution with the goal of lengthening the hose in some way to ease the pull on it. If this is the case, or the hose is simply loose on the bellows outlet an easy and quick solution is to tie it onto the bellows with some waxed string, but if you haven’t experimented with the overall length of the connecting hose then I would definitely look at that as well. There are lots of options for hose ranging from garden hose to automotive supply to surgical silicone tubing. McMaster carr is a good option if you’re in North America. Not sure where to look in Europe but I’m sure someone will let you know.
Hope this helps.
