Is there a recommended “dressing” to treat and maitain cowhide pipe bellows ?
Allen
With the possible exception of stitched bellows, which might benefit from some sort of treatment every decade or so to keep the leather supple, I don’t think you should need to do anything to treat your bellows; if they are in fact leaking, you have a problem, but I would not recommend any sort of “preventative” treatment.
Ultimately it depends on the maker of the bellows and how they were constructed in the first place - some makers do use seasoning in their bellows, in which case you should follow their advice about renewing it. “Seasoning” a bellows which was airtight without it, when first made, or using a type of seasoning unsuited to the task, may cause more problems than it solves.
Thanks for that Bill, no I don’t have a leak and the bellows are fine…I just thought there might be some form of preventative treatment available to preserve the hide.
Thanks again, best regards…Allen
This is a good topic. I have a new bellows coming my way and I be putting my existing bellows into storage. Is there something I can do with the leather to prevent dry rot?
Murphy’s oil soap (lindseed oil based wood soap) and Crisco(vegetable shortening) 3/1 zapped 'til warm and mixed.
I agree with Bill,
Most bellows today are made of so called “Elk hide” which is in fact split Cowhide. One side of the hide has a thin layer of plastic pressed into it and is waterproof. If you bellows has the rough side on the the outside then a little neets foot oil, applied to the outside every 5 years or so would not hurt it. It may not help it either.
If the rough side is on the inside then DO NOT put any kind of oil, lard, honey or bag treatment inside of the bellows. Oil and grease will combine with the moisture and make a breeding ground for bacteria and fungi.
If the bellows is not leaking then leave it alone. If it is old and leaking the best thing is to rip off the leather and replace it with a new one. If it is new, return it to the maker and have him replace it.
A final note. Most bellows today supply more than enough air to play the pipes, even if they are leaking, so that a small leak is nothing to worry about.
All the best,
Pat Sky
I realize that I’m probably out on a limb here, but I have a Julian Goodacre set of hand-stitched bellows that started leaking. The problem was that I stored them hinge-side up over a hot Maryland summer and its seasoning started leaking considerably downward (the bottom gusset got pretty saturated with it). In any event, the bellows started leaking at the seams under the hinge.
I figured that one way to prevent having this happen again is to regularly use the bellows. After communicating with Mr. Goodacre, I decided to try to season them with the same mix he initially uses: olive oil and beeswax. I did this and, while it initially reduced the leakage, the problem came back after a couple of weeks.
I had two choices: send them back to Scotland to be repaired (considerable time and money) or try something else. Since I have a very dependable Mark Hillmann bellows that I normally use, I decided to try to fix the leak myself.
I went and bought ($2 US!) the following product at a local dollar store:
http://www.amazon.com/Fix-Flat-Bicycle-Sealer-Inflator/dp/B000EA5WOU
I cut off the valve attachment and stuck the hose through the air inlet valve and squirted a fair portion down at the problem area. I corked up both holes and sloshed the substance around all over the bellows. Then, I inserted a vacuum-cleaner hose from the reverse end and blew air through the bellows for about ten minutes and hung it up to dry.
So far, it seems like it has fixed the leak. I don’t recommend this to anyone unless they have another bellows to use, or if they aren’t feeling pretty desperate about fixing them.
Well, that’s my 2 cents worth.
Hi all
Once again Bill has hit the nail on the head. Modern bellow design ( ie those that are not hand stitched) should require no treatment to produce air tightness. Only hand stitch bellows require doping in order to seal any slight gaps left in the stitching. ( providing the hide used is non pourous or has been suitable treated)
My bellows are made with a laminate of two thin skins rather than one thick skin. The bonding of these therefore negates the need to treat the leather to seal any pourousity.
As for preventing the deteriation of bellows that are not going to be used in the near future. I think it is simply a matter of storing them in normal room conditions and not a dusty loft or damp celler.
Back of the wardrobe (closet) should do just fine 
On a final note IMHO putting stuff into bellows (and bags for that matter) is never a good idea. ( I feel a synthetic versus hide debate coming on 
No matter what mixture is used. It eventually decays and gets caught in the air stream from bellows to bag and therefore REEDS!! ( With disasterous results) 
I wish i had a pound for everytime i had seen good reeds destroyed by bag/ bellow seasoning residue.
I could retire now
Good point and duly noted.