Replacement Bellows
Our Wakker design bellows are also available as replacement bellows for English, duet and Anglo vintage concertinas, with 6, 8, or 12 sides.
They are available in both "Standard" and "All Leather" quality. Both types feature skived Morocco goat skin bindings and gussets, skived card stock panels, and hard linen hinges.
The 'Standard' bellows have leatherette panel coverings, the 'All Leather' bellows have leather butterfly panel coverings.
Both bellows designs have a minimum TFT (Tension Free Travel) of 90%+*
Differences between Standard and All leather bellows:
- Standard Bellows are slightly lighter, have thinner fold thickness, and are only available in Black.
- All leather bellows have more rounded folds, less pronounced 'corner joints', and they are slightly wider. They are available in black, brown and Victorian green.
Both Standard and All leather bellows are available with four, five, six or seven folds.
They are available in both "Standard" and "All Leather" quality. Both types feature skived Morocco goat skin bindings and gussets, skived card stock panels, and hard linen hinges.
The 'Standard' bellows have leatherette panel coverings, the 'All Leather' bellows have leather butterfly panel coverings.
Both bellows designs have a minimum TFT (Tension Free Travel) of 90%+*
Differences between Standard and All leather bellows:
- Standard Bellows are slightly lighter, have thinner fold thickness, and are only available in Black.
- All leather bellows have more rounded folds, less pronounced 'corner joints', and they are slightly wider. They are available in black, brown and Victorian green.
Both Standard and All leather bellows are available with four, five, six or seven folds.
* See "About Bellows" for more information on bellows performance.
7 fold all leather replacement bellows for a Lachenal Edeophone
We make different models of concertina bellows, ranging from hexagonal early Victorian with a narrow waste, to 8 and 12 sided bellows for Aeolas, Edeophones and Parnassus models.
Because every concertina is slightly different in size, each set of bellows is individually sized to fit the instrument perfectly.
We import the finest quality goat skin for our bellows. Every hide is tested for impurities and air tightness. We developed our own specialized cutting and skiving machines to assure a constant high quaity.
Because every concertina is slightly different in size, each set of bellows is individually sized to fit the instrument perfectly.
We import the finest quality goat skin for our bellows. Every hide is tested for impurities and air tightness. We developed our own specialized cutting and skiving machines to assure a constant high quaity.
Wakker bellows are made with individual skived card panels, connected with leather and hard linen top and bottom hinges, leather gussets, silk tabs, leather (all leather bellows) or leatherette (standard bellows) panel covers and leather bindings.
The leather is selected goatskin, which has no stretch, can be skived very thin without losing strength or becoming porous. Natural water based glues or hyde glues are used which harden fully with no shrinkage.
Besides the materials, the big difference is the way they are constructed. No rig is used for our Wakker bellows.
Each set of bellows is measured individually to fit with a perfect ‘waist’ on the bellows frames. The waist determines the panel size. No two sets of bellows are identical in size.
All panels are connected by hand on a flat surface instead of on a bellows rig. The position of each panel is adjusted to compensate for the different materials and slight variations in leather thickness.
This results in hinge connections without tension. Panel tip spacing and gusset angle is determined by the maker and varies for each set of bellows.
Other variable factors are the number of sides (6,8,12), thickness of the leather, and type of concertina (anglo bellows are different from English and duet bellows). Bellows constructed this way have very little travel tension.
Our shop makes on average 100+ high end Wakker Bellows per year ( 3000+ to date) for new and vintage concertinas, in 6, 8, and 12 sides, with 4-10 folds. Sizes range from 8 key miniatures to 80+ key duet concertinas.
Prices Standard and All Leather Bellows
Hexagonal (6 sides) concertinas up to 16cm/6 inches across (standard size for treble Englishes,
anglos and small duets).
$575.00 for 4 folds. $65.00 for each additional fold. E.g. 6 folds: $575 +$65 + $65 = $705.00
All leather: add $500
Hexagonal (6 sides) larger than 16cm/6 inches, but smaller than 20cm/8 inches across:
Standard size plus 10%. E.g. standard 6 folds: $705, larger size $705 + $70.50(10%) = $775.50
All leather: add $550
8 sided instruments (Aeolas):
Standard or oversize hexagonal price plus 50%. E.g. 6 fold standard $705 + $352.50 (50%) = $1057.50
All leather: add $600
12 sided instruments (Edeophones):
Standard or oversize hexagonal price plus 100%. E.g. 6 fold standard $705 + $705 (100%) = $1410.00
All leather: add $650
anglos and small duets).
$575.00 for 4 folds. $65.00 for each additional fold. E.g. 6 folds: $575 +$65 + $65 = $705.00
All leather: add $500
Hexagonal (6 sides) larger than 16cm/6 inches, but smaller than 20cm/8 inches across:
Standard size plus 10%. E.g. standard 6 folds: $705, larger size $705 + $70.50(10%) = $775.50
All leather: add $550
8 sided instruments (Aeolas):
Standard or oversize hexagonal price plus 50%. E.g. 6 fold standard $705 + $352.50 (50%) = $1057.50
All leather: add $600
12 sided instruments (Edeophones):
Standard or oversize hexagonal price plus 100%. E.g. 6 fold standard $705 + $705 (100%) = $1410.00
All leather: add $650
