Bellows Leather

[Jeff Bly]

Where do you get your leather for building a bellows or to repair a bellows you already have?

[Drewed]

Ebay. You can usually find seconds that might be enough. Otherwise there is a lot of "full hides" if you need that much.

[jerry p.]

You could try Tandy Leather Factory. (tandyleatherfactory.com) Hope this helps. Jerry P.

[Marksnagel]

I went to tandy (web site) and there are so many different grades of leather. What is a good grade for bellows. I know it needs to be soft enough to flex easily but I don't know which type. I remember using leather eons ago and it was very stiff and not very flexible until you oiled it.
A little education please.

Thanks,
Mark <º))><

[jimbob]

you could also try Moscow hide and fur http://www.hideandfur.com/

[bigfootnampa]

Lots of info on the web re: bellows making but most tends to be for camera or concertina uses... not quite the same as bellows for smiths. I am no bellows maker but do work with leather and would suggest that for good sized bellows intended for forge use many of the upholstery leathers would serve well. They are finished leathers, often with vinyl like finishes that should help in air-tightness and durability. It seems that many bellows makers will line their bellows with vinyl anyway. Upholstery leathers vary a bit in thickness so that the thinner hides might be excellent for lighter duty bellows while I would imagine that the thicker ones would serve well for heavy-duty larger bellows. Goat skin leather is another type that should work well for bellows (some concertina bellows makers use this type leather only). Goat leather is thin yet strong and considered superb for work gloves because it is also quite durable. I have no experience with kangaroo leather but note that it is reputed to be the strongest known and that kangaroo rawhide is considered the premium material for whipmakers. For those down under this might be even better than goat leathers.

[Junksmith]

Awesome! My daughter dropped my concertina a few years ago and dislocated the left hand reed box from the inside. That provides some handy insight if I ever get around to fixing it because I'm definitely going to have to go in through the bellows. It's a little intimidating though. I may just spend the $50 and take it to a pro repair guy in my town. Depends on how desperate I get to play it again.

[ThomasPowers]

I used an oil tanned leather for my Y1K bellows; the blacksmith's "great" bellows take a lot more force that a small bellows does.

However my last from the ground up big bellows was "leathered" using heavily treated canvas tarp material as was used for wind wings on oil drilling rigs in Oklahoma. It was still working great after 20 years of abuse, (being left outside over an Ohio winter several times!,) when I gave it away before the move.

[Francis Trez Cole]

I picked up a womans leather coat from good will took it apart and re stitched it to make my first bellows it lasted 15 years with no leaks. I think I payed $15.00. Not a bad investment. Canvas that is sealed with rubberized roofing paint is an other option.

[pkrankow]

If you find an old, trash, leather couch, the back is often "bonded" leather or vinyl, the cushion tops are more frequently real leather, since it wears better.

Bonded leather or vinyl can be purchased new for reasonable money, less than $20/yard, typically 54 inches wide.

Of course I don't know how long lasting these modern materials are compared to leather, and I am also unsure of the fire retardant nature of bonded leather, and I am sure vinyl can burn readily.

I do know that well oiled leather is fairly fire retardant, it is used for welder's sleeves and other applications where fire is present because of this nature.

Phil

[forgemaster]

Elephant skin is the best, thats what they all used to be made with, as to if it was an Afican elephant or an Indian Elephant I have no idea. By an Indian elephant I mean India the country, not Indian as in cowboys and indians.

Phil

[David Einhorn]

If you check into the schedules of your local county fairs you may find that there is a leather-workers show coming to your area. Usually wholesale vendors of leather will come to those shows and you can examine the hides, talk to the vendors about which leather sides would be most appropriate for your project, and possibly purchase a side of leather at a bargain price. Up here are at least four county fair and/or farm show complexes within driving distance: the Fairgrounds in York PA, the Farmshow complex in Harrisburg PA, the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, and the Farm Show Complex in Westminster Maryland.

You can also sometimes find magazines for leather-workers at the news-stand. Those magazines will have ads for both wholesale as well as retail dealers in leather sides.

[peacock]

Garment splits are real good bellows. It has a smooth finish, the proper amount of stretch, and plenty tough.
3 to 4 oz. is the weight you want that means 1 square foot will weigh 3 or 4 oz. Each ounce also means 1/64
inch thickness. I buy from Weaver leather in Ohio cost about $3 a square foot. I don't think they sell retail,
you have to be a dealer, and establish an account. Sides will run around 20 square feet. Sometimes they
have double shoulders they are 11-12 sq. ft.

[bigfootnampa]

I didn't know that about elephant leather! Good info and it makes sense since the elephant leather is thick yet flexible with lots of natural wrinkles. Bison leather seems similar also, though softer. They have some elephant leather (as well as almost every other kind) at the Tandy store in Springfield Missouri. This is BTW the nicest leather shop that I have ever seen... worth driving 200 miles to shop there from my home! No large pieces of elephant leather are listed on their web site but I would bet that if you called them they'd supply you as I have seen it there. Here's a link to their web site... but you should stop in there to get the real feel of this remarkable establishment: Springfield Leather Co. Inc.

[Ferrous Beuler]

What Phil said, the back of a leather sofa could be a good source if you can find one. Call around and find out when the semi annual dates are for large item disposal in the higher end neighborhoods in your area. You will be amazed at what you might find at the curbside showroom by the McMansions on the cul-de-sacs. That's where I would look for a free leather sofa (arts of the scraphound).

A couple of jobs I have worked were in furniture repair for a large furniture sales chain and in upholstery for a large office furniture manufacturer. That's where I learned that even the better leather sofas (Natuzzi, etc.) have vinyl backs. Finding a whole leather hide is easy but finding one at reasonable cost is the challenge. The factory I worked for, Gunlocke in Wayland N.Y. has an outlet store there where they sell scratch & dent, surplus and discontinued upholstery and imperfect leather. Even these are well over a hundred dollars for a full sized split and chances are they will be colored but you could look them up and see what they might have on hand.

If you have an Amish community in your area you could try them too. I was shown a hide once by a guy that runs an archery/ muzzleloading shop that was made by Amish in Chautauqua county N.Y. He said they used a vegetable process in their tannery. This made a very soft and pliable hide but it was very thick, about 3/16". He told me he was paying $70 per full split at the time, back in 2001.

Deer hides are another option, might be cheaper too and thin/ pliable.

Vinyl might be your best bet overall based on availability, cost and suitability. Try these guys~

http://www.diyupholsterysupply.com/Allsport-vinyl.html

Good luck!