My wife Karen is in charge of our bellows department..
We make around 100 sets of concertina bellows per year, not only for our own instruments and restorations projects, but you'll also find our bellows on instruments made by other makers, repairers, and dealers world wide.

We make bellows in any number of sides, folds, size, all leather, Wheatstone style, high and low travel resistance, etc..
We use different qualities of card, glue, linen and leather, all depending on the type of instrument. The bellows for the Traveler are going to be a standard set of anglo type bellows with 6 folds.

The photos below show a few of the production stages, but do not include any tools and machines...  

 

The first step: cutting strips

 

a few panels, cut and skived

 

connected panels.

 

a row of panels (top and bottom view)

 

panel rows connected with (real) silk tops

 

All the parts necessary for the hand rail sets:  handrails, nappa leather cushions
(as used on all our anglo and duet instruments), brass parts, and leather hand straps.

 

 

Handstraps mounted on the ends


 

gussets  installed

 

Action parts assembled: post, rivet and lever

 

 

Lever end threaded and leather bead installed

 

Chamois leather gaskets on reed pans and bellows frames

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