Building A Bellows

[Loyalist Dave]

Hello the forum,
I'm interested in assembling a blacksmith cart. It will, if it is actually a project set in motion, upon completion be similar to a military blacksmith wagon, just smaller, and I would need a double bellows on it to make it work.

What I'm looking for is a very good set of drawings or photos or both showing the internal construction of said bellows. I've lots of drawings and external photos, but nothing for how the bellows is constructed on the inside before the leather is attached to the exterior.

Can anybody help?

LD

 

[crockett]

I've thought about the same thing, you need a one way flap on one side of the bellows, the rest just looks like two wood paddles with leather tacked between them. Maybe a PC blacksmith might have plans.

 

[Coot]

See if you can get a copy of "Practical Blacksmithing" by Alexander Beale - it is a reprint of many old articles re smithing.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Tons if information are out there available with a little googling.

 

[coloradoclyde]

This guy's videos are usually good.
It's a start. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTIow0sLo5g&list=PLRGzLD93O0AXvo5pyABih-m2UMP3mYSZb

 

[Elnathan]

What kind of bellows? I have a write-up of my East Asian-style box bellows over on ALR. Now that photobucket has ceased holding my pictures hostage it might be useful again.

 

[jrmflintlock]

I have some Pdf drawings that I found a few years ago for a shop size bellow. Some day I plan to build them when I stop moving around so much!

PM me your email and I will gladly share them with you. I don't want to use up of my "Photo data" to post them here.

I think it would work for what you are doing, just downsize it.

 

[nhmoose]

https://www.bing.com/search?q=make ...&SP=1&QS=AS&SK=&sc=1-14&form=HPDTSS&pc=HPDTDF

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Thanks

Making a simple bellows isn't that tough, neither is a box-bellows (which are Asian and I'm not a sailor), but making a moderate sized, double bellows, which means additional ribs and sealing the leather to those, that's a bit more complicated.

The videos help. :wink:

LD

 

[Noanchor]

I have built three different blacksmith bellows. All of them were about six feet by three feet, and they opened up to just under three feet. The first two were made for a nationally known museum and have been used daily for over thirty years. The last one, I built for myself about six years ago and is still on my forge. The museum bellows were skinned with elk hide and was stupidly expensive the skins also needed to be stiched in two place in order to make it around the bellows. The one that I made for myself was skinned with rubber (the kind they make land scape pools from) I happened to have a large peice of rubber and it has worked great. No worries about mice chews or rot. Unfortunately I don't have any drawings left but bellows are not that difficult don't be afraid of the size, you will be disappointe in a small one and a full size bellows will bring tons of compliments.

 

[BillinOregon]

I got interested in very early double bellows after falling under the spell of Viking bronze casting.
https://bjornthisway.wordpress.com/2019/07/07/viking-age-bellows/

 

[Sam squanch]

I just got my windbag neighbor to blow in a pipe….