However...
I'm not so crazy about the aesthetic or design. I've looked around this forum and elsewhere, and have seen countless other sets of bellows, some with features I thought were nifty, some not so much. Similarly, reading countless old discussions about bellows hinges, leather, construction, etc. and watching many youtube videos of piper's bellows in action, gave me much to think about. Finally, through the use of my Dixon bellows, I've had many instances of "wouldn't it be nice if these were/had..."
After a lot of though, a list revised multiple times with features I had settled on wanting a bellows to have, material costs considered, blueprints drawn and re-drawn and my left thumb nearly completely recovered from a freak accident resulting in 8 stitches, I decided to take the plunge.
Now let's be clear: I'm not out to 're-invent the wheel' here or anything, nor do I think I'll hit upon the 'next big thing' for bellows. I'm viewing this as an exercise to make something to my specs, that should look good (to my eye at least), and above all, WORK! The bellows that pipemakers produce seem to carry a fingerprint as unique as the rest of their instruments, and this set will be 'mine'.
To start: wood selection. I picked up some really fantastically figured quilted maple boards, planed down to 1/4". I'll use them in conjunction with a more plain piece of wood (slightly thicker) that I'll laminate together in a 'stepped' construction to form the outer cheeks (figured maple), and a slightly stepped-in inner cheek which I will eventually glue and tack the leather gusset around.
Here's just a few shots of the boards for the outer cheeks (the figure will be even more dramatic once I fine sand them, and apply a nice oil varnish) and my templates I've printed out, all I had the energy to get to tonight after a crazy long week. They'll be larger in capacity than my Dixon bellows, but not ungainly.
I'll post updates as I get more things together, and if people are interested that is. Personally I enjoy watching people's projects come together like this, let me know if you do too. Of course, I'm always open to advice or hints from others and makers, although I reserve my right to be pig-headed
