Elbow-pads for bellows

lundblad · Post by **lundblad** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 5:49 am

What is the best material to use when making elbow-pads for bellows?
Any suggestions?

Robert

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 6:46 am

Anything that is both comfortable and durable. Leather pillows filled with some sort of padding (ie. cotton, foam etc...) work nicely. But you could do the same with a sturdy fabric. Some fasten doubled over cloth to the inside cheek and outside cheek. I suppose it is a matter of taste and personal comfort.

uilleannfinlander · Post by **uilleannfinlander** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 7:32 am

I made one from the the thin " foamcell matrass""(used in outdoors under sleepingbags etc,
sorry not find the rigth word for it) perhaps you got it what i mean. Cheap and
Easy to cut in different shape, few pieces of" twosideglued" tape between " slices " and you can made pad as high as necessary.
Always have piece of it in my case.
btw I covered pipecase insides with same stuff too.

djm · Post by **djm** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 7:38 am

Closed-cell foam or kapok can be used. The cover can be of soft vinyl or leather. Its really your choice and whatever is available to you.

djm

morten · Post by **morten** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 8:01 am

The outdoor matress stuff works great, and its cheap. Or maybe a small piece of the living room carpet... You could allways cut a piece when you are visiting friends - if you take it from under the sofa or a chair they won't notice....

Will we see you in Copenhagen this weekend, at the Liam O'Flynn gig?

/Morten

Joseph E. Smith · Post by **Joseph E. Smith** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 8:03 am

morten wrote:... You could allways cut a piece when you are visiting friends - if you take it from under the sofa or a chair they won't notice....

Yes! I like this approach best!!

uilleannfinlander · Post by **uilleannfinlander** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 9:04 am

Cat's are also longlasting material for elbowpads....

.. if your reed doesn't reach 3rd octave, just push harder ..cat does instead, .. but remember not to feed the cat before playing session...

lundblad · Post by **lundblad** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 9:23 am

Hehe. My fat cat wouldn't even fit on the bellows. Usually she looks as she just have eaten the whole set...

John Mulhern · Post by **John Mulhern** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 9:36 am

This is a good topic. Nothing scream's "klass" like the folded old sock I've been using as a bellows pad.

djm · Post by **djm** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 10:29 am

I have also seen people use a piece of sheepskin with the wool turned to the outside. Not an option if you're alergic to wool, though.

djm

No E · Post by **No E** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 11:56 am

I've been using a piece of closed-cell foam covered with polartec fleece--comfortable and hypo-allergenic

No E

Thies · Post by **Thies** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 12:47 pm

uilleannfinlander wrote:Cat's are also longlasting material for elbowpads.... .. if your reed doesn't reach 3rd octave, just push harder ..cat does instead, .. but remember not to feed the cat before playing session...

... and I always thought that your cat ended up as a bag for your Scottish chamber pipes. At least the sound was close ...

Patrick D'Arcy · Post by **Patrick D'Arcy** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 2:50 pm

Check out your local upholstery shop of wholesale foam company. I have used a really great 1" thick medium heavy grey foam in the past and it held up the entire time I had my Lambe set. Cut it to whatever shape you like, cover it in a nice material and attach it to the bellows with velcro.... yay.... no more bleeding elbows!

PD.

gregorygraham · Post by **gregorygraham** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 4:16 pm

But isn't the calloused and occasionally bloody elbow the mark of this particular fraternity? Like a facial scar for the Tubingen University fencing fraternities?

Tony · Post by **Tony** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 9:14 pm

Wooly Bully...
I've seen some sheepskin pads being used.