It's that time again.  The late Alan Pier rebuilt my single-valve
Standard action in 1986, and now eleven years later the creases in the
bottom bellows are starting to wear through at the corner folds.  It's
a lot worse now than it was last summer, and I find that I have a gig
New Year's Eve at Raleigh's First Night.  (I'll be in the Capitol
Building.)

What I need is a good method for quick and temporary repair.  Hunting
through the archives doesn't show anything, just that I should put on
a small piece of leather when rebuilding, and that I should repair
interior flap valves while the bellows are disassembled.

What's the right way to patch the holes in rubber-coated cloth?  Hide
glue and leather?  Rubber cement?  Barge cement?  Silicone sealer?
Epoxy?  Portland cement?  Molten welding rod?  (These guesses are in
approximate order of increasing desperation.)

Peter Neilson

 [ Our techs will advise better methods, I'm sure, but here's a fix
 [ I've used: a Johnson & Johnson "Band Aid" ('surgical plaster'),
 [ just like you apply to a modest cut.  The material is durable enough
 [ to last a few days on a foot-pumped bellows, and the adhesive is
 [ very good.  -- Robbie