-- non-subscriber, please reply to sender and MMD --

Dear MMD:  In response to the contribution by Paul Morris, I would like
to add that my method of undoing the multiple layers of leather would
have provided ample opportunity for chemical reactions.

From the spout of a boiling kettle, a thick-walled piece of rubber
tubing led to a fine metal nozzle, the jet of steam from which was
directed at the surfaces being separated, so there was hot water
condensate in abundance over a very limited area.  As I did not know
exactly how the bellows had been assembled, as each piece was removed
I made notes to help in the re-leathering.  

The organ in question is Hooghuys number 595, which is a 70 key dance
instrument originally made for a hall in Ostend.

Ted Bowman,
Bedford, UK