Loose bellows pins.

[maugein96]

Paul and Mihail,
The mention of "tape" reminds me of the thread-packing, very thin plastic tape used by plumbers to make watertight the threads of water taps (faucets).
This could be wrapped around the stem of a pin to tighten the fit?
The plumber's usually need nine or ten turns of the tape to give a tight fit. It's non- sticky.
(Readily available in hardware stores around here. I already  have some in my toolbox)

Dingo,

It's called PTFE tape and is a new fangled invention. Apparently most people use it when there is no need, and in fact if you use it with compression fittings with a copper olive on the pipe they will leak, as the olive is there to make the seal and cannot do it if there is a yard of PTFE tape on the end of the pipe. 

Back in the day we had to use various compounds that we painted onto the fittings, but I think the best old plumber's remedy for your pins would be what we used for cast iron. You put thick hemp rope round the pin, run the gap with molten lead, then caulk the lead when it hardens with a 2lb hammer and cold chisel, before finishing it off with mastic putty. 

That will seal a 6" diameter cast iron waste pipe (remember them?). Might not do your accordion much good, but I just thought I'd warn you about PTFE tape. I left the trade in 1973, and also used to have PTFE tape in my toolbox. I used it once in my last house and the coupling blew straight off the end of the pipe as soon as I turned the water back on. I phoned a modern day plumber and I'll not tell you what he advised me to do with the PTFE tape. It is useful for some applications, but I now cannot remember what they are. Maybe it's made for accordion bellows pins right enough! 

Cheers,

John W

 

[Dingo40]

John,
I know technology varies from place to place, for example, I've never come across a cast iron fitting in Australia, though they may exist in some original suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne  :huh:

This "tamping " tape is widely used in Australia for sealing screw joints (in domestic applications), especially outdoor stand-pipes to fit taps ( faucets), but also indoors for spouts and shower heads etc, and gives no trouble whatsoever 

Of course, with the takeover by plastic piping, the usage is much reduced, the plastic joints being glued.

 

[debra]

Paul and Mihail,
The mention of "tape" reminds me of the thread-packing, very thin plastic tape used by plumbers to make watertight the threads of water taps (faucets).
This could be wrapped around the stem of a pin to tighten the fit?
The plumber's usually need nine or ten turns of the tape to give a tight fit. It's non- sticky.
(Readily available in hardware stores around here. I already  have some in my toolbox)

Here we call that silicone tape. It's used to seal screwed connections of gass and water lines (not on press-fit pipes). I bet it won't work for bellow pins because it is essentially non-stick.

 

[maugein96]

John,
I know technology varies from place to place, for example, Ive never come across a cast iron fitting in Australia, though they may exist in some original suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne  :huh:

This tamping tape is widely used in Australia for sealing screw joints (in domestic applications), especially outdoor stand-pipes to fit taps ( faucets), but also indoors for spouts and shower heads etc, and gives no trouble whatsoever 

Of course, with the takeover by plastic piping, the usage is much reduced, the plastic joints being glued.

Dingo,

We even used cast iron for rainwater pipes, although the pipes werent as heavy as the waste pipe. That was the only way of sealing the joins. Great on a 60 foot ladder with a ladle of molten lead in your hand, hoping it didnt rain, as the lead splattered onto your hands and face if water hit the ladle. 

We used to have to seal old lead pipes with solder (the Romans taught us) and in our last house (built 1894) we even had old gas lighting lead pipes buried in the plaster behind the walls. 

All industrial central heating pipes were mild steel, and we had to cut threads on the ends of the pipes with heavy die cutters, so we could put connections on them. We probably could have used PTFE tape on the threads to take up the slack (if it had been invented then), instead of the stranded hemp rope and Boss White. The whole set up required tightening with what we called Stilson grips, big adjustable spanners up to 18 inches in length. 

These days Im frightened to touch any plumbing or heating pipes in the house in case I end up ripping them off the wall. Technology has changed, as you say. [font=Tahoma,Verdana,Arial,Sans-Serif]We did start to use PVC rainwater and drain pipes before I left the trade, but we did break rather a few of them at first. [/font][font=Tahoma,Verdana,Arial,Sans-Serif] [/font]  

Id never heard of plastic mains water pipe (or bellows pins) in those uncomplicated days of my youth.

 

[Dingo40]

John,
Ahh, those were the days ! 

Oddly enough, the seemingly fragile plastic mains pressure water pipes appear to outlast the old sturdy galvanised steel ones 

BTW, I've (unintentionally) made a a collection of those old Stillson wrenches  in my shed

 

[Dingo40]

Hi all!
It's amazing how a change in the weather ( including lower temperatures and a higher relative humidity) appears to have cured the issue of loose bellows pins.
I have done nothing at all about it, yet the problem appears to have disappeared, at least until next summer!   
Thanks again for all your help!

 

[debra]

Hi all!
It's amazing how a change in the weather ( including lower temperatures and a higher relative humidity) appears to have cured the issue of loose bellows pins.
I have done nothing at all about it, yet the problem appears to have disappeared, at least until next summer!   

That sounds like another vote for JimD's suggestion of the drop of water to make the wood swell...

 

[Dingo40]

Paul,

True!

But it could also be seen as a win for "masterful inactivity " ("Yes, Prime Minister!")