SC - Who says kitchen burns are OOP?

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Brandu describes a simple bellows:

One of the oldest bellows that I have seen is a "Bag" bellows:
A largish sack of leather shaped a lot like a rectangular handbag, with
two rods instead of a clasp affair at the top and a tube to the fire.
Lay it down, grab the rods in both hands, and pull them apart, lift them
up and close them to capture air, then push the rods down to express the
air from the bag, then repeat the cycle.
Very simple, no valves needed.

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I’m not sure of your description.  Is this a completely soft bag?
No flat boards? I’m not sure how the rods are arranged. What do
they do at the bag?

Can you point me toward any pictures of this type of bellows?
- ------

I have seen examples similar to this in reconstructions of Bronze Age
sites.
Keep in mind that this was used in the early and middle Bronze Age, not
the Medieval Period. 

- ------
Are you saying that these were not used in medieval times?  Or that
you have just not seen any evidence of this?
- ------

        <snip>
> Actually I believe it is a little more complex than this. I have been
> doing some looking into bellows since I would like to create one for
> the pewter casting I do. Even in the simpler ones, you will want a
> one way valve, which can easily be done with leather.

That depends entirely on how you input the air. True, if the bellows
were to use a pump type of arrangement, like you see in modern bellows,
then you are right, but if you use a scoop type of air capture, like
above, then this is not true.
If you are using the "pump" type, then use at least two valves, one at
input, to prevent captured air escaping out the intake, and one at the
outlet, to prevent the bellows from drawing in hot air and smoke from
the fire.

- -------
True. Or keep the snout away from the embers. This is one of the 
advantages of the dual chamber version. Since air is always
being blown out through the nozzle, you don’t need the second valve.

Stefan li Rous
stefan at texas.net
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