Originally Posted by
bmorey
A pump leather washer is moulded/shaped -- a sort of bell shape - to form a seal. Cutting out piece from a straight piece of craft or shoe leather won't be effective -- it will tend to leak.
The one I took out looked like it was a flat piece that developed the cup shape from being in the tube.
At anyrate, I got the leather, and made the new washer, but it didn't fix the problem. I didn't think it was the hose, but after giving it the underwater test, it turns out I was wrong. The hose was leaking behind the valve connector (I don't know what it's called). I cut hose shorted, and reinserted the connector with a clamp, and it seems to work again (still using the new leather washer). I need to find a longer hose though, I think I looked once before and couldn't find one.
One of my problems is that the hose originally had a Schrader connector, and at some point, for some reason, I cut the hose and jammed my Presta adapter into the opening. It's a very tight fit.