Deardorff Bellows Replacement

[koh303]

Rudy now makes the bellows for tenesee deardorff.
I have bought many bellows from him, and an equal amount from the Japanese maker.
With Rudy - while the quality is top notch, fitment varies. Some were custom sized per my request and others were his standard sized pre cut - The deardorff stuff has improved, but recently, the size discrepancy meant some serious re working was required to make the bellows mount on frames.

As the Japanese bellows maker (J) all come pre mounted on frames he makes, that is not a problem. So far, i have only ordered Rudy's stuff when J did have any.

With regards to the OP - i have not noticed this same problem, though J's bellows are thicker, and have less precise pleats and folds making for a slightly thicker over all min folded length, leading to issues with closing, sometimes, on some cameras and especially with the red ones, which are made of a far heavier and thicker material and not a problem ever with black stuff.

The material from Rudy varies, it is sometimes similar to what is on newer chamonix and shen hao's and sometimes similar to older, vinyl like material which is more like what custom bellows offer. The materials from J (black only) is super light and feels by far more durable, though of course, this type of nylon material as bellows has not been around long enough to be tested over 100 years as some of the original bellow materials of the cameras they are going on had. In both cases, i have no doubt that J's black and Rudy's newer material will far outlast any user currently on this forum.

My 2C.

[Duolab123]

Rudy now makes the bellows for tenesee deardorff.
I have bought many bellows from him, and an equal amount from the Japanese maker.
With Rudy - while the quality is top notch, fitment varies. Some were custom sized per my request and others were his standard sized pre cut - The deardorff stuff has improved, but recently, the size discrepancy meant some serious re working was required to make the bellows mount on frames.

As the Japanese bellows maker (J) all come pre mounted on frames he makes, that is not a problem. So far, i have only ordered Rudy's stuff when J did have any.

With regards to the OP - i have not noticed this same problem, though J's bellows are thicker, and have less precise pleats and folds making for a slightly thicker over all min folded length, leading to issues with closing, sometimes, on some cameras and especially with the red ones, which are made of a far heavier and thicker material and not a problem ever with black stuff.

The material from Rudy varies, it is sometimes similar to what is on newer chamonix and shen hao's and sometimes similar to older, vinyl like material which is more like what custom bellows offer. The materials from J (black only) is super light and feels by far more durable, though of course, this type of nylon material as bellows has not been around long enough to be tested over 100 years as some of the original bellow materials of the cameras they are going on had. In both cases, i have no doubt that J's black and Rudy's newer material will far outlast any user currently on this forum.

My 2C.

Quite certain any of these bellows will outlast me I guess we should count our blessings that we have skilled people making this stuff. I wonder how long people will be able to keep the old medium format stuff going?
Very good discussion! ,
Mike