A good introduction to bellows making?

[svlindbe]

I saw a flea-bay auction for prited instructions called "Make Bellows For Folding Camera Photography Antique" (Item number 190241927817) available from Canada. Do any of you have experience with this? Is it any good, or is it better to get all the tips for free on the internet?

Svein Lindberg

[Peter J. De Smidt]

I haven't read the one mentioned. That said, Doug Bardell and a few others have some pretty good explanations on the net. Personally, I'd look at as many of these as I could, do some thinking, and give it a try on a small practice bellows. The most important thing is to have good materials. Opaque, thin and flexible are required, and this isn't so easy to find. The first bellows I made were fine from a geometry perspective, but they were too heavy and stiff for camera use.

[audioexcels]

As Peter said it, there's quite a bit of lit on the web about bellows making. There's some very good sites with tutorials explaining methods they use to make bellows, and they seem to be plenty fine. Materials is definitely essential as I have seen even newer cameras on the used market look kinda abused on the bellows in spite the rest of the camera looks perfect in condition. Makes me wonder if the manufactures have the bellows made by a lower grade quality or if the user abuses the bellows and not the camera...

[ic-racer]

Again, good materials (read 'thin') are needed for the best results. My first one was a little too thick and stiff also, but it works fine on a 100 year old view camera with limited movements.

Here is a thread where I share my trials and tribulations of bellows construction: http://www.largeformatphotography.in...ad.php?t=29267

[Ron Marshall]

Perhaps you've seen this site:

http://my.net-link.net/~jsmigiel/bellows.html

[Jimi]

Here's two (last one wide angle bellows instructions in german only):

http://www.cyberbeach.net/~dbardell/bellows.html

http://www.foto-net.de/net/dyo/gross_ww.html

[Sandeha]

I used the darkroom cloth from Porter's, but its too thick for comfortable compression ...
http://www.sandehalynch.com/bellows.htm

If anybody can source the thin vinyl coated fabric used by commercial bellows makers, that would be good.

[Doug Howk]

Barry Young has a manual titled "Modern Bellowsmaking". The directions look good, but I have yet to try it. He recommends the cloth from Porters, but I don't see it listed anymore on their site.

[Ben Hopson]

Barry Young has a manual titled "Modern Bellowsmaking". The directions look good, but I have yet to try it. He recommends the cloth from Porters, but I don't see it listed anymore on their site.

Porters no longer carries the cloth Barry recommended for bellows making. He did some looking for an alternative source and found it at Freestyle Photographic so it is still available, just not from Porters any more.

Link is to Barry's book on eBay

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...2BSI%26otn%3D3

[Colin Graham]

I used the darkroom cloth from Porter's, but its too thick for comfortable compression ...
http://www.sandehalynch.com/bellows.htm

If anybody can source the thin vinyl coated fabric used by commercial bellows makers, that would be good.

Sandeha, you might want to try a thinner cardstock than 190 GSM. I use the same cloth and more of a paperweight 90 GSM stock for the pleat stiffeners and don't have compression problems.

Great site by the way, thanks for sharing that.