diy double tapered bellows

[jb7]

Quick question-

I'm about to build some 8x10 bellows for the first time,
and I'd quite like to make the tapered to straight section type-

I'm assuming I'll need to make 2 sets, and join them in the middle?

Would anyone have any tips,
or might be willing to pass on the benefit of their experience?

I have the materials, I'm using blackout cloth (white was all I could find here) with book cloth inside and out- all reasonably thin stuff-
but is there a type of adhesive I should be thinking of for the join?

Contact adhesive might be a nightmare for that,
but maybe it depends on how it's laid up...

Please bear in mind that I don't have easy access to American brand-name products-

And yes, I understand that I might be slightly crazy;
anyone who suggests that it would be easier to buy them would be quite correct-
though maybe just a little obvious-

joseph

[Colin Graham]

Wow, that's ambitious. Is a center standard an option or is is this for a folder?

But come to think of it, maybe to join the two pieces you could use a sort of scarf joint, that is, the pleats would intersect cross-sectionally, lapping each other instead of just butting the pleats together. That way, the glue joint wouldn't need to be so critical...But you might have to join them up before folding...Sorry, just thinking out loud here.

[jb7]

Thanks Colin-
I got as far as thinking about that joint too-
leaving those layers unstuck until the joining of the 2 bellows might be the way-
and lapping them towards the valley on the outside might work-

No, no centre standard-
the rear frame is quite narrow, hence the desire for something a bit more voluminous internally-
though I do prefer the look too, if I were to be honest-

I haven't given much thought to the joining stage,
though I have been assuming the bellows would be folded first...
must think again-

Thanks for the input Colin-

j