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Thread: What's the best available bellows fabric?

  1. #21

    Join Date
    Nov 2006
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    218

    Re: What's the best available bellows fabric?

    I've made 3 8x10 bellows and recently a long bellows for 5x7. It's true, most of the coated fabrics are too thick to fold properly, and many plasticized ones are hard to glue. In the past, I've been able to find thin blackout curtain (cloth on outside, rubberized interior) that glues well and is thin enough for an 8x10 bellows to fold. However, I cannot find material this thin at my local fabric store anymore. Everything available now is too thick and too rubbery (the fold crease wont hold). For the recent 5x7, I found a "car windshield cover to keep off snow and ice" at a local discount store that turned out to be perfect. It is a light black cloth that seems to be coated to make it completely lightproof. I think it's similar to the material used to make film changing bags. It is incredibly thin and easy to fold (I made 1cm folds). This was approx 1 meter by 2.5 meters and just perfect for the 5x7 bellows. I used it on the exterior, with a thin black cotton liner (neither shiny nor lightproof) on the inside, sandwiching cardboard stays in the middle. All glued using contact cement, which worked well. It cost $5! Unfortunately, the size is too small for 8x10, but this material is perfect for anything 5x7 and smaller. There must be a supplier of this as a raw fabric somewhere.

    hope this helps

    Tim

  2. #22

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    Feb 2008
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    Arizona
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    320

    Re: What's the best available bellows fabric?

    For the sake of conversation, what is too thick. .015" .020" ?

    I have found a cheap bbq cover plastic material that is .006" and about 98% lightproof, and a vinyl coated fabric at the fabric store thats .016" and about 98% lightproof. Two 98% layers should add up to about right for lightproof, but is that too thick. If I take either material in a dark room and put a bright flashlight up to the fabric, I can just see it. But with both layers its good.
    Go buy some film, and release the magic.

  3. #23

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    May 2006
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    grand rapids
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    Re: What's the best available bellows fabric?

    Quote Originally Posted by Doug Herta View Post
    I used:

    http://www.freestylephoto.biz/260110...-1?cat_id=1603

    I sandwich ribs made from Yupo between two layers of the cloth bonded with contact cement.
    Sorry but this is a bad idea. First of all it's not always completely opaque, then there's the flame retardant which comes off as dust that you don't want to breath or have floating around in your camera. I am around it and use tons of it in my line of work. Just my 2 cents.

  4. #24

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    Re: What's the best available bellows fabric?

    Quote Originally Posted by vinny View Post
    Sorry but this is a bad idea. First of all it's not always completely opaque, then there's the flame retardant which comes off as dust that you don't want to breath or have floating around in your camera. I am around it and use tons of it in my line of work. Just my 2 cents.
    You could probably cut the size larger than you need, and wash it allowing for shrinkage. That should remove the flame retardant chemical. In fact Freestyle shows that washing the cloth does remove it.

    I have a small sample of the cloth. I found that it appears to be 0.80mm thick, which is about 0.031 inches. If the bellows does not have to be collapsed too much, shouldn't two layers of the cloth work? I can use a bright LED light behind two layers of cloth, and I can not see any light coming through.

  5. #25

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    Re: What's the best available bellows fabric?

    Jon, .062 for just the cloth seems pretty thick to me. It would work, but I think it would be pretty stiff.
    Go buy some film, and release the magic.

  6. #26

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    Oxfordshire UK
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    Re: What's the best available bellows fabric?

    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Nicholls View Post
    I believe Ian Grant has some very good information on bellows construction, if he is about he may be able to give some tips.

    I'll second that - I met up with Ian last week and he's very well informed and knowledgeable on this (and many other things regarding LF and MF cameras)


    andrew

  7. #27

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    Re: What's the best available bellows fabric?

    Quote Originally Posted by Tim k View Post
    Jon, .062 for just the cloth seems pretty thick to me. It would work, but I think it would be pretty stiff.
    I have been thinking of building a 5x7 inch wet plate camera. The square bellows would be about 8x8 inches on the inside, and 9x9 on the outside. The length would be 18-20 inches. I figure that it may be stiff but usable. If not, I could always have one made at Turner Bellows! I'd like to try it at least.

  8. #28

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    Re: What's the best available bellows fabric?

    By the way, the DIY guy has a number of videos about making a bellows. Here is a link to the overview:

    http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=.../1/6maMPxFX_H0

    There are six or more videos. I found them to be good.

  9. #29

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    Oct 2009
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    San Mateo, California
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    Re: What's the best available bellows fabric?

    Quote Originally Posted by R Shaffer View Post
    I would put the silver side in towards the ribs, so it won't be exposed in the bellows. The silver is a urethane coating, so I can't see how it could flake. It is very flexible.
    Why not put the silver on the outside? It would reflect heat, and we all know that there are convection currents and distortions due to hot air density differences created near hot surfaces - like a bellows in the sun.

    I don't see the need for a bellows to be black on the outside.

  10. #30

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    Feb 2010
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    Re: What's the best available bellows fabric?

    bummer. It seems that for any price there is no really thing lightproof fabric that anyone knows about?

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