Replacement of old bellows - Kodak 2D 8x10", ground glass broken

[flashmxfreak]

Hello everybody
I am new in LF photography.
I bought Kodak 2D 8x10 last week.

• Bellows
  The camera needs replacement of its old bellows.
  Please can you give me an advice which red fabric and material should I use?
  I like the red fabric, like this: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__RPW_u8vfT...et+red+1st.JPG
  I know it will be a hard precise work, but I would like to do it by myself
• Ground glass
  Ground glass is broken, how to get - make new one?

Thank you

[Dan Dozer]

I've made/replaced a number of bellows myself, including the one on my Kodak 2D. While I can't offer advice on matching the fabric in the photo, I can give you my own 2 cents worth for your effort.

You will want two layers for the bellows - the inner layer and the outer layer. One needs to be light proof, the other does not. Both layers need to be pretty thin and flexible in order for the bellows to fold up nice and compact. What I've found I like the best is drapery liner material for the inner layer (light proof), and a tight weave eqyptian cotton for the outer layer. The drapery liner I used is white, but I just painted it black and it worked fine. I think you might be able to get black drapery liner, but I'm not sure. The egyptian cotton is a nice tight weave and gives a nice fabric appearance to the outside of the bellows. This material is easily found at fabric stores - I use the black, but you might also be able to find red. If you want to simulate leather for the outside, you will have to look around for imitation leather. I managed to find some a number of years ago that worked well at Joanne's Fabric that was very thin, but I can't find it any more. Look around at the fabric stores for it, but remember that you need it to be THIN (probably thinner than you think).

If you want to make your bellows out of leather on the outside, good luck. There are leather supply houses that you can order from on line, but getting pieces the right thickness, large enough, and dyed red will likely be a difficult and possibly expensive venture.

For the stays in the bellows (strips in the flat parts), I used simple tag board that I got from the craft store. It comes in large sheets and is very cheap. It is about the thickness of manila file folders.

Bellows are not all that hard to make, but it does take time. The hardest part is gluing the bellows into the final shape. Folding the bellows isn't difficult. Do some research and read some articles on it before you start.

[joselsgil]

Try this source for the ground glass. I have not tried this ground glass on my 2D

http://www.surplusshed.com/pages/item/l3965.html

[Ari]

Much as I would like to make my own bellows and ground glass, I don't have the time.
Both are somewhat labour-intensive, and require purchasing several materials from various sources.
I've purchased my last few bellows and GGs from Chinese vendors on eBay; the quality is somewhere between very good to excellent, and prices are very competitive.
Also, you can look up Steve Hopf for ground glass, he's very good.

Others here will be able to guide you through making your own, and there is a lot of information in the forum archive on how to make your own bellows and GG.

[richardhkirkando]

I replaced the ground glass on my 2D from this ebay seller for about $30. It's not the greatest but it works fine and fits properly - I'm just not terribly picky about GG.

[IanG]

I've been working on blue and red bellows cloth recently and making your own bellows is quite easy so if you need to keep costs down have a go. It's worth making or buying the best GG screen you can.

Ian

[Jim Graves]

The link for GG above by joselsgil is a GG made by Kodak at an amazingly affordable price.

As for bellows ... Check this series out on YouTube ... Very helpful and gives you an extremely accurate and complete review of what is entailed in making your own bellows: Link

[erie patsellis]

I replaced the ground glass on my 2D from this ebay seller for about $30. It's not the greatest but it works fine and fits properly - I'm just not terribly picky about GG.

or cut out the middleman and get your ground glass here: http://www.surplusshed.com/pages/item/l3965.html