Bellowing, in pain

[Sandeha]

No pun intended - hence the comma. ;)

Just finished a set of bellows for an early 20th century whole plate camera. It works fine, 100% lightproof, 550mm draw, and folds down neatly without any strain.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a119/Sandeha/restoration/IMGP4173_copy.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a119/Sandeha/restoration/th_IMGP4192_copy.jpg (http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a119/Sandeha/restoration/IMGP4192_copy.jpg)

But it weren't no fun making it. Stressful work, I'd say.

I'll put a write-up on the method on my website further ahead.

[David Karp]

I admire your fortitude.

Had the same idea for my WP Improved Seneca. Read some articles on the web, talked to some people, and then had Western Bellows make one for me!

[Sandeha]

Aye, much to your advantage, David.

At least, time apart, I only had to spend 10% of what I was quoted.

[Randy H]

Aye, much to your advantage, David.

At least, time apart, I only had to spend 10% of what I was quoted.

AND, earned full bragging rights to them. :cool: They look good. You received them probably in a more timely manner than ordering also. From some of the recent posts here regarding bellows, seems most of our "providers" for them don't like making them either.

[Maretzo]

Great job, indeed! I will check your website regularly.
How did you fix up the below to the frame? Glue?

[Sandeha]

Yep, I used glue - as far as possible I followed the original set-up. However, on the front standard I also put in a clamp plate to reduce the pressure on the glue.

It's an old brass plate I'd cut for something else a while back - you can just make it out in the second photo, with the 8 screws.

[ic-racer]

But it weren't no fun making it. Stressful work, I'd say.

I'll put a write-up on the method on my website further ahead.

I feel your pain...http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showpost.php?p=281147&postcount=63

[Sandeha]

IC - that's a great thread, glad you pointed it out.

Just briefly, I used Porter's thinner dark cloth, with the rubber facing inside so that the nylon side would glue easily to the card (190GSM) with Evo-Stick Impact. The outer was a nylon fabric. In joining the final seam (rubber against nylon) I used bicycle repair glue.

All in all it worked well, but that Porter's stuff is thicker than I'd really like, and it's so damn BOUNCY with all that rubber.

Now what about that polycarbonate for the ribs? What, and where, please? And does it glue easily?

[Ernest Purdum]

With its nice new bellows, it looks like a useful camera.

[ic-racer]

Now what about that polycarbonate for the ribs? What, and where, please? And does it glue easily?

The polycarbonate (lexan) came from McMaster Carr. I got the stuff with some texture on both sides that I thought would hold the glue better. It is still pretty clear so that one can trace a pattern on it easily. The 3M 77 stuck very well.

Here is a link: http://www.mcmaster.com/ page 3451 of online catalog

The specific product I ordered was 85585K83

Althouth I'm not a polymer chemist, the Gortite people indicate that they use Mylar for the ribs. Mylar is Polyethylene. I don't know how that would be better or worse than the polycarbonat. I just have more experience with the polycarbonate because that is what all the R/C model cars use as body material.

Are you able to measure the thickness of the Porter's material? From my research it seems that to make a 'professional' bellows you would need 0.01 inch or less thickness for this lining material. The closest I have found was my darkroom apron which is rubberized cloth and specs out at 0.008 inch. Too bad it is too small for an 8x10 bellows.

[Sandeha]

Unfortunately I don't have any kind of measuring tool for that ... then I don't think they do at Porter's either. I wrote asking how thick it was, and the reply said:

"The darkroom cloth is the thickness of a think paper"

It did make me smile, a bit, for a moment.

Thanks for the link, IC. Not that I'm ever going to put myself through this again, of course. ;)

[Colin Graham]

The Porter's material barely registers on my dial calipers. It's prefect for bellows. When I first started using it I thought it was almost too thin.

Making bellows can be a true %!@8#!. I just finished a compound-tapered one for a 5x12 and hope I never have to make one again.

[Sandeha]

Colin ... congrats !

Did you put glue to the rubber side? If so, which glue did you use?

[Scott --]

Making bellows can be a true %!@8#!. I just finished a compound-tapered one for a 5x12 and hope I never have to make one again.

Another 5x12?!

[Colin Graham]

Lol, Scott- no just had to remake the bellows. I had made the pleats way too small and racked in the thing was pretty unforgiving. I'm done making cameras for a while.

Sandeha, I did glue to the rubber side and used spray adhesives. I've used headliner cement and auto trim cement and also 3M's 77 and 97 sprays with equal success- the cloth takes glue very well. I use paint-on contact cement for attaching to the frames, and that sticks really well to the nylon as well. Great cloth, very expensive, but great.

[Kirk Keyes]

Althouth I'm not a polymer chemist, the Gortite people indicate that they use Mylar for the ribs. Mylar is Polyethylene.

Right - no polymer chemist. :) Mylar is a polyester film. Related to those Dacron suits everyone's mother wore in the 1960s.

But your polycarbonate film looks like a good idea. What to yo think about using the next thinner size than what you used?

[Sandeha]

Hi Colin ... just to check that we're talking about the same lightproof ... I used this one: http://porters.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=221125&Category_Code=D1H&Product_Count=8

Couldn't find it in the UK so the price didn't faze me too much. ;)

[Colin Graham]

Yep, that the stuff. Hope they didnt gouge you on the shipping. The last 3 yards I got came rolled up in a 6 foot long tube! Not the most cost effective way to ship cloth.

I guess it's really not that expensive. But that Porter's seems to be the only source for it is kind of frightening, especially if they decided not to keep stocking it. But what do I care? I'm never ever ever making another bellows again! :)

[Sandeha]

No, neither am I. :D