Tachihara 4x5 Bellows Replacement

Hello everyone.

I recently purchased a 4x5 Tachihara. The bellows had a bunch of pinholes in them, so I used some 3M tape to try to patch them up. Looks like a couple of small pinholes continue to shine through though. I’m thinking I need to replace the bellows altogether now. Has anyone ever replaced the bellows for this camera? I see that I can buy replacement bellows from China, but I worry they may be too thick for the camera to close if I install them. My camera already struggles to close after I used the 3M tape, and that stuff is extremely thin already.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

I must leave the bellows replacement to others; I have the same camera and same issue but am dealing with it for now using not tape but Permatex UltraBlack gasket maker (auto store), judiciously applied inside and out where the holes are. I can't replace the bellows myself; they're glued on, evidently without a frame. I'd make a complete mess and will have to shell out for it when the time comes.

I would suggest that you check out Custom Bellows in the UK. They don't make frames, but you have them.

I agree with r.e., if you have the old bellows in its frames you can arrange to send it (with frames) to Custom Bellows in the UK, and they will send you back a nice replacement (mounted with suitable adhesive into your frames). They did that for me on a bag bellows for my Technikardan 45S, since I had a spare set of bellows frames that came with the camera from a seller on this Forum. Don't worry about asking them a lot of questions about which type of bellows material they will use, as they well know what they are doing and high-quality materials they will use, and they will email you with any questions/decisions they may need to get your response on once they actually see your old bellows and frames. Easy peasy...

I have just done this with a Tachi Whole Plate size. The bellows was attached to the front frame but this frame comes out with removing a few screws. The rear frame was, in this case, held in with a couple of screws behind the chrome support then the whole thing came out. I marked the bottom of the front frame, just in case. Whole cost incl. VAT from CB was 130 GBP, and the far eastern firms were charging more just for a bellows. Turnround was very quick, but international post seems to have got rather slow lately.

Gloppy compounds applied to bellows outside have a tendency to not dry completely even long periods of time, and even after weeks of drying, can stick to itself when bellows are compressed, then damage itself when re-opened...

Putting smaller strip of black artist's tape inside over leak can work for awhile, or black acrylic paint on small leaks can work for awhile, but other bellows leaks will tend to develop in future...

As mentioned, Camera Bellows/UK is super easy to deal with and make a very high quality product for not much more than others... The Linhof Tek bellows have to compress into a tight space, and the bellows did it!!! Communications were great and easy, they knew exactly what I needed...

Steve K

In my case, replacing the bellow will require sending the camera, so I will stay stateside. Richard Ritter is one who does the work, though he is apparently no longer servicing shutters.