I've got a fairly nice little 4x5 Seneca with some external bellows problems that I want to repair so I can put this camera back into service. I'm curious to see what the Seneca Uno lens (or is that the camera name?) might be able to do as the glass is impeccable.
The bellows interior is in great shape and the whole bellows is quite flexible with no apparent pinhole problems. The leather is intact on the exterior.
The problem is that on one side and the bottom, the external bellows layer has completely come loose. It looks as though the front of the bellows can be removed by removing four small internal screws, but the rear is anchored by quite a few tiny flat head nails that I would rather not address. I think that once the front end is loose from the standard, I can remove the whole front frame for better access and can simply stretch out the bellows and glue the loose outer layers back into place.
My earlier thread question about repairing the bellows for my Kodak 8x10 master yielded suggestions of Contact Cement and Barge Cement, but this leather on the Seneca seems to be a much thinner material. Any suggestions for another glue product, or should I stay with those already recommended?
Does anyone have information on what kind of glue was used in the original bellows manufacturing process back in the early 1900's?
Thanks in advance for all the good answers.
Tim
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