What glue to reattach bellows ?

[travis m]

I have an old retina 1a that the bellows has come off of the body.

Clean seperation no tears that I can see. Looks like a clean

seperation. I want to reattach but not sure of what to use. What kind

of adhesive would you use for that. I guess paper or leather to

metal.

[connealy]

I used Pliobond to re-attach the bellows on my Retina II. I wasn't quite neat enough, leaving some small bumps of glue which show up as an irregular outline when I print the full frame. The glue did its job well, though.

[john_shriver]

Other possibility, given the age of the camera, is Shellac. I've got an old "dregs" can of shellac, quite thick. Worked well for the shutter curtains on a Canon IIF rangefinder.

[bruce_appel]

Pliobond.

[glenn_thoreson]

If you can't readily get Pliobond, Elmers Household Cement works well. I believe it's the same stuff as Duco Household Cement, which I haven't seen around here in many years. Comes in a little tube that will last a long time. Another one I use occasionally is weatherstrip cement. Works well and like the Elmer's doesn't get hard and brittle. If you use it, get the clear variety, not the yellow stuff.

[travis m]

Ok will give Pliobond a try.

[silent1]

I reattached the big end of the bellows on my Ziess-Ikon 250/7 Ideal plate camera with a "household cement" that seemed to be some sort of cross between silicone adhesive and celluloid cement. It's clear, but in that location it hasn't been a problem, and it holds very well after the initial clamp time elapsed. The potential problem I see with Pliobond or other contact cement is that you get only one chance to get the thing on straight; if you apply the stuff and let it dry, as instructed, the very first contact between the glued surfaces is permanent -- especially if it includes a misalignment.

[canfred]

Shellac is used by the manufacturer. Almost all technicians use it too

its simple does not harm the fabric ,remove clean and reapply with alcohol its the solvent. Available from your paint supplier.

[winfried_buechsenschuetz1]

I had to replace bellows of several 6x9 cameras. On these cameras, in most cases the rear end of the bellows is pressed between two shells of the main body which are riveted together, so a proper replacement would require a total teardown of the camera body. On these cameras I simply glued the rear end of the new bellows to the edges of the film window (from the front side, of course), so the end of the bellows is hold by glue only and not by mechanical pressure anymore. I used a german contact cement, Pattex, which comes in a solvent-free variety, too (this one smells much better than the solvent version), and it seems as if it is strong enough to hold the bellows. I think on a 6x9 camera there is much more tug on the bellows than on a 35mm Retina, so some kind of contact cement will do the job.