Re-Lining a Bellows

[frank r]

I just picked up an old view camera with bellows that were in bad

shape. There were numerous cracks in the folds of the fabric where I

could see right through and out the other side of the bellows. I am

contemplating replacing the bellows with a new one but would rather

make my own to save some money. Looking around on the net it seems

that quite a few people have made their own but it can be a hassle to

lay out the pattern and do all the folding.

 

Looking at my bellows I realized that the cardboard stiffeners and

all the folds are already there. I was thinking about cutting off the

old bellows, opening the seam and laying it out flat. Then I could

glue a new piece of bellows material over the old one and then fold

it all back up. The old bellows would get a light-tight lining

without changing the look from the outside. All with less work than

starting from scratch.

 

The material would have to be very thin so that the folds don't get

too thick.

 

Has anyone ever done this? Any recommendations on where I could find

a very thin, light-tight bellows material?

[troyammons]

I just picked up an old view camera with bellows that were in bad shape. There were numerous cracks in the folds of the fabric where I could see right through and out the other side of the bellows. I am contemplating replacing the bellows with a new one but would rather make my own to save some money. Looking around on the net it seems that quite a few people have made their own but it can be a hassle to lay out the pattern and do all the folding.

 

Its not as bad as you think. It just takes a while to figure out tapers etc.

 

Looking at my bellows I realized that the cardboard stiffeners and all the folds are already there. I was thinking about cutting off the old bellows, opening the seam and laying it out flat. Then I could glue a new piece of bellows material over the old one and then fold it all back up. The old bellows would get a light-tight lining without changing the look from the outside. All with less work than starting from scratch.

 

It might work.

 

The material would have to be very thin so that the folds don't get too thick.

 

Try porters camera. They have a few types of very thin lightproof material

 

Has anyone ever done this? Any recommendations on where I could find a very thin, light-tight bellows material?

[lee hamiel]

Good question Frank:

 

I also have contemplated doing the same thing - still exploring material choices - my bellows are in decent enough shape to probably repair & touch up but I've been wanting a more long term solution.

 

With that said I've also considered unseaming the existing bellows & overlaying & underlaying both with new exterior/interior materials & ironing a so called pleated pattern to follow. I would use a barrier layer so I did not melt or ruin the outer layer. Then I planned on using thin pattern type paper to lightly burnish the crease lines & transfer to Strathmore 500 series bristol board & then after cutting/folding would sandwich between the two layers. I am essentially making new bellows with this concept. The original bellows would simply be a template for the folds. Wish I had learned how to do origami when I was a kid!

 

Still contemplating after a month or so - will let you know if I do it & how it works out.

 

Good Luck

[troyammons]

With that said I've also considered unseaming the existing bellows & overlaying & underlaying both with new exterior/interior materials & ironing a so called pleated pattern to follow.

 

You dont want to iron bellows. If you make or line them with a porters type cloth it might get too hot and melt the lightproofing. Also it would probably make it brittle.

 

When you build a bellows, they naturally take the folded shape accoring to the stiffner pattern, and the quality of the folds depends on the accuracy of the strips and how accurately they are glued on. Typically after gluing the flap making the bellows into a square tube you start to work the bellows and it will fold naturally. Then press it between some books (after the glue is completey dry)

 

I would use a barrier layer so I did not melt or ruin the outer layer. Then I planned on using thin pattern type paper to lightly burnish the crease lines & transfer to Strathmore 500 series bristol board & then after cutting/folding would sandwich between the two layers. I am essentially making new bellows with this concept. The original bellows would simply be a template for the folds. Wish I had learned how to do origami when I was a kid!

 

The best way is to measure the folds of your existing bellows and use that to make your patterns. A tapered bellows is a lot harder than it looks. I would suggest building a small square bellows first, followed by a couple of small tapered bellows next. After that you will have made your mistakes. I find that laying them out with a cad program works best. I Print one on paper for transfer to cloth and one to card stock for the stiffners.

[thirteenthumbs]

I have done just that.<br>Camera:Kodak Commercial View, 8x10.<br> Material:Rubberized darkcloth .5 mil thick, available in the darkroom department of high end camera stores or from Adorama; Micro Tools sells it as shutter curtain material but too costly that way.<br> Adheasive: Weldwood NonFlamable Contact Cement, a latex/neoprene based contact cement. Applicator: 1" or 1 1/2" wide foam brush, have several on hand.<br>The Procedure:<br>Remove the bellows form camera and clamp to a work surface such as a 1/4" thick piece of fiber board 2'x4' or simular, the bellows of the Kodak is 28" long, fully extending the bellows so that it lays flat on the work surface. Measure A.the perimeter of the rear of the bellows opening, B.the perimeter of the front opening, C.the length of the flatened out bellows, make sure no folds exist.<br>Lay out the material, mark and cut according to the deminsions measured in the previous step adding 1/4" to width for a seam over lap, use center of rear measurement to center the front measurement to maintain correct taper. Fold cloth so that ruberized side will be out when installed and so that it can be unfolded inside the bellows going around the perimeter in one direction.<br>Clamp bellows to work surface as before but with existing seams on the bottom. Lay folded cloth inside bellows and align to existing seam but 1 inch or so to one side, most bellows have two seams the inner and outter material overlaps, so that new material seam will not be on top of an existing seam. Fold cloth back from front 1/3 to 1/2 length of the bellows. Using a foam brush apply contact cement from approximate edge of new cloth to cornor of bellows to near the folded back cloth. Immediately lay cloth over the wet contact cement and align carefully then press out any wrinkles. Fold cloth to front of bellows over the just glued in section and coat the rest of this section with contact cement then lay the cloth out over it and align and press into place. You should now have approximately 1/3 to 1/2 of the bottom of the bellows covered from front to rear with the remainder of the cloth rolled up. Reclamp the belloows so that the next side to which the cloth will unroll onto is on bottom. It is very important that the bellows side that is next to the board is totally flat. Coat this side a section at a time with contact cement and press the cloth onto the wet glue. Continue in this manner until all sides have been done and a new seam is now somewhre on the bottom next to one of the origional ones. Rub execss glue with your fingers to remove it, it rolls right off.<br>Start folding the bellows up according to the origional folds and allow to sit folded overnight.<br>Reinstall bellows in camera and use.<br>The above resulted it the 28 inch Kodak bellows folding up to be 3/8 longer when folded but allowed the camera to close as designed. The commercial view is a magnesium frame camera simular to the Kodak #2(D).<br>Charles

[gary_deal]

Plenty of good advice above, in the meantime..

 

I got a 5x7 2D that looked like it had sat open on display for 40 years. They shipped it open and extended as they were afraid to try and close it, and I'm glad they did. The outer covering (leather?) was extremely dry and very fragile. I laid on two thick coats of Lexol with a brush and let it sit until the next day, when I was able to close it without the covering flaking away like a thousand moths.

 

Many of the corners had holes big enough to read through, but the coarse cloth liner was intact. I got a can of Rubberize-It, and figuring I really had nothing to lose, started applying thin coats to the inside of the holes with a flux brush. Once the really large holes were mostly sealed off, I diluted the black stuff with paint thinner per the notes on the can and applied more thin coats of that. It took probably six sessions over two weekends, all done with the bellows mostly but not completely extended so that the seals would be under stress while it was closed instead of open, and I only closed the camera after I was completely sure that all the rubberizing compound had dried (another week or so). I had also applied thin coats to the outside of the liner where it was visible, making sure to get under the edges of the cracked liner.

 

The camera will still close and fold up, the bellows is flexible enough for normal use (not a lot of movements anyway), and so far I've only found a couple of holes that I missed. The bellows looks scary from the outside, but looks just fine on the inside and I've shot a bunch of oddball IR film in it with no problems. I've since found that I really like the 5x7 format for a number of reasons.

 

I keep requesting the spray version of the Rubberize-It stuff at the hardware store, but have yet to see any.

[frank r]

Thanks everyone for the information. I stopped by a fabric store last night and looked at different kinds of black cloth. They did sell a light-blocking fabric that was made from nylon. It did not take a crease well. The other best choice seemed to be black taffeta. It looked thin and tightly woven and blocked the light as far as I could tell. Seems like a good choice for an inner layer. I may need two layers since my leather is shot.

 

BTW: This camera is a 5x7 Improved Seneca View Camera. It extends out the front about 15 inches and then the back rail can be lowered and then the rear standard moved back another 15 inches. Overall the bellows will be very long. I may just sell it cheap so that the new owner can make the bellows.

[thirteenthumbs]

The camera I relined is in my photo posted on this site. I can get the ruberized black fabric at <a href=http://www.kspphoto.com/>Keeble & Shuchat </a> in Palo Alto, Ca. if needed.