Kodak Bellows Repair

[precision40]

I am having difficulty locating someone to replace the bellows on my Kodak No. 2A Hawkeye. Anybody have a lead on someone who does this? Thanks a Bunch.

[kmac]

Sorry, I don't know anyone, and as far I know, original type bellows for 2A Hawkeyes are extinct but the next best bellows are Kodak No 63681, which if you're lucky you'll find on Ebay, The dimensions are: Rear 4 5/8" x 2 3/4", Front 1 5/8" x 1 5/8". Do you have replacement bellows already?

The original Hawkeye bellows at the front were 1 7/8" x 1 7/8", but the smaller front of 63681 can still be fitted to the 2A Hawkeye.

The bellows are held in at the rear by 10 small tabs that are bent over and very likely to break, if you can even get to them, and a mess made of the camera trying to get the old bellows out. The sensible compromise is to grind the tabs out with a Bremel grinder and glue the new bellows in.

 

[precision40]

I have several 23360 bellows which I believe may fit or are very close.   Getting the old bellows out was relatively easy and yes the tabs are extremely flimsy. As far as tools, I  Have seen several people recommend modifying a flat head screwdriver with a hook on the end to get those tabs bent back, but you risk bending the frame if you are not careful.

It seems the guys that used to do this have either retired or passed away.

[glen_h]

A few years ago, I got replacement bellows for a Vest Pocket Kodak that uses 127 film.

I then got bent nose pliers that are supposed to undo the hooks.

I didn't work on it all that long, but didn't get them undone.

I suspect that after you do, that they are also glued.

Someone on eBay was selling NOS of many Kodak bellows.

[John Seaman]

Some years ago I replaced a shot bellows on a Kodak Monitor, using the bellows from a scrap English folder. I managed to bend the metal tabs out and back OK but was concerned about light leaks so I used some black silicone sealer to make sure. Horribly messy but it did the job.

[gary green]

I had a custom bellows made by eTone last year:

https://www.etonephoto.com/products/bellows-for-120-vintage-folding-non-folding-rangefinder-4x5-view-field-wooden-camera

They'll ask you for some measurements and then ship the bellows to you.  I don't think they will perform the actual replacement though.

I was pleased with the bellows they sent me and they fit perfectly although I had to do the replacement myself.  I cut off the tabs with a Dremel tool to remove the old bellows and glued the new one in place.

 

[robert_ante]

I poked a flashlight into back of my Fuji 645 folder and its bellows lit up like a sieve. I bought a bottle of Tulip matte black fabric ink and covered leaks. Shall try shooting with camera tomorrow. I’ll report back how/if this works.

[keith_harrison1]

On 2/18/2023 at 5:37 AM, robert_ante said:

I poked a flashlight into back of my Fuji 645 folder and its bellows lit up like a sieve. I bought a bottle of Tulip matte black fabric ink and covered leaks. Shall try shooting with camera tomorrow. I’ll report back how/if this works.

Any update on how the fabric paint worked on your bellows?

 

[laurencecochrane]

Certainly no expert but I have read liquid electrical tape works well. Worth a try.

Edited March 9, 2023 by laurencecochrane

[rodeo_joe1]

Never heard of liquid electrical tape. I'll research it.

I've had some success repairing bellows using a mixture of latex glue (Copydex) and black Indian ink - about a 60/40 mix of glue to ink. It was thick enough to seal a few worn corners on an LF camera bellows, and the latex glue kept supple enough for the bellows to fold properly. Literally used as a stop-gap measure until I could fit new bellows. 

[John Seaman]

I have used black silicone sealant to plug pinholes in bellows, it's sold in small tubes at car / auto parts shops, around here.

[rodeo_joe1]

Looking at the MSDS for that liquid electrical tape, some of it's got some pretty nasty solvents in it - Xylene and Toluene for example. Not sure if they're legal for general sale in the UK and Europe. But, yeah, there are quite a few black sealant alternatives that stay flexible after curing. There's roofing and flashing adhesives as well... if you want half a gallon at a time. 

[laurencecochrane]

43 minutes ago, rodeo_joe1 said:

Looking at the MSDS for that liquid electrical tape, some of it's got some pretty nasty solvents in it - Xylene and Toluene for example. Not sure if they're legal for general sale in the UK and Europe. But, yeah, there are quite a few black sealant alternatives that stay flexible after curing. There's roofing and flashing adhesives as well... if you want half a gallon at a time. 

Liquid electrical tape I have never used the stuff only read about it being used on bellows I recalled seeing it on ebay UK so I just checked ANY AMOUNT OF IT.

[gary green]

I have used liquid electrical tape successfully for plugging pinholes in bellows ... especially the corners.  It is strong and stays flexible.  Make sure the bellows are in reasonable condition first.  If they are showing signs of rot/disintegration then don't waste your time and $$ with the liquid electrical tape; replace the bellows instead.

Use a small paintbrush to apply.  You can clean the brush in lighter fluid.  Be sure to leave the bellows extended until curing is complete.  I usually wait about 5 days.

When applying, I periodically dim the lights and shine a reasonably strong torch into the bellows to make sure I've found all the pinholes.

[glen_h]

I did use the liquid electrical tape on the Vest Pocket Kodak.

There were enough holes, and so enough of the liquid electrical tape,

that the bellows won't go all the way in.

Maybe for a few small holes.

[gary green]

1 hour ago, glen_h said:

I did use the liquid electrical tape on the Vest Pocket Kodak.

There were enough holes, and so enough of the liquid electrical tape,

that the bellows won't go all the way in.

Maybe for a few small holes.

Agreed.  Use it sparingly as it is quite thick and viscous and it is easy to apply too much.  Sometimes I thin it down by dipping the brush in lighter fluid.

[john_shriver]

The hardest models of new-old-stock Kodak bellows to find are the 1A/2A sizes. The original for yours might be either 11209, 23360, or 34152. I did replace the bellows on my grandfather's 2A Folding Hawk-Eye Model B, but only for sentimental reasons. I would normally only use a Kodak 1A bellows on a camera with a good lens, like my Monitor Six-16, or one of the 1A models with rangefinder. My hoard is very short on 1A bellows, only 5 of them. (Also have a hoard of VP116 and VP616, and a 100 foot roll of 70mm Tri-X.)

I use curved-nose needle-nose pliers to bend the tabs open. I think you can only replace the bellows once before the tabs break off from metal fatigue. I move the black wool yarn from the old bellows to the new bellows. That's enough light seal. There's already a lot of metal folds there.

All these new-old-stock Kodak bellows are the same fake leather as the ones that fail fast on the newer cameras like the Vigilants and Monitors. The real leather bellows on the older cameras are usually much more durable.

I did have to make one bellows, for a No. 1 Autographic Kodak Special Model B, f/6.3 Kodak Anastigmat lens in Kodamatic shutter. (Really good camera!) I used a cheap Chinese changing bag for material. Rubberized layer on inside, nylon on outside. This bellows has to be particularly thin, and fold very flat. None of the new-old-stock ones were thin enough. Scanned the old bellows (disassembled) to make a template for the paper stiffeners.

[glen_h]

On 3/9/2023 at 1:47 AM, laurencecochrane said:

Certainly no expert but I have read liquid electrical tape works well. Worth a try.

I tried liquid electrical tape on my Vest Pocket Kodak and it does seal well.

But it is thick enough, that the bellows don't go in far enough to close the door.

I might have been able to thin it first, but I didn't do that.