Did anyone find out about a new bellows maker?

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scottyb70

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I read that camerabellows.com has closed its doors and is not making bellows, does anyone know if there is another company making them?

I might make my own bellows. Do you know where I can purchase the correct fabric for the inner part and the leather for the outer part? I read book cover leather is the best way to go. I live in the states.
 
as far as i know the guys from Uk bellows now changed to 'camera bellows' are in the process of moving location..(i hope so!! ) i heard that it will be a few months (dont quote me on that, but i beleive that is the case) and then they will be up and running again, they supplied a number of buisness with bellows so i hope they get it together soon as those camera makers are waiting on them as well.

there are a few other people that make bellows...in the US i am sure i have names or links somewhere on this computer...god know where i file these things though

EDIT; as John shows in his link below,,i should of said changed their name to 'custom bellows' not camera bellows...duh
 
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Join the Large Format Photography Forum. Search for a bellows company in southern California. They were mentioned recently.

Good luck!
 
scottyb70 said:
I read that camerabellows.com has closed its doors and is not making bellows, does anyone know if there is another company making them? .
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There are several of them. Do a google search for camera replacement bellows sometime.

scottyb70 said:
I might make my own bellows. Do you know where I can purchase the correct fabric for the inner part and the leather for the outer part? I read book cover leather is the best way to go. I live in the states.
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For larger bellows, you can cut up old changing bags and use the fabric from that for the inner bellows liner. For smaller bellows, Microtools will sell you curtain material (thinner than what you'd find in a changing bag) in larger than standard pieces if you contact them directly. For the outer bellows material, what you want is either leather or cellulose leatherette, and it has to be very thin. Cameraleather's seal grain black (fine) will work for this, but you will probably need an oversized sheet unless you are doing a bellows for something like a Retina. Lay it out on paper first, measure it, then contact him and he will cut you a sheet of the appropriate size. If you get leather, it will have to be custom skived (shaved thin), because you are going to need thinner leather than is commonly available even for bookbinding.

Edit: Just looked it up and Aki Asahi sells shutter curtain material in sheets of up to 1000mm x 1000mm.
 
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I have been doing alot of research on google. I just can't nail it down. I would like to make a plaid bellow. Black leather is just too boring.
 
scottyb70 said:
I have been doing alot of research on google. I just can't nail it down. I would like to make a plaid bellow. Black leather is just too boring.
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i am pretty sure FallisPhoto knows where plaid leather can be found...it might be a favourite of his 😀😉

you could always use plain leather on the inside and plaid material on the outside 😱
 
Just FYI - I was looking in on the Aki Asahi website and noticed he shows laser cutting and scoring bellows.
 
chippy said:
i am pretty sure FallisPhoto knows where plaid leather can be found...it might be a favourite of his 😀😉

you could always use plain leather on the inside and plaid material on the outside 😱
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Just so everyone knows, this is a joke. I have told Chippy that I'm just waiting for the day when a certain "restorer" discovers plaid and paisley print leather.
 
chippy said:
you could always use plain leather on the inside and plaid material on the outside 😱
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The part of the bellows that actually stops all the light is the rubberized fabric material on the inside. The outside can be anything that is thin enough to fit into the camera when it is folded up, and that won't crack when you fold it a lot of times. Thin canvas is fairly commonly used in large format cameras and I once saw a satin bellows. A plaid fabric could be used on the outside with no problem.
 
FallisPhoto said:
The part of the bellows that actually stops all the light is the rubberized fabric material on the inside. The outside can be anything that is thin enough to fit into the camera when it is folded up, and that won't crack when you fold it a lot of times. Thin canvas is fairly commonly used in large format cameras and I once saw a satin bellows. A plaid fabric could be used on the outside with no problem.
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the use of rubberized fabric does allow that, it wasnt always the case that rubberised material was used however. sometimes, more so the early days the black cloth on the inside was more to stop as much light as possible bouncing around (flare, which is still a major reason matt black cloth is used) and the leather was the light tight seal. some had red fabric (or canvas) as well and that was because the emulsion on the film plane is not affected by the red spectrum of any stay light comming through. Ironicly, its these flash backs in time that inspires the use of coloured leather...plaid material would probably look good riding your Vespar scooter around Milan or Paris, stopping at a street cafe' and having the camera ready to shoot as you sit there 😛


hehe yeah i was kidding that plaid leather was yur favourite...
 
chippy said:
the use of rubberized fabric does allow that, it wasnt always the case that rubberised material was used however. sometimes, more so the early days the black cloth on the inside was more to stop as much light as possible bouncing around (flare, which is still a major reason matt black cloth is used) and the leather was the light tight seal. some had red fabric (or canvas) as well and that was because the emulsion on the film plane is not affected by the red spectrum of any stay light comming through. Ironicly, its these flash backs in time that inspires the use of coloured leather...plaid material would probably look good riding your Vespar scooter around Milan or Paris, stopping at a street cafe' and having the camera ready to shoot as you sit there 😛


hehe yeah i was kidding that plaid leather was yur favourite...
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Unfortunately, these days about the thinnest leather you can find (unless you have it custom made) is about .3mm thick. This is great for coverings, but is too thick, by about three times, for small bellows. I believe they make it like that so they can produce leather more quickly and avoid spoilage due to accidentally cutting all the way through the leather.
 
FallisPhoto said:
Unfortunately, these days about the thinnest leather you can find (unless you have it custom made) is about .3mm thick. This is great for coverings, but is too thick, by about three times, for small bellows. I believe they make it like that so they can produce leather more quickly and avoid spoilage due to accidentally cutting all the way through the leather.
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For a source of very thin leather for small bellows, check out Columbia Organ Leathers. The supply a wide range of thin leathers for pipe organ repair.

In particular, look at their XXX-thin CPL leather for small clock bellows. It only comes in 6"x12" strips, limiting it to small bellows. It averages .005" - .007" (.10mm - .18mm) in thickness. It comes in black or maroon for only for only $9.45/strip.

I purchased a few strips several months ago to attempt my own bellows construction. I haven't made the time to try it yet, but the leather I received looks to be very nice quality.

They are a small company of very nice people. The woman I talked to explained the difficulty they have making larger pieces of XXX-thin leather. For larger bellows, they sell much larger pieces of leather that average .008" - .010" (.20mm - .25mm).
 
I had some time this afternoon, so I made my first camera bellows using some XXX-thin CPL leather from Columbia Organ that I referenced earlier. I had ordered a few 6"x12" pieces about 6 months ago, but never got around to trying it until today.

I used some great instructions from John Fyfe for making an Agfa Isolette bellows. The PDF instructions are here.

It took me several hours to make my first bellows. Part of that time was making the patterns and forms, a one-time occurrence for bellows of this size. The bellows turned out very well. They are light tight and very supple. I learned a few things along the way. My next attempt will be quicker and better.
 

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well done Mike, pretty good for a first attempt hey...better keep them on the shabby side in future or you may have more people than you can poke a stick at asking for isolette replacement bellows 😀
 
Looks good Mike, I may try it myself. What did you use for the inner part? I know someone mentioned shutter curtain, but is that the appropriate material to use?
 
I used the CPL XXX-thin leather for both the interior and exterior covering. The leather has a shiny side and a matte side. The interior leather is mounted with the matte side exposed. The exterior leather is mounted with the shiny side exposed.
 
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