My bellows repair recipe and technique.

[Ian Grant]

Can you pick some up for me and ship it? LOL when you say cheap, how cheap? What's the price range?

Thanks,


~Stone

Give me some sizes, they aren't expensive maybe $8 max. I had thought of making them an offer for the lot They aren't always there though so I can't make promises. And yes in the UK.

Ian

[djgeorgie]

I have a Kodak 1 and 1a that both need new bellows

Good luck getting repairs on that. There aren't any screws in the camera. Everything is riveted together. I just painted a 1A last night with my fabric glue + paint.

[StoneNYC]

Thanks Ian,

I'll go measure...

Also, I'm not worried about rivets, I'll take them out and fasten them back together some other way or with new ones, I have friends who probably have rivet inserters of some kind.

Oh this is exciting!!


~Stone

The Noteworthy Ones - Mamiya: 7 II, RZ67 Pro II / Canon: 1V, AE-1 / Kodak: No 1 Pocket Autographic, No 1A Pocket Autographic

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[spoolman]

I just finishing a repair on a 616 special with multiple pinholes. I used vinyl wrap material that is used to detail cars with. It is very flexible and the adhesive is permanent. I was told by the auto supply people that I purchased it from that using a blow dryer on low heat will help the material fit into corners and odd shapes. So far, so good. It comes in matte black and is about 4-5 mm thick.

Doug

[Louis Nargi]

Thanks for posting I have an Omega D2 with a bad bellows this is very helpful

[StoneNYC]

I keep meaning to measure when I'm home... Ugh, I'll send it soon.


~Stone

The Noteworthy Ones - Mamiya: 7 II, RZ67 Pro II / Canon: 1V, AE-1 / Kodak: No 1 Pocket Autographic, No 1A Pocket Autographic

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[Maris]

You know, this is very informative.

But I wonder, dkgeorgie or anyone: Is there simply a thin, opaque tape that can be carefully wrapped into the bellows that will not tear when repeadedly bent (as will be the case as the bellows is brought in and out)? Doing this would truly build back the bellows' stability that had been lost with the wear. - David Lyga

The best bellows repair material is, I reckon, 3M type 850 black polyester tape. I use the 1" wide version to repair and almost reconstruct bellows in enlargers and cameras. The tape is very thin, very black, with a strong non-bleeding, non-gooey adhesive. It is also ultraflexible and doesn't form cracks or pinholes. Maybe bellows should be made out of this stuff in the first place. Downside? Expensive!

[ChristopherCoy]

Sobo brand PVA glue and India Ink... It's was too simple!

http://www.apug.org/forums/forum44/1...ows-patch.html

[BobD]

This is how I repaired a Mamiya 6 bellows.



On the inside I glued an oversize patch cut from black gaffer tape. On the outside I applied many coats of a product called Plasti-Dip (black, of course) which I first thinned with naptha. I let each coat dry for about an hour before applying the next until it all looked fairly well blended in. Plasti-Dip is basically a liquid rubber.



I used a small paint brush to apply it and also painted it on the frayed corners of the bellows which seemed to work well at sealing and strengthening them. There were no light leaks afterward and the bellows folded normally.

[StoneNYC]

This is how I repaired a Mamiya 6 bellows.



On the inside I glued an oversize patch cut from black gaffer tape. On the outside I applied many coats of a product called Plasti-Dip (black, of course) which I first thinned with naptha. I let each coat dry for about an hour before applying the next until it all looked fairly well blended in. Plasti-Dip is basically a liquid rubber.



I used a small paint brush to apply it and also painted it on the frayed corners of the bellows which seemed to work well at sealing and strengthening them. There were no light leaks afterward and the bellows folded normally.

The Mamiya 6 has a bellows? Are you sure that's not a different camera?


~Stone

The Noteworthy Ones - Mamiya: 7 II, RZ67 Pro II / Canon: 1V, AE-1 / Kodak: No 1 Pocket Autographic, No 1A Pocket Autographic

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