Thanks Eric and everybody else who contributed information. Everybody, including some of the comments I picked up when I did a Google search, seems to be quite high on "camera bellows" in the UK although postage is a factor.
I'm planning on sending the eventual company I chose, the complete bellows along with the front and rear standard. This way, I get a good fit and I don't have to worry about attaching the bellows properly to the respective standards.
Again Thanks everybody; you've all been a great help. Cheers, Bogdan Eric Nelson wrote:
Out of curiosity I googled western bellows and found this info on a web site that was fairly recently updated.Eric "Sources of Bellows Replacements Here are some websites and other contacts for replacement bellows: 1. http://www.camerabellows.com/ This one is in the UK, so it might not be of use to North Americans. The site provides some useful information. One alternative, for someone who is somewhat "handy," is to send just the original bellows to the UK folks for replication, rather than the entire camera. These people seem to have the best reputation. 2. http://www.turnerbellows.com/ Located in Rochester, NY. 3. Western Bellows Company 9340 7th Street Suite-G Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730-5664 Phone: (909)980-0606The contact information above may be dated. Apparently, thecompany never bothered providing an internet presence. Some people like them, some don't.Here's another address, which may be their newest location:Western Bellows Company 11647 McBean Dr El Monte, CA 91732 818-579-2766 And, here's one more address. Who knows where they are? Western Bellows 7454 Henbane St Etiwanda, CA 91739 (909) 980-0606 4. http://www.gortite.com/ This a new one for me. I don't have any feedback for them. 5. Universal Bellows Company 25 Hanse Ave Freeport, NY 11520516-378-1264 This name appears frequently, but they may no longer be inbusiness. Again, I can't find an internet presence." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: Richard Knoppow <dickburk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Monday, February 2, 2009 3:23:49 PM Subject: [pure-silver] Re: Replacement bellows for full plate camera----- Original Message ----- From: "Ole Tjugen" <ole@xxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:ole@xxxxxxxxxxxx>>To: <pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>> Sent: Monday, February 02, 2009 10:52 AM Subject: [pure-silver] Re: Replacement bellows for full plate camera> Camerabellows were closed down recently, it seems the owners wanted money> more than business. > > BUT: The key personnell have bought all the machinery and patterns and > materials, and restarted the business as Custom Bellows! > > http://www.custombellows.co.uk/ >> They already have the patterns for all "common" cameras (they have made all> Linhof original bellows for the past 50 years); with non-standard things> they prefer having the original bellows to work from. Their prices are very> reasonable. > > -- > Ole TjugenIts good to know these people are still in business, they had the reputation of building the best bellows and being reasonable. They were also the only bellows maker who would work in genuine leather. Turner bellows also has a very good reputation. I don't know if Western Bellows is still operating, it was essentially a one-man operation. Bellows makers usually want the original bellows with the frames if possible. The bellows must be fitted to the frames. Probably even broken frames will do although new ones will have to be made. Modern bellows are usually made of synthetic material. They can look just as good as leather bellows and have a much longer life. The usual construction for a camera bellows is to use three layers. The outer layer is leather or a synthetic, the inner layer is rubberized cloth with the rubber layer facing the center of the sandwich. Modern bellows use synthetic rubber or plastic coating on this layer. The center is made of stiffeners. In traditional bellows these are heavy paper of the sort known as Manilla. Modern construction uses synthetic material. The stiffeners are cut to shape for the particular bellows and the inner and outer coverings cut. The stiffeners are then cemented to one layer spaced with string or rods which are later removed. Then the other layer is cemented in place and the bellows fitted to the frames, then the seam is cemented. Leather tends to dry out and to rot. Leather dressings in general don't do much and once leather begins to rot nothing can be done to save it. Bellows that develop pin holes will continue to develop more and must be replaced. While leather is the authentic material for many bellows synthetics are better for a practical camera.Canvas of various sorts was also used for many old bellows.I have a list of bellows makers but I think several of them are no longer in business. I will post it if desired.-- Richard Knoppow Los Angeles, CA, USA dickburk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:dickburk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> =============================================================================================================To unsubscribe from this list, go to www.freelists.org <//www.freelists.org> and logon to your account (the same e-mail address and password you set-up when you subscribed,) and unsubscribe from there.
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Bogdan Karasek
Montréal, Québec bogdan(at)bogdanphoto.com
Canada www.bogdanphoto.com
"I bear witness"
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