Re: bellows
Richard Knoppow (dickburk@ix.netcom.com)
Thu, 20 Nov 1997 10:35:50 -0800
At 09:02 AM 11/20/97 -0700, Wayde Allen wrote:
>On Thu, 20 Nov 1997 Jadlupp@aol.com wrote:
>
>> >>Flexible Products bellows are rather thick compared to Universal I was
>> >>told by a friend who used them - had trouble in closing the camera.
>> >>
>> >>John
>> >>
>> > I had a replacement bellows made by Flexible Products for an 8x10
>> >Ansco/Agfa camera. The bellows work OK but the workmanship was sloppy;
>> >wrinkles in the surface and rather irregular sized sections. They are not
>> >terrible and they are on the camera but I would not go back for another
>> >one.
>
>They will also sell bellows fabric, but when I talked to them about this
>it didn't sound like something they really wanted to do. Just getting
>this far took about three phone calls. They were also supposed to send me
>some fabric swatches to look at. I got a catalog for pre-made bellows
>instead.
>
>> Some others on the large-format forum reported similar experiences.
>> >Western Bellows does a good job, he is used by Patrick Alt, so I have seen
>> >the work. But, Western doesn't, AFIK, use leather, only synthetic
>> >materials.
>
>I've been trying to locate a source of sufficiently thin leather. As far
>as I can tell 1 oz or approximately 1/32 inch thick leather is the
>thinnest commonly made in the U.S.. I did find a company who said they
>could import thinner leather from Italy, but this required a large minimum
>order and was fairly expensive. It appears that suitable synthetic
>materials are easier to obtain, and less expensive. I'm still looking for
>a suitable leather. Actually, I'm still looking for good materials in
>general. What I've found so far seems to work fairly well, but
>improvements are always welcome.
>
>> > Its possible to make your own. It looks more tedious than anything
else.
>
>Yep!
>
>- Wayde
> (wallen@boulder.nist.gov)
>
>
Hi Wayde, did you check with Tandy Leather, the local store in Van Nuys
carries leather that looks suitable. Its a chain throughout the US. The
people in the couple in the Los Angeles area seemed to be quite
knowledgeable. In fact, the guy who runs the Van Nuys store told me that
one of his customers makes bellows. I didn't think to ask who.
Someone posted a list of suppliers of odd photo parts to the rec.photo
groups. Here are the bellows manufacturers:
Bellows
Flexible Products Co.
14504 60th St. North
Clearwater, FL 34620
(813) 536-3142
Turner Bellows
526 Child St.
Rochester, NY 14606
(716) 235-4456
Universal Bellows Co.
25 Hanse Ave.
Freeport, NY 11520
(516) 378-1264
Someone else posted the address of Western Bellows to this list. Dick
Sullivan has a rebuilt B&J camera with a Western Bellows on it.
----
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles,Ca.
dickburk@ix.netcom.com