Ansco 8x10 Bellows Removal

Hi Everyone,

I'm new to APUG - great site!
Recently, I acquired an Ansco 8x10 that is in quite good shape but needs new bellows. I plan to get some from Jim at Western as he seems well recommended.

Can anyone give me advice/directions on how to remove the bellows from the standards so that I can ship them out for the new set?


Also does anyone know of a source for knobs, screws, etc. for this camera?
I'd like one of those brass pendulum-style fittings for my rear standard.

Thanks!
Thorney

Aloha:

The age of that Ansco may place the camera within the hide glue era. Steam heat, as that from a household iron, can be used. Otherwise, finding an edge to gently lift up will often get it started, followed by careful peeling, prying, and further lifting.

Should you require a replacement bellows, check this forum for recent posts by both myself and a client, perhaps I may be of service.

Mark Kapono
Replacement Camera Bellows
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~mkapono/bellows.htm

I have three Agfa/Ansco 8x10 cameras, all different, but....all mount the bellows the same way. The bellows is glued to thin wooden bellows frames that are screwed into the front and back standards. If you take the ground glass back completely off and look thru the back of the camera you can see the screws. The back screws are quite visible, but the front screws are probably hidden due to the folds of the old bellows, you will have to push it out, from inside to see the screws. It would be good for you to send the frames along with the old bellows, so your bellows vendor can mount the new bellows on the old frames, and this will make an easy installation when you get the new bellows back. Be sure to save those long, but tiny screws for re-installation of new bellows.

Agfa/Ansco view cameras are quite common, as they were made up into the 1950's. Earlier models used metal knobs, but later ones used bakelite or plastic knobs. You should just look around for a "spare" parts body. Probably the knobs were not dependent on the size of the camera, in my thinking probably knobs from 4x5, 5x7, 8x10 are interchangeable to a great extent. You can also get small replacement electronic knobs with set-screws to tighten them to a shaft at a place like Radio Shack. Some of these might be adapted to work.

I have two Agfa/Ansco 8x10's. On each the bellows mounts the same way and it's a little more complicated than I've seen on other cameras. As mentioned, there is a front and a rear bellows frame. The bellows itself, however, attaches not to the face of the frame as with other cameras, but to the inside surface. Thin strips of wood which fit the inside of the bellows frame are tacked through the bellows and into the frame. The end result is that the bellows material is held captive between the wood strips and the bellows frame. The bellows is very secure in this way, but for the same reason, it's a bit difficult to remove the old bellows. You have to pry the wood strips up, being careful not to crack them (they're old, remember). And save those old tacks. New ones might not fit as well. When that's done, the old bellows has to be separated from the frame to which it was glued. Invariably some scraping will be required to get all the old bellows and adhesive out.

I've had one bellows replaced on an Agfa and have another one waiting to go. The first was done by Camera Bellows in England. I sent them the old bellows attached to the frame. They removed the old bellows and attached the new one properly and it was all included in the price I was quoted ($327 at the time). A little expensive, perhaps, but they did the job right and it was done very quickly. Whether you send yours to them or to Western, I'd leave the old bellows on the frames and send it to them to remove and replace. The frames themselves come out of the camera fairly easily. Go down to the hardware store and get a small blade (3/16" or so) screwdriver with a long shaft. Mine came from ACE Hardware and is about 18" long or so. It's my "bellows" screwdriver. It will make life much simpler when dealing with that front bellows frame.

Thanks everyone for the tips,

I managed to remove the bellows from the front standard easily (8 screws), but the rear is a different story.

I removed the ground glass assembly and there were 12 flathead screws visible that I removed. There are also several finishing nails showing. When I removed these small black nails, a thin strip of black wood could be removed. ( I only removed one of the strips so far the other 3 are still tacked down. Under the thin strip, there are several more larger nails that are tacking the bellows to the lip of the standard frame - the bellows appears to be glued to this lip also. I suspect that I'll need to send the whole back standard off to Western Bellows as other than the four little strips of wood, there does not seem to be any other removable wood in the assembly.

Any other insights on this? Thanks.

Thorney said:

Any other insights on this? Thanks.

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I thought I explained it pretty well in the post immediately above. At least, I tried.

After you've removed the 12 screws in the rear bellows frame (and checked to see that someone didn't stick and extra one in during the intervening years) you should be able to removed the rear bellows frame through the rear of the camera. I guarantee that after 60 - 75 years, the bellows frame isn't going to want to move. It's a tight fit to begin with and over the years will have become somewhat adhered to the rear standard. It takes some judicious nudging from the front to set it free. If the frame gets even slightly cocked in the rear standard, it will jam. Be patient and in time it will come free. There shouldn't be a need to ship the whole rear standard unless there's something else wrong with the camera.

Again, a reputable firm will be able to remove the old bellows from the frames and attach the new one properly.

Thanks again.

I spoke with Jim Ormond at Western Bellows and he set me straight. Or, I can ship him the rear standard and have him do it very reasonably as quoted.

If you're in a hurry, you might consider trying Mark or going to Camera Bellows rather than Western.

He's had my old bellows and frames hostage for about 5-6 weeks now. He promised to send them over two weeks ago and made the same promise again yesterday. He did, however, cash the check the same day received. :rolleyes:

We'll see....

Thorney said:

Thanks again.

I spoke with Jim Ormond at Western Bellows and he set me straight. Or, I can ship him the rear standard and have him do it very reasonably as quoted.

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