Bag bellows for my Toyo (finally!)

After having put up with the worlds crappiest bellows, (why the hell do they use what amounts to paper with vinyl stiffeners stuck inside?) I decided to take matters into my own hands with my Toyo 45E. It will now focus a 75mm lens at infinity (without a recessed lensboard) and will extend to 16", though the rail I usually use is 14" long, I do have a longer one, if/when needed. I can finally use my 90mm without having to find a ridiculously overpriced recessed board, which would have precluded using it on my B&J press camera. Total cost was under $10, a very good investment if I do say so. Just need to mix up some sealer to go over the stitching in the corners, as I'd rather spend a few mins now than chase a pinhole later. Life is good right now (that only means something bads gonna happen, sooner or later), pics attached.

Nice job Erie. What pattern did you use, and what are you going to use for the sealer?

I started with a 36" x 16" rectangle, glued it into a 16" long ~12" dia tube, then turned it inside out, sewed(wife did, actually) 4 corners, tapering to 5 3/4" sq over 5", leaving about 6" or so full diameter. kinda made it up as we went along. I'm going to mix up a little pliobond with some black enamel, I've succesfully used it before.


erie