Bellows Material

ronlamarsh · Nov 1, 2010

FYI for you bellows builders I found a source for blackout fabric that is polyester on one side and matte rubberized black on the other it completely blocks out light and is very light, thin and durable. If interested check out Thorlabs they are on google

jscott · Nov 5, 2010

I found fabric of that description at JoAnn's Fabrics in Seattle (except the rubber side was glossy). Lined the outside with black pigskin from Tandy Leather. Worked well for my old Eastman 2D.

R Shaffer · Nov 6, 2010

ronlamarsh said:
FYI for you bellows builders I found a source for blackout fabric that is polyester on one side and matte rubberized black on the other it completely blocks out light and is very light, thin and durable. If interested check out Thorlabs they are on google

Ron,

Do you have any scraps laying around that you could mail to me?

In return I would send a piece of 200 denier Oxford nylon I rubberized myself with plasti-dip spray. It's quite light tight and glues well with 3M type 77 spray adhesive and it's cheap.

I read on the Largeformat website that the Thorlabs material can be difficult to get a strong glue bond with the other layers. Did you have problem glueing?

I am about to embark on building bellows for an 8x10 Seneca and the fabric is really a challenge.

Grif · Nov 8, 2010

It'd be interesting if the Tandy spray glue by Barge would work. Barge AP has a reputation of being a good leather and rubber glue. Some of the machinist sorts use it to glue up flat belts with a splice,,, made from the serpentine alternator belts in cars. Seems to stick to about anything, and stays flexable.

Andrew Moxom · Nov 8, 2010

The Thorlabs BK-5 material is NOT 100% light tight. I was advised to use it for a wet plate darkbox shroud, but a little light will still pass through it. So you will need 2 layers of it to be sure.

R Shaffer · Nov 8, 2010

Andrew Moxom said:
The Thorlabs BK-5 material is NOT 100% light tight. I was advised to use it for a wet plate darkbox shroud, but a little light will still pass through it. So you will need 2 layers of it to be sure.

Yes. I had read that it was not entirely light tight, but I was hoping to see for myself. I was also curious as to the texture of the finish side. 2 layers starts to get really pricey.

R Shaffer · Nov 8, 2010

Grif said:
It'd be interesting if the Tandy spray glue by Barge would work. Barge AP has a reputation of being a good leather and rubber glue. Some of the machinist sorts use it to glue up flat belts with a splice,,, made from the serpentine alternator belts in cars. Seems to stick to about anything, and stays flexable.

Looks like impressive glue that will glue just about anything. Thanks

Shadowtracker · Mar 30, 2011

I use Barge's for a lot of leather items, and other things; have never had a problem with it - not once, and some of the things were glued with it over 30 years ago.

Curt · Mar 31, 2011

R Shaffer said:
Ron,

Do you have any scraps laying around that you could mail to me?

In return I would send a piece of 200 denier Oxford nylon I rubberized myself with plasti-dip spray. It's quite light tight and glues well with 3M type 77 spray adhesive and it's cheap.

I read on the Largeformat website that the Thorlabs material can be difficult to get a strong glue bond with the other layers. Did you have problem glueing?

I am about to embark on building bellows for an 8x10 Seneca and the fabric is really a challenge.

Rob I got lucky and found a new bellow for my 8x10 Seneca but the 11X14 I'm making isn't going to be that easy. I have to make one for it. I made a 4x5 bellow a long time ago but I'm going ahead on this one.

I sent a request to Camera Bellows and got a quote of 240 pounds. It's great for a fine custom woodworked camera. Mine is not to that degree of finish. The next one will be if I like the format.

I have enough of the Porter's camera store material to make a bellows but I'd like to keep it for another project. Do you know anything about Heat Sealable 200 Denier Oxford Nylon Black?

The heat sealing could be very handy for closing it up and attaching it to frames.

I have to check out the plasti-dip in spray form, that sounds interesting. Can it be used between layers such as Nylon and a liner or does it have to be on the outside only?

Best,

Curt

Bellows Material

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