Enlarger Replacement Bellows

[muhco3]

Hello everyone
I have the Kaiser VCP 3505 color enlarger for several years and now the bellows are crumbling and need replacement , they are beyond patching and repair .

I have looked high and low for replacement bellows and I did not find any , I only found the lower assembly (condenser assembly with the bellows attached) for over 400 Euros , which is insane , this is as much as I paid for the whole enlarger when I bought it the first time .

Could anyone lead me to probably a third party part ?

Thanks

 

[neilt3]

Whatever bellows you need , they'll make them for you .
Top quality too .

http://www.custombellows.co.uk/about.html?LMCL=N3KYbO

 

[muhco3]

Whatever bellows you need , they'll make them for you .
Top quality too .

http://www.custombellows.co.uk/about.html?LMCL=N3KYbO

Thanks man , I'll send them a request , but do you have an idea about the pricing ?

 

[neilt3]

No idea on price .
All done on an individual basis .
I would imagine enlarger bellows are less involved than camera bellows as they don't have to keep bright sunshine off film , just the light from a bulb in , so might be quite a bit cheaper to make .
Tell them what it's for and if they already know the sizes , they should have a price ready .
If not , you'll need to give them the specifications of what's needed .

Let us know how you get on and how much they cost .
I'm considering getting a fresh one for my DeVere 54 .

 

[muhco3]

Thank you neilt3 for the help , I have contacted Kaiser Germany and they have a replacement bellow for about 70 Euro which I think very reasonable for OEM part .

 

[markbau]

I just got a custom bellows made for a 5x7 camera (a much bigger bellows than what you are after) and it cost me about Australian 250 bucks. They are superb craftsmen and great customer service. They will take care of you.

 

[kevs]

I had the same problem with my De Vere 504, which had been neglected in a college darkroom for years before it came to me. To save myself the cost, I made my own bellows using light card, glue and two layers of black fabric (I think I used polyester or poly-cotton), which works nicely and didn't need to be entirely lightproof, as yours may need to be if you're making colour prints. The little light that does leak is less than the light that escapes from the edges of the negative stage. You could probably use leatherette or similar material. It's not very difficult but it's time-consuming.

The website I used for my design has long-gone but the following might be useful: https://www.jbhphoto.com/articles/bellows-building/ (pdf download, 5.1 MB) This site describes the construction of a tapered bellows but could be adapted for making a straight one. Good luck.