Korona Quarter Plate Bellows replaced

After a long delay in shipping due to the port/tariff confusion, the new bellows arrived and have been installed. I took the time to do a bit more cleaning and adjusting the pins on the reversible back (dropped in the past?), as well as giving all interior wood surfaces a new coat of flat black acrylic paint. Had to service the shutter, but now it runs like a top except for the self timer, which I simply never use.

Kino said:

After a long delay in shipping due to the port/tariff confusion, the new bellows arrived and have been installed. I took the time to do a bit more cleaning and adjusting the pins on the reversible back (dropped in the past?), as well as giving all interior wood surfaces a new coat of flat black acrylic paint. Had to service the shutter, but now it runs like a top except for the self timer, which I simply never use.

Click to expand...

A fascinating world I know nothing about.

Doesn't service and repair require the knowledge and skills of a cabinetmaker?

How does wood maintain its dimensions over the decades? Cameras, after all, have only minimal tolerances.

Andreas Thaler said:

How does wood maintain its dimensions over the decades? Cameras, after all, have only minimal tolerances.

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Wood is dimensionally stable along the grain. It expands and contracts with changes in humidity across the grain. For the purposes of a view camera, a stable wood (not prone to twisting) like mahogany or even cherry, maple. or walnut - even properly dried pine - is perfectly capable of maintaining the tolerances. The only location seasonal expansion/contraction could be an issue is in the ground glass frame, but that backset (~1/4 inch) is so small, whatever percentage of expansion occurs would amount to practically no measurable change.

@Kino -- great job! I have a Korona 5x7 that needs a new bellows but I'm going to make it when I get a chance. Mine also needs some structural repairs, since it was smashed apart when I got it. (I put it back together but it would benefit from some remanufacturing.)

Andreas Thaler said:

A fascinating world I know nothing about.

Doesn't service and repair require the knowledge and skills of a cabinetmaker?

Click to expand...

I had these bellow custom made by eTone photographic, as no one sells off-the-shelf replacements for this scarce camera.

Replacing the bellows was not particularly difficult; only detaching the front and rear bellows frames (interior to the bellows), peeling off the old bellows, gluing the new bellows on and reattaching the frames.

On these hand-made, wooden cameras, you really need to be careful to note where every screw went and put them back in their original hole. I take a bit of cardboard and number them going clockwise on the frame. I did not do this on the first camera I ever put on new bellows and discovered they were not exactly all the same length; poking through the wood finish in at least one place. Thankfully, it was on the bottom side of the rear standard frame and easily repaired.

Don_ih said:

Wood is dimensionally stable along the grain. It expands and contracts with changes in humidity across the grain. For the purposes of a view camera, a stable wood (not prone to twisting) like mahogany or even cherry, maple. or walnut - even properly dried pine - is perfectly capable of maintaining the tolerances. The only location seasonal expansion/contraction could be an issue is in the ground glass frame, but that backset (~1/4 inch) is so small, whatever percentage of expansion occurs would amount to practically no measurable change.

@Kino -- great job! I have a Korona 5x7 that needs a new bellows but I'm going to make it when I get a chance. Mine also needs some structural repairs, since it was smashed apart when I got it. (I put it back together but it would benefit from some remanufacturing.)

Click to expand...

Brittleness is a concern on these 100+ year old cameras; gentle clamping is advised.

Luckily, my Korona 5x7 was largely intact, only requiring a bit of Cherry wood on the bottom to make it solid, some cleaning and a new bellows. Good luck, it's well worth the effort!

Now, if I can just find that elusive rear rail extension...