Replacing the bellows on an Omega D2 /DII

[Barry S]

Has anyone replaced the bellows on their Omega DII's or D2's? I carefully removed the four small screws on the negative carrier stage, but the bellows seems to still be stuck to the stage. I didn't think the bellows were glued to the stage, but I don't want to force things. Maybe it's just stuck after years of being in close contact. I need to remove the bellows without damaging them to put them on another chassis. Thanks.

 

[Sanjay Sen]

I had to remove the bellows on mine to get it replaced - haven't put the replacement on yet. I, too, found it stuck to the stage but a slight tug brought it loose. There was no damage to the bellows that I could notice after I had it off. I guess it was stuck after all those years being in tight contact. However, I would suggest caution when doing this. You can use a knife to wedge in between the bellows and the negative stage to help separate it.

Good luck!


Best wishes,
Sanjay

 

[Barry S]

Sanjay-- Thanks that helps a lot. BTW, where did your replacement bellows and how much did they cost?

Barry

 

[Sanjay Sen]

When I bought the enlarger, I didn't realize the bellows were torn. So the seller replaced them later on free of charge.

I think you can buy new bellows from Classic-Enlargers for $90.


Best wishes,
Sanjay

 

[Barry S]

Ok, thanks. I need a couple of other parts as well, so I'll give them a call. --Barry

 

[Sanjay Sen]

Barry, I would appreciate if you post your experience with Classic-Enlargers: I may eventually need some parts too.


Best wishes,
Sanjay

 

[Phillip P. Dimor]

I'm sure this isn't the route you were thinking of taking, but if it is a gash, or slice you could also duct tape it (or use gaffer's tape). Unless you score a replacement cheap, i'd probably tape it and use the money for paper and film.

 

[Barry S]

@ Sanjay--Sure if I go through Classic, I'll post about it.

@ Phillip-- I still haven't decided on getting a new belows: I may just remove and repair. One bellows has a bunch of pinhole-sized holes at every fold corner. They're small, but I'd like to fix or replace. I may try fixing them using some Golden black acrylic paint--basically black pigment suspended in an acrylic polymer. It's easily thick enough to fill the small holes and it remains flexible after drying.

 

[Neanderman]

Ok, thanks. I need a couple of other parts as well

What kind of parts do you need? I have some DII parts that I'd happily give you for the cost of shipping.

Ed

 

[Barry S]

Ed-- thanks for the kind offer. I'm looking for the foam gasket that goes on the bottom of the Super Chromega D dichroic II head, a lens disc that will fit an older 150mm Schneider Componon-S lens, and a 42mm x .75 retaining ring. Probably not in your parts bin, but I do appreciate your offer.

Barry

 

[Mike Té]

A couple of years ago I replaced the bellows on my D2V, bought the replacement from Harry Taylor at Classic enlargers. The bellows are originally glued on and Harry will send you instructions about how to glue the edges on (takes a certain kind of glue, not sure how absolutely critical that is, but I can't remember the type). The consideration from Harry was exemplary.

 

[Neanderman]

Ed-- thanks for the kind offer. I'm looking for the foam gasket that goes on the bottom of the Super Chromega D dichroic II head, a lens disc that will fit an older 150mm Schneider Componon-S lens, and a 42mm x .75 retaining ring. Probably not in your parts bin, but I do appreciate your offer.

You're right, unfortunately. The lens disc would probably be the most likely thing to find.

I do, however, have a bellows. Whether it is in much better shape than your is questionable, though. I believe it is light tight, but is does have some separation of the layers. Let me know if you'd be interested.

I essentially have an almost complete enlarger "carriage" -- neg stage, bellows, lens stage and and the parts that these attach to and ride up and down the columns on. The caveat there is that the side arms that hold the neg stage had been 'butchered' and were replaced with (decent) home made replacements. If anyone needs parts off of this, I'd be happy to supply them for the shipping cost. I really need to get rid of this.

Ed