The wrong bellows blues

Hello,

I am really happy with my recent arrival: 5x7 Eastman View No. 2. It is very solid, very attractive, and has more movement than I imagined...more than enough for me to do what I want to do with it. The geared swings,tilts, and shift feel quite luxurious, actually, and there is no play anywhere on the camera. They really knew how to build stuff back then. Even the level on the side still works perfectly. What a smart design this camera is! It is almost perfect in an ergonomic sense...and it is just plain pretty.

The problem is this: The main reason I wanted this type of camera, beside the fact that they are a very cheap way to get 5x7 and 8x10 pix, is because of how they fold up into a nice light package. However, the bellows that are on the camera, while very nice, do not collapse far enough to get both standards onto the short base portion of the bed so that the longer portion can be flipped up and clipped. They are about two-and-a-half inches too long. I can fold up the bed by dropping the rear standard gears off of their tracks and letting it halfway hang off the base section. This makes the whole thing less solid, and will end up messing up the rear standard's side guide slots in time, not to mention the gears and tracks from taking the standard on and off all the time.

How easy is it for me to swap in a replacement bellows? I can't see any obvious fasteners to monkey with, and, despite my nature, I don't want to start tearing into it without guidance. Where would I get such a bellows?

I think it would be cheaper and easier to just buy another camera that has a bellows of the proper length, and sell this one or just use it for times when I don't need to pack up my camera or use short lenses.

Thank you in advance.

It sounds like the bellows were replaced at some point and the maker used a material that was too thick. You shouldn't have to drop the rear standard off the bed in order to fold up the front rail. Bellows are not inexpensive, but you can contact Camera Bellows UK or Western Bellows to get a quote. Removing the bellows is very easy--mostly a matter of removing a few screws on the front and rear frames. However, I think it would be more cost effective to find a nice Kodak 2D 5x7 with a good bellows--it probably won't cost a lot more than the bellows alone. I've seen the 5x7 2D's go for very reasonable prices on eBay.

If you like this camera, and obviously you do, put a bellows on it. Another camera of the same make and model may well have something about it you don't like - things like missing hardware, standards which are loose or wiggly, worn tracks, missing wood, etc... And you'd have to spend more time hunting for the thing. Having the bellows replaced is not hard. The bellows is attached to thin wood frames held to the front and rear standards by wood screws. Get a long screwdriver with a 1/8" or 3/16" straight blade, extend the bellows a bit and use your fingers to move the pleats aside to get the screws out. The frames should come right off. It's a good idea to mark the orientation of the frames as to top and front when you remove the bellows (still on the frames). The hole pattern might not fit if one of the frames gets flipped around or rotated. Manufacturing standards were not the same when that camera was made as they are today. I just use a soft pencil to mark "Top" and "Front" (or "Rear") on each frame so that the bellows manufacturer knows which way to install them. I also go a step further and stick the little wood screws into a 3x5 card or similar in the orientation in which they came out of the camera. That way the same screw goes back into the same hole it's occupied for the last hundred years and you're assured that it will fit properly. That may be a bit anal, but again, tolerances weren't the same then as they are now. Send the bellows off to the manufacturer of your choice with the specifications that you need. I use Camera Bellows in England and have had them do several bellows from 5x7 to 12x20. I've been very happy with their work. There are others; do a search.

Will has a good point. Another camera may have sloppier tolerances from use or original construction, so if your #2 is tight and in nice shape, definitely get a quote on a new bellows. You might also consider doing a little restoration work while you're waiting for the bellows. I completely disassembled my 8x10 2D to polish the badly tarnished brass hardware and it's a very simple camera to work on. Do you have the rear rail for your #2? I have a spare #2D 5x7 rear rail, but it may not fit your #2 if it has a key hole rather than a screw hole at the back of the base.

Although I have had bellows made by several companies over the years, none has been as nice, or as thin as the ones by Camera Belows in England. Considering the distance of shipping, their turn around time is wonderful. Get a new bellows, it wil make your life easier and happier.

Thanks for the info. Camera Bellows in England looks wonderful, given their long history of OE production (according to them anyhow), but Western Bellows in in my basic 'hood. It is not even 50 miles from me, so I could just take the whole mess out there and avoid possible shipping damage and confusion.

As for the rear extension, mine does not take screw-on rails. It is a 1/4-turn fastener. Too bad, as I would like an extension. Thanks though!

While my brass could use a polish, I am happy with the way it looks as is. It is just cosmetic, not broke...so I ain't gonna fix it. It is so tight and smooth that I am loathe to disassemble it just to polish it up. I have worked with mahogany a lot (used to be a luthier), and it is not the hardest wood, so the less you have to reverse and reattach fasteners in it, the better.

If I do get a wild hair, though, what have you found works best as a polish? The brass must have originally been lacquered, right? So, your standard metal polish wouldn't work. In my experience with horns, distressed lacquered brass needs to be chemically stripped and reshot with finish.

However, parts of it look lacquered, and parts of it do not. Please advise.

Thanks for all the info. I am about to call Western Bellows.

Just as a point of comparison, Will what did your 5x7 bellows from Camera Bellows run you? Just got off the phone with Jim Orman at Western Bellows. He quoted me $179 for the bellows.

Jim, Have you tried Western Bellows?

Any lacquer had long since worn off my hardware and it looked pretty bad, so I just used some Brasso. It seemed to work just fine, although because I didn't reseal the finish, it darkened a bit. It still looks 100% better. I was very careful about removing and reinserting the screws, so I don't think I did any damage--but it was mostly fun just to take it apart. If there had been patches of lacquer I would have removed it with some lacquer thinner before polishing. Too bad about the extension--you should keep your eyes open for one because it really helps with long lenses or getting close.

Maybe I will spiff it up a bit.

I dropped it off at Western Bellows today. $228, installed. Ouch. That's more than I paid for the camera! I'll report back on my experience.

2F/2F said:

Just as a point of comparison, Will what did your 5x7 bellows from Camera Bellows run you?

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It's been a while, but it was on the order of $200.

Dropped off 7-17, it's 8-21, and as of yet, no contact whatsoever from Western Bellows.

Is Western Bellows still in business?
Does anyone know how to remove the front bellows frame of a Eastman View No.2 Improved Model .... Empire State No.2, 8X10 camera? The risers stop to short from going out the top and bottom. The knobs look like they might come off so I can pull out the rod, but I don't want to force them and break off the knob. I can't see anyway to release the front frame. The back was easy just 12 screws.
I need a new bellows and I want to send the whole thing to someone. I'm still looking for someone in the US.
Thanks

Look at the front of the camera from inside the bellows. You might have to sort of push some bellows pleats aside a little but usually there are some screws there that when removed release the bellows. This is true on many of the wooden cameras that I have worked on.
Robert

KelleyJohnson said:

Is Western Bellows still in business?
....

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Western Bellows in Etiwanda, California (!) is closed.
He retired some time ago.

Looking at my View #2 from inside the bellows I see 12 screws, 3 per side. The ones on the top and bottom are clearly visible; the ones on the sides are hidden behind a fold of the bellows. You should not need to dismantle the riser mechanism to remove the bellows.