Why not use industrial plastic and rubber duct for bellows for a LF camera?

gone · Oct 29, 2015

It costs a ton of money to have a large custom bellows made, and quite a bit of intensive labor to make one. Why not use existing industrial plastic rubber bellows and flex/corrugated duct? There's a neat little corrugated bellows on the very same computer chair I'm sitting in to type this, being used as a dust cover for the back. These type of objects are all around us. I'm surprised people don't go this route. Just a quick google search came up w/ these two. There must be literally hundreds of suppliers out there. Maybe even Home Depot or Lowes would have something.

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https://www.google.com/search?q=gor...8mDyv4CHM:&usg=__sXNzItpI8vebpI_gB8sctDN_8yE=

Ian Grant · Oct 29, 2015

It's because many of those bellows won't expand and contract sufficiently. I've looked at this in the past a friend and ex-employee works for a company making industrial bellows. Yes they could make them for cameras but aren't into one off custom bellows and they'd be no cheaper than the usual bellows suppliers. Camera bellows are a bit more specialist.

Ian

jeffreythree · Oct 29, 2015

I have wondered the same thing after seeing extra flexible rectangular bellows on McMaster-Carr's site while looking for various project bits. I have a couple of possible projects that will need bellows. http://www.mcmaster.com/#protective-bellows/=zkv8fv

baachitraka · Oct 29, 2015

I was little surprised to know the thickness requirement for the bellow materials. < 0.2mm thick. I mananged to find the leather in 0.2-0.4mm thicknes range but I am yet to make bellows for Agfa Isolette.

ic-racer · Oct 29, 2015

I looked into Gortite bellows a few years ago and they do make them for cameras.
http://www.dynatect.com/protective-covers/bellows/custom-bellows/rectangular-tapered-bellows

Gerald C Koch · Oct 29, 2015

baachitraka said:
I was little surprised to know the thickness requirement for the bellow materials. < 0.2mm thick. I mananged to find the leather in 0.2-0.4mm thicknes range but I am yet to make bellows for Agfa Isolette.

Many of the bellows that I have dealt with are composites. They are made of very thin leather on the outsides and cardboard on the inside to give them the right stiffness in appropriate places. Some years ago I saw at least one site on the web with templates on how to cut the cardboard. Bur I decided to buy a premade one instead.

David A. Goldfarb · Oct 29, 2015

Custom Bellows UK, which many of us have used under its current or previous incarnation, used to make industrial bellows as well as bellows for cameras. I suspect they still do, but it's not in as prominent a place on their website as it used to be.

baachitraka · Oct 29, 2015

Can I use RC photo paper for making ribs?

Why not use industrial plastic and rubber duct for bellows for a LF camera?

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