Making a Bellows

[@GONZOFAM7]

OK you win the camera DIY award. Nice work.

[@gateway8833]

I believe that is the coolest thing I have seen in a while.

[@chentiangemalc]

Great video, having just finished building my dark room want to get into large format, was thinking of trying to build a 8x20 camera, this video is so helpful

[@IdrojMollov]

Thank you that clearly illustrated some areas of the process I wasn't sure about.

[@عبدللهبنعبدلله-ن8و]

🔴 What Is Islam? ⚠️ 🔴 Islam is not just another religion. 🔵 It is the same message preached by Moses, Jesus and Abraham. 🔴 Islam literally means ‘submission to God’ and it teaches us to have a direct relationship with God. 🔵 It reminds us that since God created us, no one should be worshipped except God alone. 🔴 It also teaches that God is nothing like a human being or like anything that we can imagine. 🌍 The concept of God is summarized in the Quran as: 📖 { “Say, He is God, the One. God, the Absolute. He does not give birth, nor was He born, and there is nothing like Him.”} (Quran 112:1-4)[4] 📚 🔴 Becoming a Muslim is not turning your back to Jesus. 🔵 Rather it’s going back to the original teachings of Jesus and obeying him.

[@maximolazzarini8059]

Hola! Donde puedo conseguir los planos para imprimir? Gracias!!

[@precisionindustries3208]

We want leather bellow in bulk quantity, can you manufacture it

[@geoffmulberry]

Sorry, I cannot.

[@fotolookconde]

Great stuff! I love film photography and I have my own KZbin channel dedicated to it!

[@realtidydesign]

Im thinking of using thin leather instead of a fabric cloth. hwave you ever used leather? If so any pointers on using that material when making the belows

[@BobbyZio]

Hello Geoff ... What fabric are you using? Regards, Bob

Great video. I have a Kodak 1A Autographic that needs mew bellows and I would like to find a place to buy it

[@ambrogea]

well done! it look good! what thickness or kind or paper you used in the process? thx

[@BillieFingers]

How can I get hold of template?

[@legofanguyvid]

I made a bellows camera from cardboard. Does that count?

[@pepeg.luthier566]

Can you or anyone tell me what kind of material are the first white pieces made of? Also, what kind of cloth is that one, white on one side and black on the other? Is that water proof? I need to make on bellows but I am stuck with the materials. Thanks

[@geoffmulberry]

Pepe Guitarra the white stiffness are made of poster board. The black/white fabric I used was a blackout curtain. It's quite thin and also opaque so it makes a perfect material for a bellows. I don’t think it is waterproof.

[@pepeg.luthier566]

@@geoffmulberry Thank you very much.

[@leelatin752]

Very cool stuff. At the beginning of the video you are taping your cut outs down to the table. What are they made from and how thick are they?

[@geoffmulberry]

They're made out of two layers of poster board that are glued together. My guess is they're probably about 30 thousandths or 3/4 mm.

[@leelatin752]

+Geoff Mulberry Thanks Geoff. Would love to see the finished product when you have it completed...!!

[@26capoeira]

Hi, what is the material you use between the bellows? Wood, cardboard?

[@jannokusman]

Thx, for the video, it was very useful for my own bellows building project (especially glueing inner and outer part without former). What fabric did you use?

[@geoffmulberry]

Glad it was useful! A blackout curtain from Walmart believe it or not. It has a thin white layer on the back that is opaque rubber. It was the thinnest material I could find locally that was still opaque and wasn't some ridiculous color or pattern.

[@davidchild3681]

I've used plain, black broadcloth for both interior and exterior ($5/yd USD). The small gaps between the stiffeners should prevent light from getting through. You could glue down a layer of black tissue paper before the exterior layer if needed. I've never needed to do that, though.

[@stevecallachor]

I live in a lighthouse by the sea, Can you make me some curtains please, Stavros?

[@שרוןרינד]

Hi, Is it possible to get the measurements of the pieces that make the bellows?

[@davidchild3681]

The measurements will depend on your camera (I've made several for antique/vintage Eastman 5x7 and 8x10 cameras). Not only does it depend on the size of your lensboard at one end, but also the extension of the bellows. A stiffener size of 5/8" - 3/4" seems to be a good size. The smaller you go, the more pleats and the thicker the bellows will be when it compressed. A heavy construction paper works, but you may want something a little thicker. A 1-foot section of bellows will have about 30 stiffeners on each side, so you can get an idea of how thick it will be when fully compressed. Add 50% for the 2 layers of cloth. Black cotton broadcloth will work fine for the interior; black or red broadcloth will work for the exterior. Fairly cheap ($5 USD/yard). If you can find 0.3-0.5mm vinyl-covered fabric, that will work for the exterior and will be more resistent to water, stains, wear, etc. than broadcloth. Spray adhesives work well. Contact cement is way too messy. In the video, Geoff used angled corners for all stiffeners. You can use square corners as well; alternate a section of angled stiffereners with squared stiffeners. It reduces the work a little bit. It's critical that you get the stiffeners evenly lined up and equally sized. Any error will be magnified as your bellows gets larger and longer. Note that he used one section as a pattern for the other 3. The cloth, construction paper and spray adhesive will cost about $25 USD for an 8x10 bellows with 24" extension. Far cheaper than the $200 USD you'll find on eBay. While no one wants to waste money, you can essentially practice 2 or 3 times and still save a great deal of money over professionally-made bellows.

[@kevsmith1980]

Came for the info, stayed for the ASMR 😉 Great vid, pal! I am looking to repair a Kodak 3A Folding Autographic Brownie... Maybe I'll give it a try 😉

[@mitklaus]

Thank you for this video! What kind of glue did you use? Is it special bookbinders glue - i could not find anything like that.

[@geoffmulberry]

mitklaus, thanks. I believe I used 3M Super 77.

[@richpence]

Hello! Thank you for posting! This video is super helpful! What kind of black/white fabric are you using for your bellows?

[@geoffmulberry]

+Richpence Thank you! The black/white fabric I used was a blackout curtain. It's quite thin and also opaque so it makes a perfect material for a bellows.

[@leelatin752]

Hi Geoff, awesome video, this has to be the best video for making your own bellows that I have seen, BY FAR. Do you have any plans to follow?

[@geoffmulberry]

Thanks Lee! I have been designing an 8x10 camera which this set of bellows was made for but once this school year started I've been tied up in classes and away from my tools. Most of the camera has been designed but I still have to figure out the film holders. One of these days I'll get back to my tools and build something.

[@leelatin752]

+Geoff Mulberry Is this all just done on your own calculations or do you have any guidelines to follow? I am going to be replacing my bellows on a Toyo and am very impressed with your final result. If you have any recommendations for plans to follow, please let me know, Thanks in advance.

[@geoffmulberry]

+Lee Latin Yes so far everything is from my own plans. The bellows were the first part of the design and I used the measurements from the actual finished product to design the rest of the camera so everything fit nicely. If you have the remains of the old bellows for the Toyo it should be pretty simple to copy what's already there. Designing a bellows for an already built camera seems a little harder. Just remember to factor in the fact that the folds add some thickness.

[@mereskimade]

Would any cardboard work? Stiffer the better? Great video, thanks!

[@geoffmulberry]

Probably would be ok depending on how thick you go. It's a tradeoff because if the stiffeners are too thick by themselves then the bellows won't be able to compress very thin.

[@MrReshetnik]

Hi! Build error! With the correct geometry, all four sides should be the same! And in any sequence they should fold without problems! )))

[@vaibhavbhosale2195]

Don't use this type of rhythms in video use energetic rhythms

[@Menkalo]

I really enjoyed it.

[@daman18112]

nah this was super fitting for the scene