Making Bellows From A Venetian Blind

[@Scott_C]

Love the frequent uploads.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@grahamh4960]

Here I sit in thought on how life is so complicated and prove me wrong every time. When you first mentioned making a bellows from a Venetian Blind, I had no idea how you would do it, you make it look simple. 👌

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

lol - it's a bit fiddly but pretty easy as well

[@Scott_C]

@Robert Murray-Smith From a hand built standpoint those bellows look very well built. Probably couldn't buy something as inexpensive, and high quality. I also love the customizable nature of them. If you're a blacksmith and want a furnace bellows you could probably come up with some fiberglass blanket and heat resistant adhesive , use metal blinds and there you go.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@tebbi67]

Aah so it goes so, that I have never seen before how they are made. Great THX for this Video!!

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

Glad you like them!

[@das250250]

Love the geometryof folding spaces

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

for sure mate

[@Killianwsh]

Great tutorial Rob! Dad had several old cameras with those on them that fascinated me as a kid, but I never knew how they were made!

[@dotz0cat]

Actually watching this for camera bellows. That English accent is just the cherry on top.

[@TheWingnut58]

For a quick and dirty bellows, try collapsible plastic clothes dryer vent pipe....works like a charm!

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

I am going to mate - it's an awesome suggestion

[@aga5897]

Very nice ! The Bellows look great. Brilliant recycling !

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@krakencoffeeroasters3727]

Great video! It seems to me that if you started with a strip of the tape (sticky side up) pinned to your baseboard that when you laid out the first set of pieces (for each side) you could get the spacing perfect and not risk any of the pieces moving when you laid the top layer of tape on.

[@nickhadziannis8451]

At first I thought... wtf is he doing I would have done it differently but robs design is much more efficient than mine... most enjoyable watch

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

lol - i dunno mate it is just an idea i had to reuse a broken blind

[@dgpreston5593]

For those keeping tally, Rob's new channel "101 Uses for Venetian blinds" should be available after 99 more uses....

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

lol

[@mechanical1955]

Hi Rob That is great I have another applicacion for this Somewhat modified but as slideway protectors for diy cnc machines The last thing you need is swarf getting into your nice precision linear bearings It would have to be a channel section to lie either side of the carriage but could run on wires either side to guide it I hope that make sense Maybe show me ?

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

i like that idea mate and itdoesmake sense - basically the cross section i did was square you can make any cross section by arranging the stiffeners correctly

[@mechanical1955]

@@ThinkingandTinkering Hi Rob I will be building a CNC lathe over winter and am going to try it It has to work just one half of your bellows , Thanks for the idea

[@SaucemanSauceman]

Awesome. I been wanting to make this.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

awesome

[@fogdog165]

Might a one-way valve in one end be useful? If so, how would one make such a thing?

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

put a flap over it - that acts like a valve

[@fogdog165]

@@ThinkingandTinkering Well aren't you the clever lad.

[@colouroboros9993]

thanks a lot!

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@tvathome562]

wow pleasure to watch you make, ill think i will have to buy mine with my hand eye coordination

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

lol - there are lots of good alternatives out there mate - I use on in my next vid

[@ronniepirtlejr2606]

Someone was so excited about your video they accidentally hit the thumbs down. Either that or they're just a troll! Thank you for your great videos. They are always entertaining & educational Robert!😁👍

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

lol - I get one every now and then. mate - but to be honest trolls don't last long on here

[@inoirokk]

Thank you this is genius really

[@sandeepnaik6818]

Can you make video on network boosting antenna? Would be very useful as most of us are stuck at home

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

not really interested in doing that mate - sorry

[@paulmaydaynight9925]

Sandeep naik@ with time and your actual effort its simple enough.... buy roberts really conductive ink from his shop, and paint a generic "Fractal antenna" on some Hemp And Seaweed Bioplastic board, plastic bag,"chinese box bellows kite" etc... connect and use several cheap "ESP32 wifi" connected to a diy A4 ,250 ream paper battery through a "buck converter" throw in the kzbin.info/www/bejne/bJanemChg9iNbbs Solid state Magnetic Field Diode. 3,912 views•Aug 8, 2019 ,OzSolarPower and earth battery +£ kzbin.info/www/bejne/sHyvmnSue6aVbqM " to trickle charge everything, then set and forget it outside connect as required.... and look at diy antiquated "yagi directional" if you want far bigger visable antenna..... kzbin.info/www/bejne/d4mcZqKXhqadiq8 DIY Spray WiFi fractal antenna - Sierpinski Gasket kzbin.info/www/bejne/an28ZqFpad90atU ESP32 WiFi Repeater | Range Extender kzbin.info/www/bejne/fH2pnIetmqh1qas How to make a 2.4 GHz Yagi antenna (AKIO TV) i supose painting a "Fractal antenna" on the Bellows might make a variable freq dual wifi antenna plus wireless device+ power with some poc testing too, lol

[@NorthernKitty]

The method is ingenious!! I'm always amazed at the simplicity of your solutions. I'm kicking myself for having recently thrown away some badly abused blinds (cats) after replacing them. Already looking around to see "which window needs new blinds?" 😋 I was thinking a black lawn-and-leaf garbage bag might be perfect for the plastic - it's usually around 1.5 mil, which I think is probably about what lightweight laminating film is, and I have a ton around for autumn leaf raking. Just not sure if thermal properties are similar, so I'll have to be careful ironing or end up with a real mess!

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

the laminating film has a coat of glue on it which the heat 'activates' I would use carpet glue if I were you

[@NorthernKitty]

​@@ThinkingandTinkering Ah, OK!! I always thought it was simply a plastic with a higher melting temperature and/or different thermal properties.

[@davemillan3360]

It's like Blue Peter for adults :)

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

lol - for sure

[@wordreet]

O M absolute G! I almost have to make this, purely for the pleasure of having it form that folded concertina from a tube!!!!!!!! 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

lol

[@wordreet]

@@ThinkingandTinkering Well I'm sure you can't deny that folding that thing down into it's intended form wasn't extremely satisfying! 😁

[@scotttovey]

Now all you need is some reeds and buttons and you have yourself an accordion. OK, it'd be a bit more difficult than that, but it does require bellows to make.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

ah some reeds and airports and you are off lol

[@scotttovey]

@@ThinkingandTinkering 😎👍

[@oldmanfromscenetwentyfour8164]

Well played Squire.

[@kuravani1963]

good video ..Thanks

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

Glad you liked it!

[@buffplums]

Very good Robert. If you ran a heat gun over all the joins would the thing become too rigid?

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

i don't know mate - but i would think so

[@caltonthevloger3054]

Wow nice idea

[@jamest.5001]

How do you make a bellows, from blind Venetians??? Ha-ha, coolrunnings!

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

lol

[@paulmaydaynight9925]

whatever you do, dont start making those stiffeners into battery/supercap test samples then reuse them ,join them and turn them into power generating bellows after testing or you will have to much local stored energy to find and forget a use for.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

lol - the possibilities are endless mate

[@randolphtorres4172]

THANKSGIVING

[@nickhadziannis8451]

Just realised a great cheep easyer option for this would be to use air condition/extractor fan ducting consetina.... £20 for 30 meters comes in a variety of Gerths... I have some 12 inch at home. Its airtight light tight and has a wire threaded throughout to gove registry... its even availible double lined with with aluminium inside so you can do hot hot air and have strenght.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

Great tip mate - cheers

[@tombouie]

Amazing

[@BoB4jjjjs]

I would have used Plastic waterproof ducting, it is almost a bellows as it is, 6 or 9 inch in old money.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

nice one mate - good tip I am going to try it

[@AdrianP247]

Maybe you could tell Luke about those Venetian blinds, for his bottle wind generator v2.0 :)

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

nice one mate but i have already done a version of a wind generator from a venetian blind

[@stevetobias4890]

To think how long ago these were first made. I have a desire to do some research into the history of the bellows. I wonder if they were first created by a blacksmith and then adapted to a musical instrument. Will do some googling when I wake up in the morning.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

go for it mate and let me know

[@stevetobias4890]

@@ThinkingandTinkering yes it was invented for metallurgy originally. Here is an excellent clip from Wikipedia where there are some ancient bellow principals used, thip cut and past is a double piston bellows from China. info from - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellows#:~:text=Such%20bellows%20existed%20in%20China,from%20one%20level%20to%20another. Double-acting piston bellows are a type of bellows used by blacksmiths and smelters to increase the air flow going into the forge, with the property that air is blown out on both strokes of the handle (in contrast to simpler and more common bellows that blow air when the stroke is in one direction and refill the bellows in the other direction). These bellows blow a more constant, and thus stronger, blast than simple bellows. Such bellows existed in China at least since the 5th century BC, when it was invented, and had reached Europe by the 16th century. In 240 BC, The ancient Greek inventor Ctesibius of Alexandria independently invented a double-action piston bellow used to lift water from one level to another. A piston is enclosed in a rectangular box with a handle coming out one side. The piston edges are covered with feathers, fur, or soft paper to ensure that it is airtight and lubricated. As the piston is pulled, air from one side enters and flows through the nozzle and as it is pushed air enters from the opposite side and flows through the same nozzle.

[@strongforce8466]

Ingenious 🔥

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

cheers mate

[@jagardina]

The only question I'd have is the durability of the plastic film. But as you say, other materials can be used as the need defines. Blacksmiths traditionally used leather I believe. I'm sure there's a number of suitable materials today.

[@pulesjet]

Tried pitcher bellow out in my head and got lost.. LOL Thank You. Simplicity not so Simple.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

lol - yeah sometimes a lot of simple = complicated

[@RupertBruce]

I'm going to give duct tape a try 🙂

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

awesome idea mate - let me know how you get on will you?

[@asstronix6657]

Nice haircut 💇‍♂️🎩

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

first one after covid

[@conductiveinkalternative918]

Neat!

[@RandomSmith]

You might also get away with using cardboard as the stiffener.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

for sure - I just used the strips as I had a broken blind and it was a quick way to make sure they were all the same width

[@MarkSeve]

Your destroying my indoctrinated view that the universe is complicated Robert!

[@scotttovey]

He is a diabolical evil genius, isn't he? 😂🤣😂 It's like the computer geeks trying to figure out why a computer won't start. The supervisor walks in to see how things are coming along and notices something; then asks: Is this supposed to be plugged in? We often start with the complex rather than first eliminating the simple. When we do so, we usually end up wasting a good bit of time.

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

lol - cheers mate

[@ThinkingandTinkering]

lol - nice one mate

[@MarkSeve]

@@scotttovey One would almost think it was intentional. hmmm.... Thank you for replying Scott. Have a wonderful day brother.

[@scotttovey]

@@MarkSeve 😎👍