Bellows Material

geauxpez · 05-21-2009, 07:08 PM

Does anyone here know what the bellows portion of the screwmount Pentax auto bellows is made if? The one I got recently in a box of junk feels a lot like paper. It has a couple of mold-like spots on it and it's rather dry and dull like old paper. I was thinking about lightly spraying it with some bathroom mildew remover to "sanitize" it, but if it is made of paper, I don't want to risk further damage.

Ratmagiclady · 05-21-2009, 11:57 PM

I wouldn't be inclined to use anything wet: probably you should be very gentle: if the spots are on the outside, you might want to start with a soft brush to get rid of as much of that old mildew or whatnot first, then I'd see if it comes away with a damp q-tip, just dab it away at first. Your big worries are about getting the stuff wet or it drying out with stuff like detergents or alcohol.

It's probably made of paper on cloth or something like canvas. It may be somewhat brittle. The outside layer, you could treat like it's old painted paper and use about the care you'd expect.

Is the mildew damage very old or more recent?

I would not use bathroom cleaner, that's likely too harsh.

**Lowell Goudge** · 05-22-2009, 07:37 AM

when I started plaing a bit with photography, I happened across several 75mm-125mm lenses with leaf shutters and a 2"x3" (120 roll film) film back. I began playing with the idea of making a small MF camera with tilt and shift.

I made a bellows out of black construction paper. If you use a sharp 2H pencil and draw the lines out for the bellows fold, the pencil will make indents that help folding.

Not sure now where that bellows went, but I gave the lenses to a friend who had an 8x10

geauxpez · 05-22-2009, 11:28 AM

@Ratmagic lady -- Thanks for the tips. I'm sure it's old damage from being poorly stored -- I got it in a box of stuff recently sight unseen. There was a Spotmatic F that was REALLY nasty with a busted meter and beat up lens (auto-manual switch broken off and a spot of mold in the rear element). The camera and lens along with a bad ME SUper body from teh same lot were donated to Eric for shipping cost. There was a decent right angle finder and a rough slide copier in the deal as well. I thought I would give fixing the bellows up for use or sale. I had to file some damaged threads on it last night.

@Lowell -- The same thoughts were running through my head about tilt/shift. Though to do it right (based on some do it yourself websites I have seen), I would probably need a bigger bellows and medium format lens to make it work with the 35mm format.

Ratmagiclady · 05-22-2009, 07:26 PM

Originally posted by geauxpez

@Ratmagic lady -- Thanks for the tips. I'm sure it's old damage from being poorly stored -- I got it in a box of stuff recently sight unseen. There was a Spotmatic F that was REALLY nasty with a busted meter and beat up lens (auto-manual switch broken off and a spot of mold in the rear element). The camera and lens along with a bad ME SUper body from teh same lot were donated to Eric for shipping cost. There was a decent right angle finder and a rough slide copier in the deal as well. I thought I would give fixing the bellows up for use or sale. I had to file some damaged threads on it last night.

@Lowell -- The same thoughts were running through my head about tilt/shift. Though to do it right (based on some do it yourself websites I have seen), I would probably need a bigger bellows and medium format lens to make it work with the 35mm format.

Come to think of it, if you'd like, Geaux, I could have a try at cleaning that, actually. Tends to be kind of tedious work, but I'm frankly going stir crazy over here. Knees are driving me nuts, but I could just put it on a tripod and dab away at it while chattering here.

geauxpez · 05-23-2009, 03:41 AM

Originally posted by Ratmagiclady

Come to think of it, if you'd like, Geaux, I could have a try at cleaning that, actually. Tends to be kind of tedious work, but I'm frankly going stir crazy over here. Knees are driving me nuts, but I could just put it on a tripod and dab away at it while chattering here.

Well, it really isn't THAT bad off. It's a few spots in the creases. The whole thing looks dry compared to the identical one that I had for a while last year (I sold it deciding that I would get a k-mount), so I was a bit concerned for it overall. I'll play with it in my evening downtime hours. Thanks for the offer!

05-21-2009, 07:08 PM	#1
geauxpez Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Atlanta Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,196	Bellows Material Does anyone here know what the bellows portion of the screwmount Pentax auto bellows is made if? The one I got recently in a box of junk feels a lot like paper. It has a couple of mold-like spots on it and it's rather dry and dull like old paper. I was thinking about lightly spraying it with some bathroom mildew remover to "sanitize" it, but if it is made of paper, I don't want to risk further damage.

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05-21-2009, 11:57 PM	#2
Ratmagiclady Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: GA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 13,563	I wouldn't be inclined to use anything wet: probably you should be very gentle: if the spots are on the outside, you might want to start with a soft brush to get rid of as much of that old mildew or whatnot first, then I'd see if it comes away with a damp q-tip, just dab it away at first. Your big worries are about getting the stuff wet or it drying out with stuff like detergents or alcohol. It's probably made of paper on cloth or something like canvas. It may be somewhat brittle. The outside layer, you could treat like it's old painted paper and use about the care you'd expect. Is the mildew damage very old or more recent? I would not use bathroom cleaner, that's likely too harsh.

05-22-2009, 07:37 AM	#3
Lowell Goudge Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Toronto Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 17,888	when I started plaing a bit with photography, I happened across several 75mm-125mm lenses with leaf shutters and a 2"x3" (120 roll film) film back. I began playing with the idea of making a small MF camera with tilt and shift. I made a bellows out of black construction paper. If you use a sharp 2H pencil and draw the lines out for the bellows fold, the pencil will make indents that help folding. Not sure now where that bellows went, but I gave the lenses to a friend who had an 8x10

05-22-2009, 11:28 AM	#4
geauxpez Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Atlanta Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,196 Original Poster	@Ratmagic lady -- Thanks for the tips. I'm sure it's old damage from being poorly stored -- I got it in a box of stuff recently sight unseen. There was a Spotmatic F that was REALLY nasty with a busted meter and beat up lens (auto-manual switch broken off and a spot of mold in the rear element). The camera and lens along with a bad ME SUper body from teh same lot were donated to Eric for shipping cost. There was a decent right angle finder and a rough slide copier in the deal as well. I thought I would give fixing the bellows up for use or sale. I had to file some damaged threads on it last night. @Lowell -- The same thoughts were running through my head about tilt/shift. Though to do it right (based on some do it yourself websites I have seen), I would probably need a bigger bellows and medium format lens to make it work with the 35mm format.

05-22-2009, 07:26 PM	#5
Ratmagiclady Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: GA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 13,563	Originally posted by geauxpez @Ratmagic lady -- Thanks for the tips. I'm sure it's old damage from being poorly stored -- I got it in a box of stuff recently sight unseen. There was a Spotmatic F that was REALLY nasty with a busted meter and beat up lens (auto-manual switch broken off and a spot of mold in the rear element). The camera and lens along with a bad ME SUper body from teh same lot were donated to Eric for shipping cost. There was a decent right angle finder and a rough slide copier in the deal as well. I thought I would give fixing the bellows up for use or sale. I had to file some damaged threads on it last night. @Lowell -- The same thoughts were running through my head about tilt/shift. Though to do it right (based on some do it yourself websites I have seen), I would probably need a bigger bellows and medium format lens to make it work with the 35mm format. Come to think of it, if you'd like, Geaux, I could have a try at cleaning that, actually. Tends to be kind of tedious work, but I'm frankly going stir crazy over here. Knees are driving me nuts, but I could just put it on a tripod and dab away at it while chattering here.

05-23-2009, 03:41 AM	#6
geauxpez Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Atlanta Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,196 Original Poster	Originally posted by Ratmagiclady Come to think of it, if you'd like, Geaux, I could have a try at cleaning that, actually. Tends to be kind of tedious work, but I'm frankly going stir crazy over here. Knees are driving me nuts, but I could just put it on a tripod and dab away at it while chattering here. Well, it really isn't THAT bad off. It's a few spots in the creases. The whole thing looks dry compared to the identical one that I had for a while last year (I sold it deciding that I would get a k-mount), so I was a bit concerned for it overall. I'll play with it in my evening downtime hours. Thanks for the offer!