Shoutout to the guy who taught me bellows repair with a chopstick and glue

Last Tuesday a retired repair guy named Joe came into my shop in Portland with a beat-up Mamiya RB67 back. He watched me struggle with a bellows pinhole for 20 minutes before finally pointing out I could use a wooden chopstick and a dab of liquid tape to patch it from inside. I had been about to spend $80 on a replacement bellows kit from the internet. Has anyone else found weird household stuff that works better than the actual repair tools?

3 comments

3 Comments

ward.jamie18d ago

oh come on, that "bandaid" argument falls apart when you think about how many of those fancy replacement kits have their own problems. i've seen three different friends install brand new bellows kits only to have them bunch up or form weird creases because the material was too stiff. meanwhile i know a guy who's been running a liquid tape fix on his rb67 for two years straight, shooting outdoor portraits in all weather, and it's still holding perfect. and yeah sure materials matter, but so does the fact that a chopstick lets you get the patch exactly where the leak is without dismantling the whole thing and risking warping the frame. a proper install is great but most people aren't repair techs and a botched full replacement is way worse than a well done liquid tape patch.

stellaa6918d ago

nah i gotta disagree here. that chopstick trick is fine for a quick fix but it's a bandaid at best. liquid tape dries out and cracks after a few months, especially if you actually use the camera in different temps. i learned that the hard way when my repaired bellows started leaking light again right before a big shoot. real bellows replacement kits aren't just expensive for no reason, they're made from materials that actually flex and seal properly over time. if you're just hanging the camera on a shelf then sure go for it, but if you actually shoot with it you're gonna regret not doing it right the first time. joe's advice probably worked great for his old beat up stuff but that doesn't mean it's the standard we should all follow.

rubys8018d ago

yeah i get what you're saying but honestly a buddy of mine tried the full replacement route on his mamiya and it was a nightmare. spent like 80 bucks on a kit, spent a whole weekend fighting with it, and ended up with wrinkles anyway. meanwhile his old beat up nikon with the chopstick fix still works fine years later. not saying it's foolproof but sometimes the fancy solution isn't always the right one for everyone.