Bellows' broken nylon dovetails - effective repair

[dunksargent]

I recently acquired a Canon FD Auto Bellows and an Olympus OM Auto Bellows - both had cracked/broken rearmost nylon dovetails. On the Canon I tried several types of adhesive to stick the broken nylon together including epoxy resin but none worked. A carpenter then suggested using EVO-STICK MITRE adhesive as in his experience it sticks anything. The adhesive is applied to one surface only and then the other surface is sprayed with activator. When joined together the two parts adhere instantly. There is no time to manoeuvre the parts - once touching the bond is instant. Both bellows have been successfully repaired with the adhesive. The break in the Olympus was very awkward as there was evidence of a previous bad repair. After cleaning all the residue from them they did not quite mate together properly - so after sticking them together once, I then scraped out and enlarged the crack to half the depth, applied more adhesive as a filler, and then sprayed it with applicator.The Olympus' repaired rear dovetail is now a tighter fit than its front dovetail but it is usable and shows no signs of separating. The Canon repair was more straightforward.

Canon bellows before repair


Canon bellows after repair


Olympus bellows after repair


The adhesive


A word of warning ... the activator has a pungent and lingering odour not unlike superglue but it's stronger ... thus needs to be used in a well ventilated room. Although it smells like superglue it is a very different type of adhesive - superglue will not work for this repair.

I've seen Rik's father's repair to his Olympus bellows where he made a replacement wooden dovetail ... that is a much better solution if you have the skills ... http://www.photomacrography.net/forum/v ... t=dovetail

Cheers

dunk

[Charles Krebs]

If your Olympus one is beyond salvage you can get an OEM replacement block here for $22:
http://www.zuiko.com/index_016.htm

[dunksargent]

If your Olympus one is beyond salvage you can get an OEM replacement block here for $22:
http://www.zuiko.com/index_016.htm

Thank you Charles. I'll order one - my repair is holding up ok but prefer to replace the damaged block.

Regards

dunk

[DaveW]

Don't know if it will work on nylon, but being in the building trade I have stuck the synthetic rubber sole on my shoe back with the "No More Nails" type of adhesives used to stick skirting boards and woodwork to plaster walls etc, and the bond outlasted the sole in spite of being flexed at every footstep taken. Not an instant stick though so may need to be clamped until dry.

http://www.makingdiyeasier.co.uk/unibon ... nails.html

There are a few rival products on the market in the UK (and I suppose around the world) but I don't know what their active ingredient is. It was even recommended for sticking a stainless steel splash-back to tiles on one web site.

DaveW