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rebuilding graflex slr viewing hood: cardstock placement?

 
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parny



Joined: 28 Mar 2002
Posts: 23

PostPosted: Sun Jun 06, 2004 9:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey folks -- I've pulled my decrepit Graflex out of the closet and I'm going to try and get it running again. The viewing hood is falling apart, so I'm going to cut it apart to make a pattern for a new one. Question is, where did the original hoods have cardstock behind the fake leather? My hood has reddish cardstock behind the front three panels, the back two panels, and the four top side panels (the ones that fold in around the eyeslot). Did the other side panels have cardstock behind them to help form the folds? There are traces of glue and old fabric on the inside of the side panels on my hood, but no cardstock.... thoughs appreciated.

-- pw
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t.r.sanford



Joined: 10 Nov 2003
Posts: 812
Location: East Coast (Long Island)

PostPosted: Sun Jun 06, 2004 10:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I made a "Graflex" hood about 25 years ago, using material then available from the old National Camera organization, intended for the outer and inner surfaces of a bellows. I used Bristol board for each panel, leaving the folds free. I strongly suspect the originals were made more or less in this way.
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semihemi



Joined: 25 Oct 2003
Posts: 85
Location: Boston, MA

PostPosted: Mon Jun 07, 2004 1:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi -
I will assume that you are taking apart a typical Series B or D hood. First step would be to gently pry up the little tabs and then take off the metal frame at the bottom. Store in a safe place to prevent warping. Go easy on the tabs - reassembly will be easier if they are not all snapped off! Then remove the little cross brace that pulls the hood open. The whole hood is joined along the length of its "back". (The seam is hidden by the camera lid during normal use.) Just peel the hood open at the seam and the whole thing will lie flat on the table. It is a single piece of leatherette with little panels glued on. Keep it as intact as possible during removal because you will of course need it for a pattern - I would definitely recommend against "cutting" it off.

Once the whole thing is flat on the table, take a moment to number the panels in Sharpie. Also, I found it helpful to sketch the whole thing and make notes of the gap between the panels at various points. I found that the factory spacing was not perfect so I did not worry so much if I had a panel a tiny bit out of place during reconstruction. Then convince the panels to separate from the leatherette - a thin spatula or similar may be necessary.

Trace the panels onto suitable card stock. Best to number the new panels immediately so there is no question about orientation later. Cut out the panels, glue to the new leatherette and let thoroughly dry! I got a bit overeager on my first hood and things moved around a bit.

On my second hood I left a good inch of extra material around the pattern that I traced in the hood fabric. I only trimmed it to exact size during final assembly. Not sure if this is in accordance with Hoyle but nothing will raise the blood pressure faster than finding out that you are 1/16th of an inch short along some critical dimension.

As far as what to use as card stock, I used thin polycarbonate sheet for my first hood. It seems mighty flexible until you put the whole thing together. Too stiff. Bert pointed me towards the office supply superstore and there I found the perfect cardstock. Can't remember the brand name but if you can wait a couple of days I will dig it up. I actually have plenty left for another project which I would be glad to send to you for free.

Also, I can send you an email picture of the original hood after it was unpeeled and laid open. It will show you the areas where there are no panels. These blanks allow the hood to fold on itself.

Hope this helps somewhat. Bert is the master and he may have corrections/additions to some of this. Main thing is, preserve as much as possible of the original pieces for template making, work carefully but not too fussily - this is cardboard and fabric after all.

Best of luck with it!! Keep us posted.

JC
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parny



Joined: 28 Mar 2002
Posts: 23

PostPosted: Sat Jun 12, 2004 10:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks -- these thoughts are very helpful. I went out and found some nice dense cotton fabric that I'm going to try using -- two layers are *almost* light tight, good enough for a viewing hood. I'm still poking around for a good cardstock -- file folders seem a little thin, and the heavier card stock I got turned out a little bit fragile -- if it bends, it cracks & breaks -- so so I want something a little more robust (bends happen, you know). If you find the name of the stuff you like, let me know -- I may just buy some of those red/brown report covers, which seem about right. I'll pull the hood apart today and make up a pattern.
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bertsaunders



Joined: 20 May 2001
Posts: 577
Location: Bakersfield California

PostPosted: Mon Jun 14, 2004 9:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Semihemi is correct in all that he says...the cardstock I use came from Office Depot, they are drawer dividers with the tabs on them! One caution on your statment about using 2 inner layers Parney, not a good idea....the layers need to fold over one another, and if you get to thick...or...
space the stiffners wrong, it will not fold flat enough to close the lid! The most important fold on the whole hood is the bottom center side stiffners....if they are not >cut< correctly, and >placed< accuratly, and >spaced< correctly....your in for a big dissapointment! Bert
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semihemi



Joined: 25 Oct 2003
Posts: 85
Location: Boston, MA

PostPosted: Thu Jun 17, 2004 5:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hello again - I dug up the corpse of a viewing hood from an RB Series B. There are three links below that show the skin laid out with panels laid on top.

http://idisk.mac.com/johncoz/public/DSCF0471.jpg
http://idisk.mac.com/johncoz/public/DSCF0472.jpg
http://idisk.mac.com/johncoz/public/DSCF0473.jpg

You can see that the skin is one piece. Visible in the photo is the outside of the skin. Obviously the panels in real life would be glued to the inside. The only panel-less sections are to the left of panel 6 and the right of panel 8 in the photo. (The blank spot below panel six should have its own panel.) The drawing on paper was a quick sketch to help me remember the layout. (I am fairly feeble mechanically.)

The Polaroids - ah, Polaroid, my other love - show some of the quick notes I made as I took the camera apart. I made measurements and noted them tight on the snapshots in Sharpie. For me, sketches of this type are essential. They really help when reassembling. In particular, they help me from banging my head against the wall trying to square up something that was not square when the dang thing left the factory!

I did not find the brand of card stock that I used but you are barking up the right tree in any case. It is here somewhere and when I find I will post again.

Best of luck,

JC
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parny



Joined: 28 Mar 2002
Posts: 23

PostPosted: Sat Jun 19, 2004 4:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ah, thanks JC -- those pix of the hood laid out are very helpful. Life got in the way of this project, worse luck -- I hope to get back to it in a week or two.

I am meaning to have one layer of thin black cotton cloth on the outside, the cardstock, and one layer of thin black cotton cloth on the inside. Not *completely* light tight, but it should be as thin as the original hood sandwich was. I also found a scrap of black nylon, one side coated -- I might try this, or I may save it for a younger camera (nylon on a Graflex feels wrong, somehow...)

-- PA
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