Just wanted to take a moment to publicly say thanks to Bert Saunders for his invaluable guidance during the rebuild of the shutter in my RB Series B 4 x 5. I believe that I would not have succeeded without him!

At the following links please see test photos taken on Polaroid film that was taped into a Graflex holder. To me, the exposures look perfect in the originals. The two pictures were taken at different aperture/tension combinations. I find that Polaroid film is sensitive to exposure errors, so I am hoping that my shutter is now right on. Sorry if the cheesy scans are not revealing enough - the originals look snappy but the scans look a bit veiled, methinks. I am not worried (yet) that the eyes are out of focus in the portrait. The Polaroid film is quite thick and it was stuck on with that double-sided tape that is a couple of millimeters thick at least. I think this would be enough to throw off the focus of a 4 x 5 at max aperture and close focus.

http://idisk.mac.com/johncoz/public/graflex1.jpg
http://idisk.mac.com/johncoz/public/graflex2.jpg

A couple of noteworthy items:

First and foremost, it is doable! If your shutter is old and crispy and will not close all the way on the slow speeds, etc., then you could do a lot worse than attempt a rebuild.

Be careful about using the old shutter as a template for the new. My shutter was so shrivelled that it was barely trustworthy as a template. If I rebuild one in this condition again, then I will use the "install the curtain without the cutouts, then mark the apertures method". (I can't help but wonder if it is not OK to use paper for this pattern making exercise. I would worry that the paper is thinner than the actual curtain material, and therefore would introduce errors in the positioning of the curtain cutouts due to diameter differences in the takeup spool as one winds the curtain.)

For this worker, a superior straightedge was invaluable. I spent around $18 at Home Depot for a 96-inch straightedge. It was the best investment under $20 that I have ever made. It allowed me to precisely make the long, straight edge cuts required for correct curtain tracking.

I paid a small fortune for a roll of imported curtain material. At the price, I was expecting to use the factory edge for one of the long edges of my curtain. It was not to be. Even on what I believe is a quality product, the factory edge was not sufficiently straight for use in a curtain.

By my measure, the "straps" that border the cutouts are 3/8 of an inch wide. Thus, once the curtain material is locked to the work table and the straightedge is laid along it, one needs a 3/8 inch wide rule to use as an edge guide when cutting out the apertures. I found that the top edge of a Kodak 4 x 5 film developing hanger was perfect for the job. I had to snip away the rest of the hanger but it was worth it since the stainless steel allowed the razor knife to slide along with no grabbing or binding.

Take lots of notes and pictures as you disassemble. This will help you when it comes time for reassembly! Also, you will notice that even the factory work had its share of gaps, slight misalignments, etc.

Sorry for the long post, but I hope it wil be of interest to some!

And once again, thank you very much, Bert!

Best, JC

I have several curtains that are waiting to be re-installed in restored cameras...each is a bit different when measured, despite the fact that they come from identical cameras....they stretch, they shrivel and loose elasticity! Some of the dimensions between slots seem oddball on even the "perfect" looking curtains! I have tried the paper as suggested above, and the results came out very close to the original dried out/shriveled one, so have used the old curtain for reference on all 6 of the curtains that I have made so far, and they all work perfectly!
I did not spend the big bucks on a fancy straight-edge, I bought a 1/4" x 72" piece of flatbar for $5, and it works great!
Thanks for the kind words JC, and I wish to add a reminder to JC, the cutting patterns I use take care of the 3/8" straps nicely.......Bert

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: bertsaunders on 2004-01-18 00:28 ]</font>

Hi Bert - For a very modest fee, you can borrow the long straightedge when it comes time to do your first 5 x 7 ! I think the curtain in my Press was around 83 inches. (Ho ho!)

Serious question - The front standard on one of my cameras is cockeyed. Specifically, the right side of the standard projects about 3 or 4mm when the left side is flush or home. Sort of like the disease that sometimes afflicts Rollei TLR's. Anyways, it looks as if the camera was dropped and the pinion jumped back a couple of teeth on the focusing rail. It looks as if the cure would be to take off the focus knobs, slide out the focus shaft, square up the standard, put the shaft back in and then button the whole thing up. Does this sound rational? Is it within the reach of the amateur Graflex technician?

The camera is the RB Tele style with the wide-spaced, low-mounted rails.

Best,

JC

JC,
Sorry I did not pick up on your latest question! Yea, the Tele has a fairly simple arraingement for the rack and pinion setup, so 'hav a go Mate, (you can always send it to me to fix, when ya mess things up!!) haha...........Bert