Hey, I just dug a basket case out of the basement to try out my Ilex 65/8. It's a back half of an Anniversary Speed with a later Crown front standard. Weird, but it has a good bellows, and with some TLC it might be a usuable camera.

Problem is, the back has been removed. The back is there, but the screws are missing. They're very small, smaller than 4/40. Anyone know what size they are?

#1 or #2 flat head wood screws 1/2 to 5/8 inch long. Not all screw positions were/are the same length! The edges closest to the FPS rollers may be 3/8 maximun length. Head of the screw should just go below the frame edge. Screw holes strip out easily, to repair cut a piece of a round wood toothpick equal to the depth of the screw hole and dip it in wood glue then insert into the bad screw hole and allow to dry for a few minutes. Use a scratch awl to make a start point for the screw and install the screw.

I don't think they are wood screws. There are brass strips on the body, bent over to make a "tab" on the edge of the back, and they look to be drilled and tapped. They are a very fine thread, not at all like a wood screw would make. There's a void in wood behind the brass tab for the screw. Perhaps this is a later body?

Let's see if I can remember how this goes: 4-40, 3-48, 2-56, 1-72, 0-80, 00-90, in decreasing size order. Get thee to the nearest well-stocked model-railroad-type hobby shop, where there will be, if you're lucky, a Walthers display of small machine screws in various sizes and head shapes. You'll likely have to buy a packet of them. Take your camera along and if the owner is kindly he'll let you try them out until you find the right fit.

Of course, given the well-known Graflex penchant for odd-ball sizings, it may well be that none of the above, which are fairly standard, will fit. But it's worth a try.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Henry on 2006-10-18 09:35 ]</font>

Henry -- Thanks for the great idea! I'm a model railroader and I should have thought of that myself.

Thanks again!

Chris L.

You're welcome---and I don't have to explain to you who "Walthers" is!

Quote:

On 2006-10-18 09:33, Henry wrote: Let's see if I can remember how this goes: 4-40, 3-48, 2-56, 1-72, 0-80, 00-90, in decreasing size order. Of course, given the well-known Graflex penchant for odd-ball sizings, it may well be that none of the above, which are fairly standard, will fit. But it's worth a try.

When I was working on a Pacemaker I found the machine screws holding FPS plate to be a standard size at that time, but not any longer. Something like 2-64

The other Henry quoted the standard thread sizes. There is also a fine thread series that goes 4-48, 3-56, 2-64, 1-72, & 0-80 that might be harder to find but the Model Shop suggestion should help for the fine thread series. IIRC Walthers carried both when I was active in model building years back.

C. Henry