hi,
i bought a graflex super D auto 4x5 for portrait pictures with open aperture.
on the first shooting everyting works well except some out of focus shots, but thats another problem.
on the second shooting in made some negatives which have a small strip which is over exposed. the strip is on the top side of the negative - so its the side which is on bottom of the camera. on horizontal negatives its smaler than on vertikal shots.
its not a problem of the filmholder and not a problem of the film. the negatives are overexposed - the "too much" light was coming through the lens i think. the overexposure is not on all negatives - just on some.
i guess it must be the shutter.
what could it be? how can i fix it? has anyone a repair maunal for the shutter?
thanks for help
tim

tim@brakemeier.info

1. Insatll an empty film holder on the back with it in the verticle position as you were shooting with the darkslide removed.
2. Set curtain to T, tension to high. Trip Shutter. The "O" opening of the curtain should now be over the film plane.
3. Remove the lens.
4. In a darkroom with the lights off, insert a small flashlight in thru the lens board opening and point at the edges of the camera back. Observe the outside of the camera for any hint of light escaping. A 40 watt appliance light bulb on a portable socket can be used but more care not to burn the bellows or felt seals in the box must be taken.

5. Remove the film holder and reset the mirror to the view position. With the tension on HIGH, trip the shutter=the shutter should close and lock with the top edge of the curtain 1/4 inch below the bottom of the opening in the back of the camera with a smooth contineous motion.

Is there a light leak?
Is the shutter hanging or sluggish?

Charles

hi charles,
thanks for your advices.
i found no light leaks and the shutter seems to work in the correct speed.
what i found out was, that the shutter did not close completly.after releasing the shot, the mirror stays in the upper position (which is normal i think) and there is a very smal gap left between the bottom roller and the top end of the hole in the curtain. this very small gap (less than 1 mm) is closing when i remove the mirror in the position that i can look through again.
is this gap normal? there is light coming through so i doubt it. how can i adjust the curtain in that way that he will close properly?
regards
tim

Quote:

what i found out was, that the shutter did not close completly.after releasing the shot, the mirror stays in the upper position (which is normal i think) and there is a very smal gap left between the bottom roller and the top end of the hole in the curtain. this very small gap (less than 1 mm) is closing when i remove the mirror in the position that i can look through again. is this gap normal? there is light coming through so i doubt it. how can i adjust the curtain in that way that he will close properly?

Tim,
The mirror remaining up is normal, the small slot at the bottom of the film opening is not, curtain should be approximately 1/4 inch or 6.35mm below the bottom of the film opening.
I am not familuar with the Super D but all Graflex made cameras use basically the same shutter. The Super D shutter retains the control setup of the other Graflex series cameras.
How soft and flexible is the shutter curtain? If it is not as flexible as a film changing bag then remove the camera back noting the position of the screws. Short flat head on the top and bottom and oval head on the outsied edges of the camera. You will have to rotate the back 45 degrees to access all the screws. With the tension in either position, run the curtain down to closed after "O" position.
The curtain material is a ruberized cloth type material. Using Lemon Pledge http://www.pledge.com/, the yellow can, saturate the visable curtain and let set a few minutes. If you do not have this product in your area then use a simular product with lemon oil and bees wax. Do not use ArmorAll. Advance the curtain to the first setting after "O", saturate visable curtain.... until the entire curtain has been saturated with the Pledge or substitute. Once fully coated and the curtain has been allowed to sit for at least 15 minutes wipe off the Pledge with a soft cotton cloth or paper towels. Once cleaned recheck for full closing of the curtain after "O". If the curtain edge is not 1/4 inch below the camera opening then the position will have to be adjusted. Do not adjust curtain until cleaned/softened as just described.

Curtain position adjustment: Read all steps before starting.
1. Remove the camera lens.
2. Set curtain to the closed position after "O" and the tension to Low.
3. Fabricate a support block to go under the Mirror Lever (H) with a slot for the retainer pin to go into with the camera on its top with the view hood closed.
4. Position camera on its top with the view hood closed.
5. Positon support block under the mirror shaft and lever and using a hammer and 1/16, (1.5mm), pin punch drive the Mirror Lever taper pin out of the lever and shaft. A sharp blow with a 14oz to 16 oz hammer usually is required.
Warning:Damage to the mirror shaft may result if a support block is not used.
6. Slide the Mirror Setting Lever off the shaft.
7. Remove the screws that hold the winding plate to the camera body.
8. Using care to prevent the wind key from turning, hold the top curtain roller and lift the winding plate up from the camera body.
9. Allow the top roller to turn toward the bottom of the camera 1 gear tooth.
10. Reseat the winding palte to the camera body turning the top roller only back and forth until the gears mesh and the plate is flush to the camera body.
11. Install screws in opposing corners of the wind plate but only snug them.
12. Check that the curtain opening is 1/4 inch below the bottom of the camera body opening.
13. Once the curtain position is correct install the remaining winding plate screws and tighten them all. Caution: The Mahogany body screw holes will strip out easily if screws are over tightned.
14. Position mirror lever on the mirror shaft and install the taper pin. It can be pressed in with pliers or a gentle tap with the hammer and punch.
15. Reinstall the camera back.
16.Test the shutter.
17. Happy shooting!

Hi Charles,

I´d rather ask twice before I am gonna damage anything - english is not my motherlanguage, so I am not sure if I understand anything right:



- "E" at the picture is the "mirror setting lever"
- the black pin in the middle of "E" is the "mirror shaft"
- the "tapper pin" is the small bolt which holds "E" on the shaft
- what you see on the picture is the complete winding plate which is hold by 4 screws
- "A" is the "wind key"

Is that right the way I understood?

PS: The rubbercurtain seems to be in a very good condition. Its very flexible and soft.

Quote:

"E" at the picture is the "mirror setting lever"

Yes, this is the mirror setting lever refered to as item H in the online Graflex manual available via the link at the top of the Reflex Help section. The lever may even have the letter H stamped on it from the fractory. Some cameras have a small spring behind the lever so check yours and reassemble as it was before disassembling.

Quote:

the black pin in the middle of "E" is the "mirror shaft"

No, that is not a pin, it is the mirror rotation shaft. The mirror shaft goes across to the other side of the camera and the frame that holds the mirror is attached to this shaft. The shaft rotates.

Quote:

the "tapper pin" is the small bolt which holds "E" on the shaft

No, it is not a bolt but performs the same function. Once removed you will see that it is a piece of round steel that is larger on one end, the top, than it is on the bottom hence its name "taper pin". When driven in it wedges into the hole which is tapered also. The pin has a tendency to become stuck after many years requiring force to remove it.

Quote:

- "A" is the "wind key"

That is correct.

Quote:

- what you see on the picture is the complete winding plate which is hold by 4 screws

This is the same winding plate that has been used on all Graflex SLR's since their introduction in the early 1900's. The only change is the Instantaneous/Time selector was changed from a round disk to a sliding lever and the finish of the controls has changed over the years also.

I recently had to do this repair to my Series B. Also when checking the shutter after the repair check each slot to ensure that the bottom edge of the slot is 1/4 inch above the back opening when the curtain is wound to a setting and that the top edge of the slot is 1/4 inch below the bottom of the back opening once the shutter has been triped for that speed setting.
The wind key has a large gear and the top curtain roller has a small gear, turning the wind key will cause the indicator to be out of sync with the window, turning the top roller too much will throw some slots off sync with the back opening. Idealy the "O" opening will be centered over the opening in the back when done.

thanks a lot for your kind help
i owe you a beer or two if you´ll ever visit berlin