I just picked up a Graflex 8x10 studio camera in Wisconsin. The camera now resides in Colorado. I'm worried the wood will soon begin to dry out and crack. It is in beautiful shape and I don't want it to start going down hill due to the arid climate in Colorado.

Aside from building a custom humidor which completely encloses the camera, does anyone have any suggestions on how to care for my new work of art?

Thanks for your help.

Mike

Without getting fancy or worrying all that much, my best suggestion would be to care for it like any decent piece of furniture. Lemon pledge! It's by far the best thing you can use on wood and it's even good for leather. It will help seal the wood (a little bit) and help replace oils and solvents that wood normally loses through time.

To my knowledge, only Lemon Pledge is good. The other 'flavors' are only okay...

Thanks

Lemon oil (Old English brand, try your supermarket or hardware) is also excellent for nourishing and restoring appearance of wood.

Quote:

Lemon oil (Old English brand, try your supermarket or hardware) is also excellent for nourishing and restoring appearance of wood.

Lol - regional differences aside, the English also use Jasmine Oil (the perfumed jasmine also being counter to the harsh nasal experience of lemon) as well as various grades of Linseed oil. The major characteristic of oiling the wood is a resultant silky texture on the wood; it locks in the integrity of the wood grain and can be reapplied time and again on natural wood surfaces.

Any fruit seed or flower based oil is fine; perhaps peanut, vegetable and animal oils are best left for culinery use. Graflex camera woods tend not to have the tight grain structure of oriental woods and respond well to oiling unless already lacquered or painted.

Kind regards,

RJ