I do not know what the strip is made of. Burnish the edges and try soldering.

Thank you, you've been very helpful & patient, which I really appreciate (also thanks for the hand holding, as it's been pretty daunting since it's probably the biggest operation I've done on a camera so far). Just one more question: if I want to try replacing the actuator strip with a section of tape measure, how do I get it off the pin on the plunger? I tried doing a search but didn't have much luck finding the thread you mentioned.

Edit: Is this the thread? https://graflex.org/helpboard/viewtopic.php?t=4011&; A friend of mine who's a bit more hands on suggested epoxy, like JD Weld he said, & then sanding it. But would it be slippery enough? Right now it's wrapped in some scotch tape, but it's still catching unfortunately.

i cannot find the post either, it may have been a response to another post with a unrelated/different title.
Fred Lustiig passed away in 2014 , no word on who got his parts stock.
Midwest Photo no longer has a supply of Graflex parts/accessories.
If you use JB Weld use the slow set.
You will have to cut the pin off then attach another, a straight pin shaft will work. Drill out the old, bond in the new. I don't know how the pin was put in at the factory and I never got an answer when I asked on this site.
There may be some extra thin tape for commercial use but no clue if it exists or how to purchase a small quantity.

Thank you very much!

Just wanted to post an update in case later someone else stumbles across this thread: the epoxy was a waste of time. After waiting 15 hours for it to set & cure, sanding & polishing caused the crack to reappear so I just used tape again as a sort of splint/cast as I had before. The situation's about the same. I think the thing that causes the distance scale to catch is mostly the bend in the strip (now that the crack's covered & no longer a factor--I used less tape this time & noticed no difference). Hopefully one day I can get the strip replaced.

On the other hand, the pin on the tube that holds the strip fell off by itself during disassembly. I didn't use glue to fix it, because it seems to be friction fit (although I didn't examine it very closely because the tube & pin are blindingly small) & it held up reasonably well after reinserting. I suspect originally it was held together by glue (that finally wore off on mine) or it's riveted (rather unlikely, but maybe) if not just friction.

I also scraped some blueing/paint off the rear while reinserting the bellows clips this time & had to use nail polish to cover up the shine, as I was afraid it'd create flare while shooting (it was very shiny & close to where the film plane would be).

I wish Fred Lustig & his stock of parts were still around, alas. Still, the camera went from nonworking distance scale to tolerably workable (&, most important, accurate). If I had a battery door & a new strip, I could shoot it handheld like on my Crown Graphic. Thanks again for the help

Re: 45PSS comment

"Somewhere in the earliest post on this site a member attempted to make an actuator strip from an old tape measure."

It works !
I have found some cheaper and smaller tape measures have the right width spring steel (attached to the actual measuring tape) to make replacements.