Graflex.org

[vic valis]

Okay, a year ago I bought a pre-anniversary speed graphic, stripped off the leather, cleaned off the paint, veneered the metal portions I didn't like and ended up with a great camera that looks like a 19th century field camera... has nothing to do with my question, just thought I'd boast about it. Now the actual question: bought a second pre-anniversary that I'm going to go the other directions with... restore it to original condition as best as possible. I bought it on ebay, so won't get it for a few weeks, and got it cheap because it is missing the tension knob on the side. I don't have my first camera with me to look at (or the schematics that several people here have emailed me in the past--thanks guys!), so what I wonder is if anyone knows if 1)I can cobble something together from hardware store parts to replace the knob; 2)if that knob is a specialty part, or; 3)is it likly Fred Lustig have replacement parts for the pre-anniversary cameras. I have a later anniversary Speed Graphic camera I may need him to calibrate, so eventually I will be contacting him anyhow. Thanks!

P.S. Anyone know where I can find an appropriate rangefinder/viewer for a camera this age?

_________________
That money talks,
I'll not deny.
I heard it once;
It said "good-bye."

[Les]

the rangefinder for late model Pre-Anns have what they call and external link-- the arm reaches around between the body and the door-- to reach the rails. These would be next to impossible to find by themselves.

The other thing that often happened was during the war, Folmer Graflex offered their ReNewAl program, where they would update old Speeds. had your camera gone through the program it would have probably gotten either a Tube type kalart finder (the one where the adjustments are on the outside) or a silver bodied Kalart. These were available in the 40s.
Les

[vic valis]

Your mention of the external working rangefinder reminds me that I kept all the parts removed from the original camera, so I may have the rangefinder problem beat (assuming all the little springs and whatnot are with it... a bunch may have gotten away). I can probably use the knob from the first camera to replace the missing one from the new camera, assuming I can find/make one.



_________________
That money talks,
I'll not deny.
I heard it once;
It said "good-bye."

[vic valis]

And a followup to my last comment, in looking at the pictures of the camera I won, I see it's not even a pre-anniversary but a top handle model. Don't know how much of a difference it will make, but it will give me a basis for my research. At least I know now that the loop sportfinder is not missing, just was never part of the original camera. Gotta get used to smaller lensboards though.

_________________
That money talks,
I'll not deny.
I heard it once;
It said "good-bye."

[jdman]

If it is a top handle I think they only have one knob.Do you not have any. or just one? Russ

[vic valis]

The pre-anniversary and "top handle" cameras have just one knob for the focusing rack, if that's what you're asking. The knob that appears to be missing is the one used for setting the tension on the focal plane shutter. I had an opportunity to look at my own pre-anniversary camera (it currently resides at a friend's home while we wait for her to give birth... after the first baby pictures, I get to take it home again). The knob does look like a specialty part, but I suspect I might still be able to come up with something using stuff from the hardware store. The potential problem is that in looking at the pictures, the plate that lists the various speeds is not located BETWEEN the two plates that cover the focal plane mechanism as it is on my first camera, but is offset to the foward end of the camera... making me think it's dimensions are smaller than they should be. My calart rangefinder from the original camera would not fit on the side with the plate in the way. Unless that is normal for the top handle models. Perhaps it is a later model in smaller format. It was advertized as 4x5 though, so we'll see.

_________________
That money talks,
I'll not deny.
I heard it once;
It said "good-bye."

[Les]

from your description this is a top handle 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 not 4x5. The 3x4 Top handle was the only camera to have that triangular top plate on the focal plane winding plate.

_________________
"In order to invent, you need a good imagination and a lot of junk" Thomas Edison

[vic valis]

Well payment went out the other day, so I'll find out before too long. If it is the smaller format, I'm sure the seller will take it back as she advertized it as 4x5. It did look nice though. Found another auction where the seller has a lot of old parts I recognized as from the older Speed Graphics... the knob I was looking for among them, so at least I've got that problem licked. That's what makes the online auctions so fun... not knowing exactly what you're getting: maybe a treasure, maybe something completely different than what you thought.

jeff

[vic valis]

Well the good news is that the camera has arrived and it is in fact a 4x5 top handle camera (even has the top handle, tought it is pretty dry). The camera looks pretty good except for the knob... it's not just missing but broken off with the shaft. Since I do not have my later model pre-anniversary I cannot say for sure but the external parts on the tension knob look smaller then I remember. Now, around the same time I put a bid on a lot of parts up for auction and won... among the parts are what look like the know (at least one part of the knob... I seem to remember that it is a two-part affair), assorted pieces and two shutter curtain rollers. If this collection of parts comes from the same camera I think it was probably once one of the 4x5 SLRs. So my question is: if the rollers are from a 4x5 Graflex of some variety using the same shutter as the anniversary, would the rollers be interchangable with this top handle model? Also, what is the name of the little viewer that these came with, Mine came without, and I want to keep my eyes open for one?

Thanks,
jeff

_________________
That money talks,
I'll not deny.
I heard it once;
It said "good-bye."