Graflex.org

[Stilagrrl]

Hi. I just received my veryy beat up Graflex XL and I'm trying to figure out how to dismount the lens. I want to check out the plastic tabs inside the focusing cone, because I suspect they're broken. So, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Rachel

[Stilagrrl]

Hurray, I figured it out! The helical barrel was kind of jammed back into the focusing cone, so it took some wiggling to get it out. I think the tabs are intact, assuming I'm looking at the right thing. I cleaned up the mount, reinstalled the lens barrel and I'm now able to focus. Now to start taking some pictures.

Rachel

[disemjg]

Lucky you if all the tabs are there. If the focus is stiff, as mine was, use a touch of silicone grease on the tabs and they will slide in the grooves much easier.

[Stilagrrl]

I was wrong, I now believe all of the tabs are broken. What I was looking at were the plastic "slots" in the focusing cone, but upon closer inspection, I can see that something is broken/missing just above each of these three slots, which I'm guessing are the tabs.

So once again, this brings up the question of repairing the tabs. The consensus seems to be that these tabs can't be glued back on, which doesn't really matter to me since the tabs on mine are long gone.

So, what if I removed the focusing cone and took it to a machine shop and had them drill holes through the cone where the old tabs were, then "press" a very short length of a small diameter brass rod into the hole so it protrudes into the cone just enough to engage the slots in the lens barrel? There seems to be sufficient thickness in the cone wall to support this.

If this sounds too complicated, perhaps I could have them drill the holes and thread them so I could screw machine screws into holes and have them engage the grooves on the barrel.

Does any of this make sense? I've just started looking at this, so I may be completely wrong about how the cone engages the lens barrel, but it seems like it just needs something to catch the groove. In fact, even though mine is missing all three tabs, the lens can sort of be focused because there is a tiny bit of plastic that still catches the groove and moves the lens in and out. However, it doesn't take much to dislodge it, so I would like to find a better solution.

Well, that's just one of the problems with the camera I received. The rangefinder infinity reset button doesn't seem to work, so I can't get the rangefinder to sync up with the lens (hopefully this won't be too hard to fix) and the roll film back that was advertised as being a "220" back is actually an RH-50, 70mm back.

BTW, has anyone tried drilling out the holes in a 120 film spool and using it in the RH-50? I did it with a test roll and watched as the film advanced and the spacing appears to be correct.

Thanks,
Rachel

[Nick]

[disemjg]

Fred Lustig may be selling parts again; give him a call before trying to come up with a home-grown fix. If that does not pan out your brass pin idea may be worth trying, although mounting them strongly enough in the side of the focusing ring may be an issue as there is a lot of stress put on them. Since the tabs are gone and you have not seen them, they are beveled rectangles, actually six sided, complex shapes. This provides a cam surface to obtain the smooth advance and retreat motion of the focus barrel. Being nylon they were self-lubricating. A metal on metal fix may have a good deal of friction, but may be your only option. The machine shop route may cost more for a potentially weak repair than the camera is worth, as beater XLs are not worth a lot of money.

[disemjg]

There is a rat/parts XL RF body for a hundred bucks on Pacificrim.com

They do not show a photo of this one, so quiz them thouroughly before you buy it.

[ This Message was edited by: disemjg on 2004-09-18 19:22 ]

[Stilagrrl]

Hi Nick,

Thanks so much for the information. I didn't think about the thickness, but you're absolutely right. I'll keep an eye out for some 70mm cartridges, but in the mean time, I'll give some 220 film a try.

Thanks,
Rachel

[Stilagrrl]

Hi disemjg,

Thanks for the tip on Fred Lustig, I'll see if I can get in touch with him. I'll also look into what Pacific Rim is selling, hopefully it'll have the tabs. I guess if all else fails, I'll move forward with my solution and report back if it worked.

Thanks,
Rachel

[Nick]