Graflex.org

[Cyrious Photography]

Hey everyone,

Sorry if you've seen 100 of these posts, but I just got my hands on a Speed Graphic, and I was wondering if you guys could answer a few questions for me. First off, here is my new baby:



I picked this guy off ebay for about $175 which, as far as I know is a good price. When I got it, I couldn't see anything throught the camera, and couldn't immediately figure out why. I removed the front lens too see if there were any obstructions, and it seems that the bellows is separating a little bit, but nothing too serious:




When it's extended I don't think it will interfere with taking any pictures.

Upon further inspection, It seems that my rear focal plane shutter isn't working, and it was stuck between frames. I removed the back cover, and was able to manually wind the FPS back to the "0" position so that I could see though it. How difficult is a repair like this? I'm decently handy but I'm just not familiar with this sort of thing, and I don't want to make any mistakes. I can take a video if it trying to work if that would help in any diagnosis.

Anyway, you can see the full album here: http://imgur.com/a/MVInv
If anyone sees anything note worthy or have any tips I'd love to hear them, and I'm excited to get my large format going on.

[45PSS]

The service manual for your 1948 Pacemaker Speed Graphic is here:
http://www.graflex.org/manuals/45-Pacemaker-Speed-and-Crown-Graphic.pdf
The service manual for the Graphex #2 full sync shutter is here:
http://www.southbristolviews.com/pics/Graphic/manual-pdf/GraphexShutterService.pdf
The manuals are in pdf format and should be downloaded to your hard drive.
I also service these for a moderate fee.

As for the bellows separation I would mix some glue with water and inject it with an ink refill syringe and needle. You can also cut the inner lining only with a razor knife in the center of the bellows, apply the adhesive, and reattach. Do not cut at the corners as that is where the most wear occurs and light leaks occur. Use a flexible when dry glue.
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The best camera ever made is the one that YOU enjoy using and produces the image quality that satifies YOU.

[tom thomas]

Nice looking camera, though it is spring-back. Look for a graflok back on E-B*y to make life easier. I saw one there recently. With a graflok back, you can use 120mm roll film adapters instead of having to load 4X5 cut film if you dont' mind the smaller image.

good shooting. I'm waiting for my "new" 4X5 Crown Graphic to arrive. Snow in northeast slowing things down.
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Cro-Magnon preferred Digital.

[Cyrious Photography]

[Cyrious Photography]

[45PSS]

There are 2 repeat TWO manuals linked . The first one is for the camera body and the FPS servicing starts on PDF page 12, manual page 6 under the Section VI heading on the right side.
_________________
The best camera ever made is the one that YOU enjoy using and produces the image quality that satifies YOU.

[Cyrious Photography]

[toolbox]

Nice looking camera. It's got all the early features--small bearing caps, "Speed Graphic" name plate, Graphic back and black painted bed. That also means you have the leather bellows. The leaf shutter isn't original...it's a later one (has the sync switch and focus switch). Oddly, the lens cells are probably older (painted black and not chromed), so the lens cells may actually be original.

FP shutters aren't too hard to work on with these. Only tools you really need are a good set of screwdrivers and a lot of patience. Yours will have the early style governor too, which means it won't come off with the cover plate (if you find instructions online, they may differ because of that). If you have to take it completely apart, you'll get the fun of re-timing the curtain to the winder, which is the only really difficult part of the job (and where the patience is required). A shutter speed tester is also kind of required to set the shutter speeds when you're done, but there are ways to get "pretty close" without one.