Graflex.org

[KMH]

Hello all. New member and owner of a very nice Graphic View. Tested it out the other day and it seems to be working great.

Only thing wrong is the ground glass is cracked, rather badly in the upper right corner. I did some research about how to make your own with silicon carbide so I decided to give that a try. Wasn't sure if the glass I had would fit, but gave it shot anyway.

First thing I noticed before I did any cutting was that the original GG was 3 7/8 x 4 7/8" exactly. Not 4X5 which may cause trouble when trying to swap out a new one from a different manufacturer. 2nd issue was that the original is approx. 1.5mm thick. The only stock I had was the typical 3/32" stuff you can get for picture frames. I ground down what I had and when I put it in the camera, the back would not close by about 1", and trying my luck broke what I had made. No biggie, but I now I seem to face an even bigger problem.

Where can a guy get 1.5mm glass these days? A search online only came up with bulk pallet orders by the square meter. Is this glass so uncommon that it would be even harder to find than an original GG itself?

I guess worse comes to worst I can get a stock piece of ground glass and try to cut it down. I'm not sure how that would handle cutting though and don't want to waste anything if it's a bit expensive.

Any tips would be appreciated.
_________________
A work in progress, a journey in the making.

[choiliefan]

I wonder if "water glass" would be overkill. It is used for picture framing and available in various thickness.

Perhaps this company can supply what you need. The company is S.I.Howard Glass:
http://flatglassproducts.howardglass.com/viewitems/schott-borofloat-glass/schott-borofloat-glass-2?&forward=1

All the best,

[45PSS]

Any thickness of glass that has good optical qualities can be used if the following conditions are met, in order of importance:
1. the ground side must be at the film plane facing the lens.
2. the retainer clips will hold it firmly in place.
3. the focusing hood will fit and operate properly.

To test correct positioning:
1. remove the back from the camera.
2. insert a film holder loaded with a scrap piece of film the type you regularly use.
3. remove the darkslide.
4. lay a straight edge across the back making sure that both sides are on the same height of frame edge.
5. measure from the straight edge to the film surface at several points. I take 6 readings at the centers of a 3 x 3 grid.
6. All measurements should be within .007 inch of one another.

The film surface of a good film holder should be .197±.007 inch below the edge of the film holder.

Kodak TriX 320 is .007 inch thick.
_________________
The best camera ever made is the one that YOU enjoy using and produces the image quality that satifies YOU.

[KMH]

Thanks for the reply guys.

The link to S.I Howard was something I also stumbled across later in a search. I will try and e-mail them to see what shipping would be. If it's too expensive it may not be worth all the trouble.

As for the thickness of the glass, apparently it is very important. The ground glass has to fit under the piano hinge at the top so thickness seems to be very crucial here. My 3/32" piece just barely fit underneath but had too much pressure on it when the back closed.

I also found a site it seems others have found for ground glass - Surplus Shed. They have sheets of 8X10 1.5mm thick Kodak ground glass ******* for $18.00 shipped so that could be an option. I will have to try and make another ground glass and then try to cut it to see how that goes. If successful, I guess cutting an 8X10 down to two sizes to fit the Graphic View could work.

Thanks again for the help.
_________________
A work in progress, a journey in the making.

[Henry]

I've been following this thread with some interest. Here's the item referred to above: http://www.surplusshed.com/pages/item/l14480.html

This place, Surplus Shed, is practically in my back yard! Fleetwood, PA (where they used to make bodies for, you guessed it, the Cadillac Fleetwood), is about 25 miles down the road between Allentown and Reading. Mmm, wonder if they have a retail store???

[Henry]

For those who live close by: I have just learned that the Surplus Shed warehouse in Fleetwood is open to the public on Saturdays from 8:30 AM to 2:30 PM.

[KMH]