Graflex.org

grat · Joined: 17 Feb 2021 Posts: 19 Location: Gainesville, FL

The unit that came with my speed graphic is fairly hazy-- Does anyone know the secret of disassembling the scope without breaking it?

The best guess I've been able to make is that the lens at the threaded end is glued into place.

Edit: I realized I was unspecific-- It's the collapsible tube version.

45PSS · Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2021 8:31 pm Post subject:

It should screw into the rangefinder eyepiece. That's not to say that someone bonded it to the rangefinder or its rusted in place. Sometimes they just stick with age.
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The best camera ever made is the one that YOU enjoy using and produces the image quality that satifies YOU.

grat · Joined: 17 Feb 2021 Posts: 19 Location: Gainesville, FL

Removal is easy. The threads are in good shape.

The problem is, the haze is *inside* the scope. I need to disassemble it to get to the inside surfaces. It would be like taking it apart to replace the spring.

45PSS · Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2021 10:50 pm Post subject:

I have never had one apart.
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The best camera ever made is the one that YOU enjoy using and produces the image quality that satifies YOU.

45PSS · Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2021 1:27 am Post subject:

I just received a camera for servicing that has a FocuScope attached. The spring holds the front glass in place, the rear is bonded in place and the two sections are held together at the center. I suggest using a 1.2mm slot screwdriver or similar and pry the bevel outward until the sections separate, clean, reassemble, press the bevel down until it holds and the sections move freely.
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The best camera ever made is the one that YOU enjoy using and produces the image quality that satifies YOU.

grat · Joined: 17 Feb 2021 Posts: 19 Location: Gainesville, FL

Here's a terrible drawing:

)---===[[[[||

Where the )--- is the collapsing part, the ===[[[ is the body, and the || is the thread/end-piece with the lens in it.

I assume you mean the final "|" is press-fit into the threaded segment? It was the only explanation that made sense when I was looking at it, but I didn't want to guess.

Would I be better with a small screwdriver, or a plastic tool such as is used for modern snap-together electronics?

Since I essentially get one shot at this, I'd like to be fully forewarned.

I appreciate the info.

45PSS · Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2021 6:09 am Post subject:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Yy7RiZ27PiJmOf9cUVJAwGCbpuRQjJsk/view?usp=sharing
Separate at the arrow is my best guess.
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The best camera ever made is the one that YOU enjoy using and produces the image quality that satifies YOU.

Dan Fromm · Joined: 14 May 2001 Posts: 2144 Location: New Jersey

Charles, I just tried to look at the drawing you posted on Google Drive. Please allow everyone to access it.

45PSS · Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2021 6:54 pm Post subject:

The link should work.
_________________
The best camera ever made is the one that YOU enjoy using and produces the image quality that satifies YOU.

grat · Joined: 17 Feb 2021 Posts: 19 Location: Gainesville, FL

I'm getting access denied as well.

45PSS · Posted: Tue Feb 23, 2021 11:05 pm Post subject:

Good 'ol google, doesn't work as stated.
2nd attempt
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Yy7RiZ27PiJmOf9cUVJAwGCbpuRQjJsk/view?usp=sharing
_________________
The best camera ever made is the one that YOU enjoy using and produces the image quality that satifies YOU.

grat · Joined: 17 Feb 2021 Posts: 19 Location: Gainesville, FL

That worked.

I would not have expected it to come apart there. Long day. I now comprehend.

Thanks!

45PSS · Posted: Wed Feb 24, 2021 12:14 am Post subject:

Its a sealed unit not designed to be taken apart but that's where I'd try.
_________________
The best camera ever made is the one that YOU enjoy using and produces the image quality that satifies YOU.

grat · Joined: 17 Feb 2021 Posts: 19 Location: Gainesville, FL

Figured it out.

After much staring at the thing, trying to figure out how to take it apart, I started thinking about how it was put together. I very quickly realized there were only two explanations, so I grabbed both ends, pulled apart and twisted, and with a bit of protest, and 70+ years of dust and grime, it pulled apart cleanly.

It's a friction fit, essentially.

So the "front" lens (against the rangefinder) drops in, the spring presses onto the lens, and the eyepiece tube is pressed through a narrow section of the tube.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Es8xZ55cCXYWxFKP8

That's the good news.

For anyone else, considering this operation, BE WARNED:

The bad news is that the tube is a very tight fit to reinsert the lens-- realistically, it needs to be opened up a bit. Otherwise, the very old, and somewhat brittle raw edge of the lens rubs against the metal of the tube, and starts flaking.

So while I have a very clean leans, it's missing a few chips around the outer edge. Still, it's arguably a better image than I had before, but I think I'll be searching for either a replacement lens or a replacement assembly.