Graflex.org

[vic valis]

...Currently restoring a wwii era speed graphic... or at least parts of it are, I see a LOT of work had been done on it before someone began painting the exterior. There was a Kalart rangefinder attached to the side; the newer black model, not an early model. Or is it? Ity has the black cover familiar to me from this era. However, looking inside, I see some differences, the most obvious of which is the lack of prism inside. Instead, it is a simple mirror. I'm only used to seeing the prism, and because I have not read all the info on this sight yet I do not know if this is normal, or what. Looking at the online manual on this site, I see that the things that are missing are the items on page 7 numbered 1, 2, and 3. (I'd read the whole thing so as to know what thses are actually called, but I already have a headach from the flu, so humor me folks.) Actually, the scale (numbered 3) is there, but shifed over closer to where the prism would be. What's it sound like I have here? Any easier to adjust? Harder? Is it even the Kalart? As always, thanks folks. Pictures of this project will eventually follow.

jeff

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

[Les]

I'll wait for the flu to ebb and the pictures to come in. Meanwhile the repair manual I have talks about a model E with just a mirror (the prism was the deluxe 'E-2' model. There is also a Kalart RF that uses a hex bolt to lock down one of the scales and that bold his hidden under something. The instructions say to loosen, "use the enclosed thin wrench" heh heh yeah right.

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

[bertsaunders]

Older Kalarts had a mirror on the bottom instead of a prism..Pre-Ann and some Ann models. No diff in adjustment, just a few differences in basic design (simpler), and work just as well as later models! Bert

[vic valis]

Hey! "Simpler!" That's what I like to hear! I'm not even close to setting up the rangefinder yet, but wanted to see what I got myself into. The pictures will be a while in coming; this is a camera that had been painted over so many times that the leather looked smooth except for the cracks. At first I thought it had been re-covered in lizardskin. Broken screws sticking out of the cover where they had broken off when someone had tried to add or remove hardware. Overall a mess, so I had no qualms about completely reconditioning this one. Stay tuned!

jeff

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