I just bought my first Speed Graphic, which looks like it's in quite good shape - the FP shutter and Kalart range finder will both need a bit of adjustment, but these are minor details.
However, the release cable for the front shutter is broken in two places. That is, the metal spiral outer shrouding is broken, so that it kinks sharply at these points, causing the wire inside to be hard to pull.
Any suggestions for how best to fix this?
Oh, and while looking at it, I notice that the bellows is just starting to come unglued where it overlaps itself on the underside. No light leak yet, but there obviously will be if this continues. Should I just apply a tiny bit of rubber cement, maybe?
I don't think the broken cable can be repaired. The forum at Graflex.org might be helpful in finding a replacement for it. Contact cement, if used sparingly, should work on the bellows and not be harmful. It stays pliable after it has set. I've used it, mixed with black India ink, to repair pinholes in the corners of my bellows.
Assuming your Speed Graphic is similar to my Crown: why not just unscrew the cable release and replace it with a new one?
Ah, I should probably have been more specific: it's a Pacemaker model, and I'm talking about the internal cable that runs from the integrated release button on the camera body, zig-zagging under the bellows, to the release mechanism on the front standard.
I don't think the broken cable can be repaired. The forum at Graflex.org might be helpful in finding a replacement for it. Contact cement, if used sparingly, should work on the bellows and not be harmful. It stays pliable after it has set. I've used it, mixed with black India ink, to repair pinholes in the corners of my bellows.
Thanks, Wade! I'll try a tiny bit of contact cement, then, and get on the graflex.org forum when they're back online - they seem to be down at the moment.
I usually remove that part altogether when I get a new Pacemaker SG. It just gets in the way of full movements when the forward tilt and swing modifications are done, and adds little to the utility of the camera in my view. It also adds another source of lash to the FP shutter release and makes it hard to put a cable release on a shuttered lens, like a 150 Xenotar in a Copal 3.
Unglued bellows edges are common. A little gap is not a concern because there is a big overlap, but if it bothers you, I suggest applying contact cement to both surfaces and pressing them together. Use just a bit.
I can help you with a replacement cable if you decide its worth doing (as others have mentioned, the utility of that cable is somewhat questionable) - PM me if you want. On my own Speed, my primary lens is in a Compur shutter. The release paddle doesn't reach the lever on the shutter so I removed it. I have a tube of some Elmer's contact cement (acid free) in my fridge that I use when I need to repair a seam - just did it yesterday on an Eastman #1.
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Originally Posted by Ottrdaemmerung
