Graflex Crown Graphic Camera - Finished! At least for now!

So the Crown Graphic that I have been working on is done. Thanks in no small part due to the rotten winter weather we have had. Being stuck indoors has indirectly encouraged me to spend time in the shop working on this an other projects. When I purchased this camera on EBay the seller had somewhat misrepresented the condition. More omission than commission. They did not say that it likely had been in a flood. They had mentioned that the bellows leaked. The camera has now been cleaned, the leather stripped and the wood refinished, the bellows patched both with cloth tape and with flexible black silicone sealant, the bellows treated to help preserve future flexibility and last but not least the leather handle has been replaced. Some of the metal parts have been repainted. But I opted not to dissasemble the entire door/focusing bed and have not repated the camera interior parts. Now that she is finished I have taken a few with it shots using Fuji instant film and some of my lens/shutter combinations and it seems to be working well. The bellows are for now light tight and should remain so with reasonable care. The lens and shutter that came with the camera have a ton of fungus and wiping scratches. The shutter also sticks and should I decide to keep her I will make an attempt at cleaning and lubrication. The lens on the other hand shows lots of fungus and wiping scratches. The shots I took with it are very soft. They sharpen a bit when stopped down in the middle F stop range. But when I use my other glass the images improve greatly. In short the body of this camera is back but the glass and shutter are still not what I would consider using.

Side View

Front View

Top View

Back View/Film Holder

Front Lens and bellows - Note patching at bellows points

Bellows Patch Details

Work Continues on the Crown Graphic Refurbishment

While it has been intentionally slow going the refurbishment of the Crown Graphic continues. I did not want to set any deadlines for this project as I have plenty of other things to do and to be stressed over. This has allowed me to do one or two small things a night and allow plenty of time in between for things to dry. The leather is all stripped and the wood has been, cleaned, sanded and refinished. Considering everything this camera has been through the wood that makes up the main box was in great shape. All the joints were tight and sturdy. No re-gluing required. The last week has included the patching of the bellows. The leaking bellows was what started this whole process in the first place. Bellows repair has actually gone better than I originally expected. If it holds I will be quite glad that I did not pay for a new bellows. If it doesn't that always remains an option and iI now know what would be required to remove the bellows from the rear box/standard. I have placed black fabric sports tape on the inside at the bellows points where light could be seen coming through. It seems to adhear well, is flexible, flat black so it should not cause light bounce and seems to work fine when the bellows is openned and closed. The pleats still seem to fold properly. Then I used high flex black silicone caulking to seal the rubberized coating on the bellows exterior. The result seems to be a good seal, light tight and first impressions are that it should be pretty durable. The caulking seem to be appropriately pliable. The rest of the rubber on the bellows seems to be in pretty good shape.

The more I work with the camera the more I am convinced it was underwater for a time. I have been reluctant to take it completely apart. Instead I have chosen to stay focused on fixing the parts to get them functional with a little less emphisis on appearance. I decided last night to reinstall the range finder. It does not fully function as far as I can tell but since I have the parts it went back on. It is brighter now that it was cleaned inside. Should I decide that this camera is for carting out to the field and that I want it to be as light as possible it might get taken back off.

I am now in the process of putting it all back together. After I put the front standard back together i will start testing how well it opens closes. One of my next big steps will be to craft a replacement leather strap for the handle. I am also thinking about ideas for a button/cap for the case opening mechanism. Right now it is just a wire coming through the hole. I assume there must have been a metal part that is missing. Time to get creative.

Photos to follow shortly.