Graflex.org

[bjbashore]

I recently acquired a WWII Signal Corps Speed Graphic "body" missing the back and lense/lense board. I have subsequently purchased both pieces but, in trying to reassemble the pieces, they don't fit! The lense board is slightly oversized; the replacement ground glass spring back is intended to be affized with a single screw at the top and bottom but the camera body has a horizontal "hook" to which the original back attached.

I was wondering if I should trim down the lense board to fit or try to find another lense board that will fit better. Likewise with the back-- can I find replacement springs that would attach correctly or should I look for a whole new back? It looks like I have a Graphic back but the attachments are meant for the Graflox back.

Any ideas?

Betsy

[jdman]

Unless I am reading your post wrong, it sounds like you have a Graflok back minus the focus screen. If your replacment focus screen attachs with a single screw top and bottom then it is for the Graphic back. Does it have a removable Ground glass or non-removable Ground Glass? On the Lens board is your camera a Pacemake or an Anniversary. Look at the main Graflex.org site and tell us what you have. If its a Pacemaker you need the metal lensboard, if its an Anniversary it will be bakelite with a bevel on one side. Russ

[bjbashore]

It looks like the body is for an anniversary graphic. However, the portion where the lense should mount appear to accept a sheet metal lenseboard (like the pacemaker). It has a channel or inset just inside where the lense board would be placed and I think a sheet metal board would fit right in the grooves. I have a lense right now (I don't know the size yet)-- where would I find a metal lense board.

The back I currently have has a removable ground glass. After asking my question yesterday, I looked around a bit on the internet and am pretty sure I need the graflox back. What I am now wondering is-- are there graflox backs with focusing glass? I have to assume so because my other anniversary manual refers to them. I have only been able to find graflox mount backs for reel film. While I'd someday want one, I have a ton of sheet film holders (and now film) and hoped to use them. Where would I find a gfarlox back-- maybe one I could use the glass I have (I've noticed that alot of backs are sans glass).

On an aside, I am starting to wonder about the age of the Signal Corps body that I have (WWII or Korean War?). It looks like a real hybrid, compared to my anniversary graphic. In my searches last night, I noted that the extant Signal Corps speed graphics are all different in one respect or another. While many were produced, the surviving examples seem to run the gambit from very primitive to all the bells and whistles. I beginning to think that there was quite a bit of experimentation in design.

Betsy

[jdman]

It is not impossible to make a metal lens board, but it will be much better to find one that goes down in the groves. They will have little dimples on the top and bottom so the slides put pressure on the board when installed. These lens boards show up from time to time, of course they may have the wrong size hole in them. If your camera has the hooks, and slides then you need the graflok back, which also show up from time to time on Ebay, which should have a Ground glass and Fresnel lens in it. It may or maynot have the removable shade which may have to be found. The removable shade is the same as the one used on the late Graphic backs. I think you have a Pacemaker camera, however if has the rear sports finder mounted on the top of the camera then it is a Anniversary model. Russ

[Baker]

It's probably a Pacemaker, but the military ones didn't have the Pacemaker-style built-in cable release and selector switch -- they had the same rear shutter release lever as the Anniversary model. I think that's what's causing the confusion.

Does it have a knob or a small switch at the bottom to select tension (high/low range shutter speeds)? It should have the switch, and a window showing the speed, if it's a Pacemaker.

[ This Message was edited by: Baker on 2003-05-12 09:15 ]

[bjbashore]

It has the window showing the curtain shutter speed. The release is a switch (?) and tension is controlled by a winding knob-- looks like a wing nut. It also has the top mount finder bracket(finder is missing).

I located both the lenseboard and a graflox back.