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[FeatheredSerpent]

Greetings from the Pacific Northwest, I have a Crown with a track that is too tight, I can move the locking lever but it doesn't seem to release. I of course will attempt to remove the track from the body and see what I can see...any insight from you folks before I "take it apart".The box it was shipped to me in was dropped and the focus spot attached to the camera was sheared off,USPS, could this have "racked" the camera body ??? Thanks for any reply.BTW the camera does function and makes beautiful images.

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Reality is Perception. As We adjust our perception, our reality changes.

[45PSS]

A). Download the Top RF service manual at http://www.southbristolviews.com/. Side and Top Rf are the same body/bed/back with different Rf.
B). Look at the center of the focus lock, if screw head is visable, turn in 1/8 or less turns to see if that will fix it.
C). Rail guides on top of rail blocks with several screws on each side of the rails (yoke). Loosen all screws on one side 1/2 to 3/4 turn at a time until guide will just move and retighten keeping guide/block assembly parallel to side of bed.
D). Verify rails enter the body smoothly after any adjustment, correct if they do not.
Charles

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While a picture may be worth a thousand words, a quality photograph is worth a million.

[ This Message was edited by: 45PSS on 2005-03-15 21:26 ]

[glennfromwy]

The advice Charles gives should get you going but also check the short guides in the body for alignment and breakage. These are often broken by folks who try to close the camera incorrectly. The short track will then skip the guides and/or jam. Also check for old solidified gease in the guide channels.

_________________
Glenn

"Wyoming - Where everybody is somebody else's weirdo"

[Murray@uptowngallery.org]

I acquired a CG that apparently had been closed improperly, cracking the 'lip' of both short rear rack guides AND bending the rack.

Glenn, the previous poster was able to source a front guide which I cut into two new rear guides. Luckily I had a friendly machinist where I worked until recently who placed the holes for me (according to own my hopefully correct caliper measurements).

I just got a machinist at my new job to counterbore the rear guide holes, something we neglected to finish some time ago, and cut me some new pins from drill rod. I sort of beveled (barely) the ends of the pins after filing then to length while holding them in a drill chuck.

The challenging part was straightening the rack. Luckily only the lip was badly bent. I used shim stock and a manual arbor press to straighten and slightly overbend the bent part. I straightened the rack 'lip' (thinnest outer edge that rides in the guides) by squeezing it in a vice between two steel bars (gauge blocks I think, nice and [guaranteed] flat). Rough spots in the rack guides were polished with very fine Silicon Carbide paper.

When I put it together it all worked except for one side needed slight finger pressure to re-engage the rack into the back guides when retracting the focus. That's when I realized I needed the counter bore to get enough thread into the blind fasteners inside the rear section, and I had also forgotten the shims under the rear guides. I think they will take care of the finger pressure I needed to align the rack & rear guides.

I hope to put it back together for good in the next evening or so.

The rangefinder is still a lost cause, but the scariest damage has been fixed.

Murray

[FeatheredSerpent]

Thank You Gentlemen, I will let you know how the fix goes, waiting on a manual and then I will disassemble the yoke and guides and re-align the rear track where it seems to be sticking. I beleive it won't take too much as it has loosened up a bit from following your advice.

_________________
Reality is Perception. As We adjust our perception, our reality changes.

[troublemaker]

On one of my top RF'ers the rails were badly misalligned and the camera was in bad shape, bought as a parts camera. The camera was very tight because of this. After complete dissaassembly of the rails I ended up having to shim the front rails with some card stock and now it works well and the camera has been rebuilt and works well. Use a small machinist scale to check the allignment from front rails to the rear. The rear rails will be alligned closest to 90 degrees with regards the film plane, so bring the front into allignment with the back. On Centuries the rear rails in the body can be adjusted, but not so on the Crown. I also had to do a slight bit of filing to clean up the guides so the rear would slide into the front properly when run out for close work. When I use WA lenses I run the rear into the front guides part way to keep the rear rail from doing the wiggly jiggly when releasing the shutter (as the rear rails on old Graphcs tend to be loosy goosy and not much one can do about it), so it is good to have the rails alligend. Good luck with the project,
Stephen

[Henry]

This post will talk about my experience with my Century 2x3 but it may be relevant to the larger Graphics as well. A previous user had bunged up the inner ends of the bed (long) rails, and I compounded the error by forcing the body shut before retracting the front standard all the way. I was able to flatten the rails in situ, and as insurance against future OAF ("owner assisted failure") I installed a 1/4"-diameter brass washer, blackened with "permanent" marker, under the screw head at the end of each rail. Now if I am forgetful, there is an added element of resistance there to remind me ("OAF") to back off and do it right. BTW, the washers are unobtrusive and do not interfere in the slightest with the travel of the front standard.

[ This Message was edited by: Henry on 2005-03-30 12:05 ]