Graflex.org

[harryzet]

whgen the camera is focused via GG to infinity the rangefinder is off horizontally and vertically and the pointer on the top does not stop at the infinity-position but goes beyond infinity. anybody knows how to correct all this?

[RichS]

Did you first verify that you have the correct cam for your lens and the lens is set in the proper infinity position on the rails?

If so, you can buy the service manual from craig camera that shows the adjustment procedure.

If all else fails, I could e-mail the few pages that show the rangefinder service.

[horla]

I suppose it could be the cam or the infinity stop as “RichS” points out. What worries me is the part of your description that says the rangefinder is off horizontally. If it was just a vertical problem I would think it was definitely just the wrong infinity stop or an incorrect cam, but a horizontal shift sounds like the adjuster screws need to be turned (or maybe even something more drastic). Unfortunately, you may have to take the camera apart to fiddle with the rangefinder and take it from me, it’s not easy. I took mine apart twice without a manual but I wouldn’t recommend that, I would try and find one. If you are curious you can find my post from last year explaining my stupid adventures taking my Super Graphic apart. Once you’re inside, I found most of the adjustments to be obvious. I would point out that there is one adjustment screw that is not inside the rangefinder housing but underneath a little metal panel that is adjacent to the “secret panel” where the cam is installed. It loosens the metal component that slides over the cam and subsequently turns the mirror. This can slightly change the horizontal adjustment but if you go too far you may make it worse or create whole new problems like break the mirror off if you rotate it too far. If do anything, make sure you really pay attention to what it looked like before you fiddled with it or hours of time will be spent trying to figure out what went wrong. Recently, I found myself wondering how it was that I allowed myself to try and fix my 210mm Linhof-Schneider lens. Springs, levers and what not, all over and a good 20 hours of head banging nonsense trying to get it back together. Why didn’t I take some digital pictures of what it looked like first? It would have made it simpler. The designers of camera equipment don’t factor into the designs making it easy for their users to fix it by themselves. I am so lucky I haven’t had to take something I was trying to fix to the repair shop to restore what I had stupidly done.

[Jim23]

What ever you do - DO NOT loosen the hex-headed set screw on the RF arm! If you do, the spring tension will let go and break off the mirror - I learned the hard way (nearly 25 years ago and many $$$ later and sending the camera off for repair).

I later got the Super Graphic repair manual and it also warns about this screw. They recommend that field repair consist of removing the entire RF assembly and sending it back to Graflex for calibration on a fixture.

Fred Lustig might have the factory fixture and/or an alternate means to repair these.

Regards......