1920s 4X5 Gundlach Flatbed

Well I finished my 4X5 Gundlach Flatbed today; all except the bellows. I would have finished them but the kit I got from the DIY Bellows guys pattern is jacked up so I need a new one with the right markings to finish the bellows. I think she is looking nice. I completely disassembled the camera, hand polished all the hardware, hand sanded each piece, stained it with a dark mahogany color stain, hand coated with with two coats of polyurethane with a sanding between coats. I re-assembled it today and installed a cold shoe on top with the double axis spirit level. The name was printed on the front standard in a gold and black paint but in sanding it down I had to remove it so I had a custom brass plate made that says the exact same thing "Gundlach Mfg. Corp., Rochester, N.Y". Once I get the bellows installed and my lens boards arrive I am having custom made she will be ready to shoot!

Very impressive! I'm starting to drool!

Jeff

That looks beautiful! Isn't it nice to own a piece of equipment that can be completely stripped and reassembled with a screwdriver? Please tell us all how the DIY bellows kit works out. I'm contemplating buying one for my whole plate camera.

Peter gomena

Wow, you did a great job. The camera is a real beauty.

It looks great! Are you going to replace the leather handle as well? I like the addition of a hot shoe for the bubble level. Cheers, Richard

Lookin' sweet!

Yes, drooling... well done! Would love to see some images of it finished and images from it as well.

I think I will replace the handle, I did add the cold shoe off of a grip I had for a Mamiya press camera but the handle wouldn't obstruct the level much, you could still see it by looking under the handle but didnt really want to fill in the 8 screw holes so I just put the brackets back on for now. I do have wood putty that matches the stain so I could fill them in if I decide. I am currently waiting on a new exterior cover for the new bellows since the instructions were written wrong and I cut it as the directions said and the exterior is not cut with the right size out, but will be ready later this week. I may put this up for sale once it finished, and it will come with 5 lens boards and a few film holders, maybe a 150mm Xenar so keep your eyes out for it here in the classifieds in a week or so. I have another camera coming I will be bringing back to OEM specs. I enjoy fixing them up, selling them is just a byproduct of me not needing all these cameras laying around not being used.

Colin, I'm looking for a 4x5 field camera. I'm not against taking something off your hands to work on myself if it's just taking up space in your house... But then again, if you rework something, I would like to talk price with you too. But seriously, if you have something you just can't seem to 'get around to fixing', I'm willing to do whatever work it takes to get a 4x5 fold-em-up-and-pack-em-out field camera. Looks like you do good work.