#5 Shutter Blues

[SteveH]

All,
I have decided to scrap my electro-mechanically actuated packard in favor of a #5 shutter on my DIY lens project...For two basic reasons. #1 weight savings - no battery pack, no solenoid, no big board to carry around. Plus, I won't have to carry around a bunch of different f/stops. #2 - simplicity. This speaks for itself.
However, as you all know, these things are HARD to find. So my first question is this - anyone out there have one for sale ??? My second question is - if you have one that isn't for sale, who would be willing to take measurements of it for me, so at least I can cut my lens barrel to fit. This way, at least I can make a dummy spacer for the shutter, and have my new lens barrel functional while I wait to find and install the shutter.

Thanks !

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

If you check the SK Grimes site, you can find the specs for an Ilex 5 shutter somewhere in there, and it will be more accurate than I can measure.

I'd recommend buying a lens in an Ilex 5 shutter, and then you can use the lens and use the shutter for other things. I've got a 10" WF Ektar, and I had SK Grimes make me a flange that fits my B&L 5x8 Tessar, 12" Dagor and 19" Apo Artar in barrel, so normally I carry the 10", 12", and 19" and some smaller wide lenses with my 8x10" kit. It takes less space than three lenses on boards, and my shutter speeds are consistent for all three lenses.

 

[Ole]

If you check the articles section here, you can find the specs for the Compound #5 shutter. It's at the bottom of my "Bottom-feeder's guide to German Lenses".

Those specs are from a Compur repair manual, so should be close enough

 

[SteveH]

Thanks guys...
Here's the thing, did all #5 shutters have the same dimensions ? I need to know the ID, thread pitch, flange-aperture distance, etc. Basically, everything I would need to know to make a lens barrel to fit said shutter.

PS - Ole, the search function is giving me an error...

 

[Ole]

I believe all #5 shutters are different. While I haven't owned any others than Compound, there are enough differences in the smaller sizes (3 and 4) that I wouldn't trust anything to be equal!

Oh BTW: (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

 

[SteveH]

Thanks Ole.
I figured as much....So Im still at a halt until I find something

 

[phfitz]

Steve H,

Ilex manual tech specs for #5 size:

shell O.D. =5.079"
flange-flange thickness = 1.083"
front & rear inner thread= 3.000" x 30tpi
rear mount thread = 3.232"x 30tpi
rear flange shoulder O.D.= 3.360"
aperture size= 2.500" >-< .212"

Have fun with it.

 

[jimgalli]

Steve, I have a nice #4 Ilex you can have for $195 if you get to that point. Jim

 

[Jeremy]

I have 2 Ilex #5s and they have different thread pitches in them so be aware of that....

 

[SteveH]

Thanks Again.
Jim - Im hoping for a #5. If I don't find one by the holidays, then Im just going to do without and try the packard approach. A #4 will make me lose too much of the lens's magic. Thanks, I appreciate the offer though.
Jeremy - Thanks for the heads up. Again...Im just stuck until I have something in my hand.

 

[Jim Noel]

try
www.lensn2shutter.com
He usually has just about any useable old shutter you can think of available.

 

[Robert Hall]

I have 2 Ilex #5s and they have different thread pitches in them so be aware of that....

What are you doing with 2 #5s?

Hey, i found the elements for you too!

 

[wfwhitaker]

I second Jeremy's caveat. I bought an Ilex #5 on Ebay once and was disappointed to find that the threads were different from what I already had. David's suggestion is a good one.

 

[Jeremy]

What are you doing with 2 #5s?

Hey, i found the elements for you too!

Robert,

I ended up with an adaptor (just happened to have the part in a junk box) which lets me screw a barrel mounted 9" verito into one of the #5s and later found a 240mm Heliar in a #5 and thought to myself that I could shoot with both lenses in one shutter! Nope, the #5 the Heliar is in has different threads than the one I can screw the verito into So I have to keep both #5s around.