C2 roll holder repair and modification

[Daniel Jackson]

Hello all,
I've recently acquired a Calumet C2 roll film holder, and I'm wondering if this thing is broken or just finicky:

When I bought it, the crank was free-turning without any stops. So I opened up the mechanism and pushed around a few gears to see if anything was loose. It looks like the counter-dial is supposed to be able to select the winding area on the counter gear (with no teeth) and then move it back to the beginning when you're ready with another roll. Thing is, my counter-dial doesn't move the gear! It spins freely! If I move the counting gear with my finger, I can start the wind-then-stop mechanism, but there doesn't seem to be any way to do that when the unit is assembled. The counting dial doesn't move when the winding crank is turned, whether the count-and-stop mechanism is engaged or not.

I got this holder second hand as part of a Graphic View outfit, so I'm more interested in fixing it than taking it back and buying a different one. Am I right about the counter dial? Anyone else ever taken these things apart?

Also: would it be worthwhile modifying the gate (from 6x7 to the widest possible without leakage problems) and winding twice per frame/tweaking the start position, or am I better off looking for a different roll back for that sort of thing? I've got a TLR for MF shots, but with an 80mm or wider lens on the 4x5 I think this back could get me the panoramic shots I've been looking for...

 

[ic-racer]

I am not at all familiar with this unit. Here are the loading instructions in case you don't have them: http://www.southbristolviews.com/pics/Graphic/manual-pdf/ins_c2n.pdf

 

[Daniel Jackson]

Well, I got the thing into pieces and found out that the counter-gear is held to the axle of the counting dial by the friction of the dial butting up against the "shoulder" of the gear--if the dial is screwed on tightly enough, it works just fine. If you unscrew the dial from the axle just a little bit, there's no friction between dial and gear, the whole axle will spin inside the gear and the counter mechanism won't show you what's happening on the dial or allow you to start a new roll. Tightening the dial is tricky--the other end of the axle has a slotted head for a screwdriver, but it's hidden beneath another gear. (unless you've got the tools to take the snap-ring off of that gear...) I managed to get a small screwdriver tip into the slot sideways and hold it in place while tightening the counter dial. You could probably hold it with extra-fine needle-nose pliers, too.

I've run a roll of exposed 220 through, and it looks like the spacing is off on a couple of frames. (3&4 overlap, and there's frighteningly little room between 5,6,7.) Not sure if this would be resolved using 120 instead of 220... I suppose there's only one way to find out...

In any case, I'm not impressed by this holder. The price was right, but then I've always been penny wise/pound foolish when it comes to buying gear...

 

[ic-racer]

I've run a roll of exposed 220 through, and it looks like the spacing is off on a couple of frames. (3&4 overlap, and there's frighteningly little room between 5,6,7.) Not sure if this would be resolved using 120 instead of 220... I suppose there's only one way to find out...

In any case, I'm not impressed by this holder. The price was right, but then I've always been penny wise/pound foolish when it comes to buying gear...

Sounds like you have fixed it. Did you use the correct start mark for the 220 as I think it is different than the one for 120.