Custom Camera Repair Needed

[Silverpixels5]

Does anybody know of a place where I can get some custom work done to an 8x10 wood camera? What I want is for it to be modified for gear focusing. Currently the front is fixed, and the back has to be slid in order to focus. The extension rail is gear focused....I'd like the main rail to be gear focused as well. If there is a place in Houston that does this, then it would be great, but I don't mind shipping it somewhere that does good work. Thanks for any info you can offer!

 

[jimgalli]

Richard Ritter comes to mind. He made a back for a 7X17 for me. Trouble is these days labor is so expensive you can easily pass up other options in total cost and not end up with much. It cost well over $300 to have a back built. But it made sense for that camera. There are so many great old 8X10's out there for so little $ that you simply can't afford to throw too much $ at yours when you could buy one that will do what you want for less. I bought a dandy old Kodak 2D the other day for $267 bucks. Calumet C1's hover around $400.

 

[juan]

Richard Ritter has done quality work for me.
juan

 

[Jeanne]

I second the Richard Ritter recommendation -- all the work he's done for me has been beautiful. And reasonably priced.

 

[Jim Chinn]

Ron,

Does it simply need a gear rack mounted to the rear bed or does it require a pinion and knob assembly as well?

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Good point, Jim.

If you only need the gear track, you might be able to order it as a stock part (you'll need to know the pitch in teeth-per-inch), and then there will be a little work involved in attaching it to the bed.

 

[Jim Chinn]

In the Houston area you are bound to have bearing and precision parts suppliers listed in the yellow pages. They could look at the current rack and measure it for match and order a piece for you. One such company in Omaha that is nationwide is Precision Bearing and Manufacturing. Example for cost would be a 12" length 32 pitch 3/16" brass rack is $22.38. The gear rack now on the camera may be carbon steel, and they are less expensive, but a brass gear does not rust and is easy to drill and cut to size if you do it yourself.

Measure the teeth in an inch and the width of the rack. How long a piece would you need and what is the camera model? I have a variety of pieces around here in both brass and steel. Maybe something that will work. you can have it for a lot less then the above price.

 

[Jorge]

I dont know anybody in Houston that works specifically on cameras, but you might want to go to Camera Co-op and ask David (the owner) if he knows anybody, he works on wood and might be able to give you the names of some people.

 

[Silverpixels5]

Jim:

The camera is an 8x10 Korona Pictoral View. Right now the main bed just has a sliding rack on it. There is also a knob that is used to tighten/loosen the back to this rack. The rack is probably about 10-12" in length, and if possible I'd like to replace it with a geared rack, and hopefully be able to switch out that tightening rod&knob for a geared one as well.

Jorge:

Thanks for the suggestion of talking to David. I completely forgot about him. He steered me in the right direction when I needed to make a new baseboard for my D5XL. I'll swing by there tomorrow and see if he can recommend anyone as well.

Thank you everyone for your help and advice!

 

[Jorge]

When you do, tell him I said hello...

 

[Deckled Edge]

I bought a dandy old Kodak 2D the other day for $267 bucks.

I too bought a 2D on e-bay for around $300. I own an 8x10 Deardorff with all the bells and whistles, and wanted the 2D to make into a horizontal enlarger. However the 2D is such a neat old camera that I have had user fantasies. You should really consider the purchase of a proven winner rather than the expensive modification of a proven loser.