Just finished working on this early V8 dorff.
Check out the results:
Lots of photos of the whole process here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.593278400791000.1073741842.276274625824714&type=1
Some words about the LF deardorff people B Cochran and ken kough, without which this project might have looked a little different.
Ken was helpful, and gave some sounds advice (after suggesting i let him do the work, to which i politely refused), but refused to divulge the actual name or color of the original stain used on this camera. Not that big a deal, as he said the company that made the original stain went out of business in 2012. Still could have been useful.
I bought a bunch of parts from Cochran on Ebay, only to find that a day later he lowered all priced by 25-35% on all the items i purchased. I asked for the difference, and was told i would get a refund, but never did. It took about 10 days for them to get the parts in the mail. The finish on some of the custom metal parts was ehh so so, as this is all machine cut, i thought it would be top notch. They look ok, just not what i expected.
They promised torx screws in the complete screw set on ebay. At the end there were 2 sets of hex screws out of about 25...
Who in the world still uses slotted screws and why???? This is by far the dumbest thing in the world. Does it look better? how much better does it look when all your slotted screw heads are stripped... The screws are made of a fairly soft metal, and have a super shiny coating which is nice, but not very useful. So much more work for no good reason, but not their fault. I wish it was all torx/hex or even phillips would be so much easier to torque up and not have to over power your screwdriver on such soft and fragile wood. Eventually i got them all in.
Some of what happened:
I just finished restoring this beautiful Deardorff V8 8X10 field camera. It was a grueling process, but it was also so much fun discovering the inner workings of this beast of a camera, and finally looking at the finished camera, shiny and gleaming, ready to make some great photos once again.
The camera got to us after having spent about 30 years in a barn in Rhode Island, exposed to the elements, it had rust and corrosion everywhere, flaking off finish, and some pretty ugly bellows. Luckily, the bones were in good shape, and the amazing cherry wood this camera is made of survived quite nicely under all those coats of lacquer even after all those years of abuse.
I started by taking it all apart, which was really the hardest part, as so many of the screws were rotted through the wood, and were seized. Why would anyone use slotted screws on anything? Especially when it has to do with wood??? I used every trick in the book, but eventually got all the parts separated with zero damage.
All the wood got sanded down to its core by hand, stained, and coated with MANY layers of stain and protective coating. The original Deardorff cameras had more then 20 layers applied at the factory.
all metal parts were broken down, cleaned, soaked, brushed and polished.
With the help of a brand new bellows (made of fully waterproof and ultralight material), complete set of new screws, a new leather handle, and some other new bits, the camera was ready t be put back together. At first it seemed that taking it apart would be easier then putting it back together, but this camera is so simple, and the design is so intuitive, it went much faster then it took to break it down.
I decided to leave some of the patina this camera had, and left most of the metal hardware with their blemishes (as long as they did not interfere with using the camera). The result speaks for itself - a restored camera with a feel and look of a well cared for and age hardened piece of history.
The final result is phenomenal. It is really a thing of beauty, and such a joy to open and close. The movements are buttery smooth as Deardorffs usually are and the shiny knobs and and finish are a pleasure to use.
Check out the results:
Lots of photos of the whole process here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.593278400791000.1073741842.276274625824714&type=1
Some words about the LF deardorff people B Cochran and ken kough, without which this project might have looked a little different.
Ken was helpful, and gave some sounds advice (after suggesting i let him do the work, to which i politely refused), but refused to divulge the actual name or color of the original stain used on this camera. Not that big a deal, as he said the company that made the original stain went out of business in 2012. Still could have been useful.
I bought a bunch of parts from Cochran on Ebay, only to find that a day later he lowered all priced by 25-35% on all the items i purchased. I asked for the difference, and was told i would get a refund, but never did. It took about 10 days for them to get the parts in the mail. The finish on some of the custom metal parts was ehh so so, as this is all machine cut, i thought it would be top notch. They look ok, just not what i expected.
They promised torx screws in the complete screw set on ebay. At the end there were 2 sets of hex screws out of about 25...
Who in the world still uses slotted screws and why???? This is by far the dumbest thing in the world. Does it look better? how much better does it look when all your slotted screw heads are stripped... The screws are made of a fairly soft metal, and have a super shiny coating which is nice, but not very useful. So much more work for no good reason, but not their fault. I wish it was all torx/hex or even phillips would be so much easier to torque up and not have to over power your screwdriver on such soft and fragile wood. Eventually i got them all in.
Some of what happened:
I just finished restoring this beautiful Deardorff V8 8X10 field camera. It was a grueling process, but it was also so much fun discovering the inner workings of this beast of a camera, and finally looking at the finished camera, shiny and gleaming, ready to make some great photos once again.
The camera got to us after having spent about 30 years in a barn in Rhode Island, exposed to the elements, it had rust and corrosion everywhere, flaking off finish, and some pretty ugly bellows. Luckily, the bones were in good shape, and the amazing cherry wood this camera is made of survived quite nicely under all those coats of lacquer even after all those years of abuse.
I started by taking it all apart, which was really the hardest part, as so many of the screws were rotted through the wood, and were seized. Why would anyone use slotted screws on anything? Especially when it has to do with wood??? I used every trick in the book, but eventually got all the parts separated with zero damage.
All the wood got sanded down to its core by hand, stained, and coated with MANY layers of stain and protective coating. The original Deardorff cameras had more then 20 layers applied at the factory.
all metal parts were broken down, cleaned, soaked, brushed and polished.
With the help of a brand new bellows (made of fully waterproof and ultralight material), complete set of new screws, a new leather handle, and some other new bits, the camera was ready t be put back together. At first it seemed that taking it apart would be easier then putting it back together, but this camera is so simple, and the design is so intuitive, it went much faster then it took to break it down.
I decided to leave some of the patina this camera had, and left most of the metal hardware with their blemishes (as long as they did not interfere with using the camera). The result speaks for itself - a restored camera with a feel and look of a well cared for and age hardened piece of history.
The final result is phenomenal. It is really a thing of beauty, and such a joy to open and close. The movements are buttery smooth as Deardorffs usually are and the shiny knobs and and finish are a pleasure to use.