Graflex Super D Focal Plane Shutter Servicing

[shutterfinger]

When you slide the I/T slider to I from T does it lift the M lever any?

 

[horsemilk]

When you slide the I/T slider to I from T does it lift the M lever any?

To move the slider from T to I the M lever needs to be pulled back a tad to make it across. When the slider is moved from I to T it drops back down again. Maybe you can see the overlap of the levers better from this angle:

 

[shutterfinger]

And now you have the source of the problem. The I/T slider should just fit under the M lever without having to raise it. Heavily used cameras may raise the M lever .001 to .002 inch / .02 to .05mm only because the M lever drops down further than it should but your cameras M lever is where it should be.
With the H lever removed does the I/T slider move easily?
Is the slider square to the center line of the shaft opening?
Does the pin hole in the H lever align properly with the pin hole in the mirror shaft? In your last photo the pin is in the bottom of the H lever and 10° to 15° left of center.
I cannot tell from the pictures what is off, if I had it in my hands I could. I think the slider is bent upward .1 to .2 mm to the T end.

 

[horsemilk]

I don't know what it was, but after taking it apart and putting it back together again this problem is gone. Perhaps it was just the way the H lever was set. Anyway, all is working now. Thank you so much, Shutterfinger, I surely would never have gotten this camera's shutter working without you

If you service these cameras, perhaps I could send you any bits of this camera I remove in my conversion that may be useful to you as some small thanks? I've removed the back, the top hood, and the front standard.

 

[shutterfinger]

It will be best if you put the parts you removed in a box, tape it shut, and write what it is on the top of the box, and put it in an out of the way closet space so that when your relatives are clearing out your estate they can sell them with the camera or you can sell them with the camera should you decide to part with it.
Someone else's modification without the removed parts are not worth as much as unmodified/ modified with removed parts,


I have never had the need for the parts you mention.

 

[shutterfinger]

It will be best if you put the parts you removed in a box, tape it shut, and write what it is on the top of the box, and put it in an out of the way closet space so that when your relatives are clearing out your estate they can sell them with the camera or you can sell them with the camera should you decide to part with it.
Someone else's modification without the removed parts are not worth as much as unmodified/ modified with removed parts,


I have never had the need for the parts you mention.

 

[horsemilk]

Hey Shutterfinger, I wondered if I could poke your brain once more as you know these Graflex cameras so well. I've completed my conversion, but I'm still having a couple of small issues with the camera. The mirror is closing (upwards) with quite a slam, which jolts the camera in a way to make it unsuitable for hand-held work. The other Graflex I've used, which is the larger 4x5 version doesn't have this problem at all.

I've adjusted the mirror tension with the small three-screw plate at the end of the mirror rod, but can't get the right tension. If I move it one turn to the left (counter clockwise), the mirror won't quite close when it's released. One turn to the right, at it's current setting it jolts violently. Is there some way to fine tune this?

 

[shutterfinger]

Carefully remove the mirror shaft spring cover. There are two slots in the cover where the spring end will fit into, move the spring to the other slot while keeping the shaft end in its current orientation and retension the mirror so its closes. The spring likes one slot over the other for some reason, just use the one that allows the best overall operation.

 

[rknewcomb]

Hi,
I was reading a thread on servicing these focal plane shutters for proper tension etc and saw where there is a pdf on this topic. Instructions from Bert perhaps?
If someone has that information pdf would you mind sending that pdf to me. I'm working on a 3x4 Series D. I've worked on these type cameras many years ago but some instructions would be very helpful and appreciated.
thank you.
Robert
knewcomb@bellsouth.net

 

[shutterfinger]

They were probably mine which was aided by Bert, may he rest in peace.
Download from my google drive: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1sPJkp-MdghRkRId1EwT0dpNkk/view?usp=sharing

 

[rknewcomb]

Thank you very much, you are kind to share.
Robert

 

[Awpphoto]

They were probably mine which was aided by Bert, may he rest in peace.
Download from my google drive: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1sPJkp-MdghRkRId1EwT0dpNkk/view?usp=sharing

Reviving an old forum but I was really hoping for some guidance as to how the end of the lower roller with the torsion spring is actually assembled. I am a machinist by day and want to have a go a making a new spring in my free time. Are the ends just pressed on or are they reverse threaded into the actual shaft? I see the threads from the outside but I always assumed they were from the manufacturing process. Any help as to how to get those things apart non destructively would be great

 

[shutterfinger]

I no longer have the tension spring photos on my computer.
From introduction through 1946 or 1947 all Graflex SLR's and Speed Graphics tension rollers were a brass tube about 3/4 to 1 inch in diameter internally threaded on each end with SAE right hand threads to accept the end caps. I do not know the thread pitch. The center shaft of the roller is a 1/8 bras rod with a screw driver slot on the right end, a .035 or .040 hole about 1 1/4 inches inward from the right end where the spring goes in and makes 3 to 5 tight turns around the rod to the right. The spring makes tapered turns to the left for 5 or 6 turns, each larger in diameter, until the full spring diameter is reach and remains until the left cap when it is assembled with the end of the wire turning 90° to the left for the lenght of the cap threads then turns 90° to the right. There is a grove in the threads of the cap and an open space at the end of the threads that the spring end lies in and is held in place by screwing the cap into the center tube. The right end cap is set into a recess on the center rod or similar retainer system.
To open a tension roller once removed from the camera simply hold the center tube securly and unscrew the left end cap, release the spring if it does not pop out then unscrew the right cap from the tube. The spring can now be measured for wire diameter, length and coil diameter.

 

[Awpphoto]

Thanks @shutterfinger. Easier than I thought. I fabricated brand new shutters and just wasnt happy with the speed inconsistency. Bounced between 1/50th tolerance at high speed, lows were ok. Pulled the spring out today, measures .018. Got some music wire on the way calculated about 200 turns for ~3.5" length total. Should have a new spring in by the end of the week. This camera was left fully tensioned and stored for who knows how long. The shutter sounded like a bag of potato chips and had emulsified together in some spots. Fun times getting accurate measurements after stripping the rubber off.