The symptom of that miss, is that only 5 septums will fit under the darkslide. Because the lever is the size of one septum.
I forget its main purpose but probably to make it so the top septum sits above the darkslide for exposure.
That push tab controls whether you see the red dot on the back of the Grafmatic (tells you there's film uncovered for exposure, or not). Cycle the dark slide to bring a loaded septum forward, and there's room for the tab behind the remaining stack; the movements and mechanism push it into place to hold the stack forward, ready for the freshly exposed septum/film to be pushed to the back by the springs when the entire magazine box is pulled, and the exposed film to be inserted in the back of the stack. When the exposed unit is restacked, the tab is pushed against its spring, covering the red dot and indicating "safe to remove".
After cycling this with film a couple times last night, my figurative hat is off who whoever designed this thing. That's one compact, efficient device for stacking/sorting thin flat plates, and the fact that they often still work after sixty to eighty years (often decades of that time in daily use) is a tribute both to the design and to the quality of manufacture.
And they do wear out. I have one with WB 28 painted on it. Parts 2 &3, plate stop lower and upper screw holes in the case assembly (part 13) are worn out and will not hold a screw in place.
Yes, it came from Southern California.
I have some felt that I purchased from Michaels and JoAnn Fabrics. They are both 1/8 inch thick. They can be compressed to about 1/16. I know of no other source for felt of any thickness.Shutterfinger- is the felt mentioned in this post a good one to use to replace the leaking one in one of my Grafmatics?
I have read in other threads that it needs to be a certain thickness.
Yeah orientation...Sounds like you are putting them in backwards. The closed end goes toward the slide. There are tabs that hold the film in the open end where the cutouts are on the septums.
Also, put them all in at the same time. Much easier that way.
If you ever get a graflex slr ( tele or series d &c) you might find a bag mags that took plates. They work great, and are heavy. the only problem with a bagmag ( aside from bent up septum ) at is the bag (leather ) is a wreck and needs to be replaced by someone who knows ye olde light proof stitch .. 30 years ago it cost idk 35$. No clue who does that these days...Was just thinking about glass plates in Grafmatic -- I don't think it would mechanically
Great advice!When you cycle through put the darkslide back in before you take your exposure. The darkslide holds the septum flat and blocks extraneous light. I've seen people treat the darkslide like a regular film holder dangling out. No bueno.
I took pliers to all my Grafmatics. Got rid of that stupid exposure counter wheel. It sticks out way too far.
Of course make sure your septums are straight. Check them every time you load film.
It's also a good idea to always have a change bag with you. I've had one lock up in the field and I had to put the entire camera inside a bag to free things up without losing previous exposures.
The have the light trap ridge that slides into the grove on the insertion side of the camera back. They are the same dimensions from the light trap to end as standard two sided film holders. They are held in place by pressure from the spring back of graflok/international slides.How do accessories like Polaroid backs and Grafmatics center, if they're narrow enough to fit under the ground glass of a standard spring back?
I took pliers to all my Grafmatics. Got rid of that stupid exposure counter wheel. It sticks out way too far.
It was designed to use the slide locks only.
I also recommend that you check the tension on the springs that snap the top septum down to the bottom after shooting. You don't want a half-tensioned spring leaving part of the bottom septum not fully flat. If that happens you will bend the bottom septum and potentially scratch the film as the 5 septums above force that straggler down by force. You get two long deep scratches on a good part of the film when that happens... Also... I carry a few spares when I go out just in case. Looks like you will also have that luxury.
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