Packard Shutter overhaul and front-mount adapted to Wollensak lens

Thanks to a recent post from Jim Galli and a page on his web site, I figured out how to successfully adapt a Packard shutter to front-mount to a lens on my 8x10 Eastman View 2D. I thought some folks might find this information helpful.
Lens is a Wollensak Velostigmat 15 1/2" soft-focus in a Studio shutter, dating to the 1920's. Diameter of the front of the lens is about 100mm, so I found a #6 Packard shutter with an opening of 4" which is perfect for this lens. The shutter is an older 2-piston design (1947) so no need for a pin to switch between the two settings of 1/20 or B.
Some recommendations about overhauling Packard shutters - painting the outside of the shutter housing is OK, but on the inside get the metal as clean and smooth as possible. I used steel wool to remove all rust on the inside and outside of the housing, spray-painted the outside with Rust-Oleum, then polished all interior surfaces with metal polish and car wax. There's some discoloration of the metal, but it's slick as a baby's butt. The shutter blades were carefully wiped with a clean cloth, but otherwise left dry. The brass pistons were removed and also cleaned with metal polish and car wax. The shutter now fires smoothly.
Overall size of the shutter housing is 7x7", so there was no chance of mounting it behind the lens board as it was too large to fit inside the camera. Jim Galli's recent post about front-mounting Packard shutters got me to thinking about possible options.
Tried several possibilities from the HVAC and plumbing sections of the hardware store, but nothing was the correct fit to mate the shutter to the lens. Going thru the kitchen drawers I found an old plastic hamburger patty press which was the perfect diameter to press fit over the front of the lens and large enough inside diameter for the shutter opening. Painted black and glued to the rear of the shutter with black silicone sealant. Easy to slide on and off the front of the lens with no play or light leaks.

Looks great! I see you have a dual-piston set up

Did mine like this:



The block can be swapped out for other blocks with different hole sizes so I can use the same shutter with multiple lenses.

Nice work, but I dont understand how the shutter leafs work, can anyone take a photo so I can see?

awty said:

Nice work, but I dont understand how the shutter leafs work, can anyone take a photo so I can see?

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Sure Paul. They're surprisingly simple, with the concept dating back to the late 1800's. Easy to work on with not much to go wrong aside from dents or other physical damage. No lubrication needed anywhere, just keep rust off the bare metal and the innards relatively clean.
The dual-piston design I have here is not common. Most Packards, including modern examples, have one piston with a pin that switches from B to 1/20.

Here is the housing opened with the blades in closed position. 3 thin steel interleaved blades that are driven by the left piston engaging the notch at upper left, or by the right piston engaging with the silver pin at upper right. With this model of shutter, there are separate pistons for B or 1/20 sec. I just move the hose from one to the other piston.


This is the shutter halfway open. As the top black blade is moved up by one or the other piston, the bottom blades pivot outward.


When fully open. If using the left piston for B, the shutter will stay open until you release the bulb to pull the piston back down with negative air pressure. If using the right piston for 1/20 sec (instantaneous), one quick squeeze will open and close the shutter. The silver cam at the top engages with a pin to release the piston back down.


And here's the 1/20 sec piston out of the cylinder. Just a brass tube fitting snugly inside the steel cylinder. Air bulb pressure drives the pistons upwards, so keeping the pistons clean and undamaged makes a big difference in performance. Without the shutter stopping the pistons, they'd probably fly up in the air a few feet.

Thanks, now I understand, very nifty. Have to keep my eye open for one. I see the roller blind shutters, but they all seem to be too small and or needing work.

Richard Man said:

Looks great! I see you have a dual-piston set up

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Thanks Richard! I hadn't seen one of these before, but I guess these were classified as type 8, before being replaced with type 6, which became the standard shutter with B and instant speeds.
There's a 1947 date written on the inside, but that may be the last time the shutter was serviced. Haven't been able to determine when the shutter was manufactured, so I've contacted the current manufacturer in Indiana to see if they have any information.

I’ve got one of the dual pistons, too. I’m adapting a Conkin P filter system to be able to mount the shutter on various lenses.

juan said:

I’m adapting a Conkin P filter system to be able to mount the shutter on various lenses.

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I had a similar plan until I discovered that a lens I wanted to use it with didn't have filter threads.

gdavis said:

I had a similar plan until I discovered that a lens I wanted to use it with didn't have filter threads.

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You don need no steenkin' filter threads.

Make a collar that slips over the front of the barrel. The collar should be a nearly snug fit, should not be a straight cylinder but should have a step at the front that contacts the front of the barrel when pushed all the way on. That's your light trap. Use radial screws, rubber tipped, to retain the collar on the lens.

This is what skgrimes made for me to hold a Compound #5 in front of a 900/10 Apo-Saphir. The device is made of aluminum but you should be able to make one of wood.

Dan is right. That’s what the PVC fitting aisle at the hardware store is for. You can space out a close fit with stick on felt. Then glue a Cokin ring to the front to slip onto the shutter.

Dan Fromm said:

You don need no steenkin' filter threads.

Make a collar that slips over the front of the barrel...

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Um, ya, see post #3

juan said:

Dan is right. That’s what the PVC fitting aisle at the hardware store is for. You can space out a close fit with stick on felt. Then glue a Cokin ring to the front to slip onto the shutter.

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That works, but by the time I figured I needed to make a collar, I just didn't see much point in messing with the filter thing between the collar and shutter. To me the point of the filter thing was to be able to attach to the lens without needing a collar. Although, if I also use it with lenses that do have threads, using the filter hardware would save me from having to do collars for those lenses. So may still be worthwhile.