Turning a Crown Graphic into a Field camera

[John Koehrer]

Rakuhito:
Frequently the leather can just be peeled off, Sometimes it needs to be encouraged. A mild solvent such as alcohol or the more aggressive acetone will take most of the glue holding the leather off.
A light sanding, some stain & a varnish or polyurethane to seal & finish and voila a newish camera

 

[Bob Wagner]

Removing leather

Mine came of in strips using pliers, then the glue washed off with water, just don't allow the wood to stay wet longer than necessary. A little fine steel wool will speed the process. Mine was finger jointed mahogany, and I finished it with a light coat of stain wiped on and spray can clear polyurethane. I also sprayed the inside with flat black paint after masking the exterior. The brass I soaked in paint remover because some of it had been painted, then a weak (diluted with water) muriatic acid (swimming pool ph adjusting chemical) solution and steel wool to remove the oxidation. Then I sprayed those parts with a clear laquer made for metal before re-assembling.

 

[Shesh]

Here is my (modified for field use) CG

 

[k_jupiter]

Yeah, I understand the rationale. I'm not going to go so far as saying one way is "right" and the other is "wrong", but it still feels for me like taking a big beautiful 1950's V8 automobile, replacing the engine with a contemporary four cylinder engine, replacing the body with a fiberglass one with lots of sparkles in the paint job and replacing the wood and chrome analog console with a computerized, heads-up display.

THAT'S what they do in my neighborhood, then put hydraulic systems on them to make them jump up and down.

tim in san jose (home of the 'low rider')

P.S. I have thought of doing this to my 3x4 Speed but ya know, I do have a 1926 Trona that fits the bill unstripped.

 

[waynecrider]

An easy way to remove leather.

hey - i'm an idiot, i.e. i don't know a thing about "stripping the leather" as the common parlance goes.

but the leather on my crown graphic is a bit mildewed in spots and coming up in others. i've seen beautiful pictures of beautiful naked graphics and would really like to dive in... but i worry... well... how?

do i just simply pull the leather off? and then what? in the process of making something better, i don't want to make it worse.

really. i'm serious. i failed woodshop. i don't fix cars. i don't even drive a car.

please advise.

It's really quite simple and works fast. Simply fill the teapot and set it to boil. Open the spout and hold the camera over it. The leather can be removed super easy as the horse hide glue will loosen and the leather will wrinkle up. Pull off or use a scraper with care. Forget the solvents. Hazardous and messy.

I have a couple of bodies striped waiting for a design that will allow me to pull the cover off and fix a dedicated lens to it like a Hobo. I'd like to keep the rangefinder on it tho. I also figured that by putting a tripod adpater into the center of the front cover, and reworking the front cover arm guides inside the body you could get back tilts.

 

[Chazzy]

Last night, I decided that all of the "bells and whistles" on my 4x5 crown graphic were not needed for its use as a fild camera... so I spent a considerable amount of time removing all of the pieces needed for the Kalart Rangefinder (complex!), and the external flash bracket, as well as the little quick sight on the back and the body-mounted shutter release. I decided to cover the holes for now, at least with black gaffer tape. Now I have a camera that no longer has strange protrusions and fits in a bag a lot easier. I know it lacks a lot of movements, but for landscapes, I think it will be ok, esp. since the camera was a freebie. It has an Ektar 152mm lens on it. Now I have a very simple camera that I think has been pared down to the minimun needed. Has anyone else done this? I know some Graflex afficianodes might be horrified, but I'm not worried about the value of the camera.

Well, it's your camera, so you can do whatever you want with it--but you did ask for opinions, so I can only say that I would never mutilate a nice classic camera. Not even to save a few ounces. Someday you may want to handhold a shot and need to focus in a hurry--and where will you be without the rangefinder? Cutting down on your options with such a flexible camera makes no sense to me.

 

[mfobrien]

Well, it's your camera, so you can do whatever you want with it--but you did ask for opinions, so I can only say that I would never mutilate a nice classic camera. Not even to save a few ounces. Someday you may want to handhold a shot and need to focus in a hurry--and where will you be without the rangefinder? Cutting down on your options with such a flexible camera makes no sense to me.

Chazzy: I appreciate your point of view...for most of my cameras, that holds true. However, the point to me was that if I were to buy a field camera, it would cost a lot more $$ than the Graphic...and I know if I wanted another press camera, I could easily buy one, since theses days, they sell relatively cheaply on the bay. However, I don't have aspirations to trying to recreate the press photographer with a 4x5 camera. If I were handholding a shot, I'd be using either MF or 35mm. I have a 2x3 graphic, which is easily hand-held, and I don't have any plans at all to mutilate that.

 

[darinwc]

I think of the 4x5 graphic cameras as a classic design with added features to make it 'easy' to use. Rangefinder, viewfinder, wire frame, handle flash bracket, 4x5 graflock. But at its heart is a rugged 20-square-inch-film-eating american-made monster of a view camera. Leather, wood, or primer grey makes no difference to me. This camera was not made for the shelf or collectors case. Stripping all the fluff and getting down and dirty with some sheet film is what this camera is all about.