Went to a flea market and now I own two more cameras ...

[sv@diycamerakit.com]

... one of them being a Rochester Universal with a brass lens in an "Unicum" shutter. The shutter is not operational, but it seems to have all the parts. Does anyone have anything about repairing such shutters?

 

[bobwysiwyg]

You found that at a flea market?! You have a much higher class of flea markets than we do. Nice find.

 

[Bosaiya]

You found that at a flea market?! You have a much higher class of flea markets than we do. Nice find.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[Whiteymorange]

Wow! Great luck. I own a Rochester Universal and love it for the quality of the workmanship and compact design. I do not love the fact that the holders are 3/4" wider than "normal" and have no locking ridge on the side. You can't use regular 8x10 holders in this camera unless you make a different back.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

That's a pretty early shutter/lens combo, as the lens still takes waterhouse stops! I've never had one apart, but that shutter shouldn't be TOO hard to fix, and once fixed, it should be quite reliable, as it is one of the double cylinder pneumatic shutters. It uses air pressure in the cylinders to regulate the speed of the shutter. Note I said reliable - not accurate - the speeds will in all likelihood be a bit slower than their indicated markings, but any one speed should be repeatably pretty close to half or double the next speed down or up from it. You'll need to get an air bulb and hose to make it work. Actually, I'd get that first, before attempting to repair the shutter. I'm sure it needs a good CLA, but make sure you're operating it properly before trying to perform an operation on it it may not need.

 

[sv@diycamerakit.com]

Crap, I should've noticed that. Well, I didn't have any 8x10 holders and I only ordered one from eBay, which is not here yet. We'll see, maybe I'll make some holders or build some sort of adapter ...

 

[sv@diycamerakit.com]

The lens does have the slit for waterhouse stops, but the shutter blades also seem to be designed to act as aperture.

 

[Ektagraphic]

I'd kill to find that at a flea market!

 

[sv@diycamerakit.com]

I was in NYC, we don't have any good flea markets here (in Boston). It wasn't exactly cheap, I paid $300 for it.

 

[jonw]

You may have already found this link, but here is nice site which describes this camera:

http://www.fiberq.com/cam/roc/univ.htm

Jon

 

[mopar_guy]

Carol Miller at Flutot's Camera Repair could probably do the CLA for you. She just got done with a Graphex shutter for me. They are located in Whittier, California.

http://www.flutotscamerarepair.com

 

[Whiteymorange]

I was in NYC, we don't have any good flea markets here (in Boston). It wasn't exactly cheap, I paid $300 for it.

Got mine for $235 - no lens or lens board. Four holders, though. Felt like I got the deal of the year.