I've had a bit of a buying spree ...

[Marley's Ghost]

I went a bit mad a couple of weeks ago and bought yet another half plate Kodak B - actually there was method to my madness, the camera came with a 207mm Ektar in an Epsilon shutter - and a 5x4 reducing back ... and the price for the whole thing was about the same as I could get for selling off the lens and shutter.
Being as my Kodak Specialist has an ill front rise (stripped gear) I was mostly looking at the model B for parts - it actually turned out to be in rather good condition under the grime. All the other geared movements seemed to have less wear than my Specialist (which after all had been a police camera) and after I had done some 'liquid electrical tape' work on the bellows all seemed good.
I swapped the front and rear standard onto my Specialists rails - for which I have the rear extension - and everything worked much more like new.
Now the second purchase -
I have been hunting for glass for my 10x8 project build - which is nearing completion - and I saw a Schneider Symmar 300 f5.6/500 f12 for a very low price indeed with a 'broken shutter' - a Compound #4 I believe. Well, I snapped it up, thinking 'If I have to do lens cap shutter, at least I have a lens that will reliably cover 10x8'. Well when it arrived I found the only thing broken about it was the lever that holds open the aperture for focusing. If I set it to T or use a locking cable release on B it works perfectly, and the shutter speeds seem correct. RESULT!
So I made a quick and dirty lens board in the workshop with the laser cutter (three layers of ply sandwich using hot hide glue)
And got this


So I loaded some Foma 100 in the reducing back and shot this wide open with a bit of front tilt.


Somewhat of a triumph I think ...
the aperture open lever looks like it could be an fairly easy fix - it seems like it has lost it's pivot point inside the shutter -as you can still 'fiddle it to work' which I won't do much for fear of damaging something. I think it may be simply a pivot screw fallen out or broken off. At some point I may open the shutter to have a crack, but for now the work around is fine. Having a lens ready to go has given me the spur necessary to crack on with the 10x8 project too!

 

[HowLarge]

Good score , I did offer the buyer less for that Symmar was eyeing up the shutter as 4 out of 5 compounds seem to be perfectly fine just need to be patient and set them properly, also understand how the slow speeds need time to settle after each activation.
Pesky rise gears , have still not worked out the gear code for them , scalectrix motor gears are similar.
Great that the lens will let you realise the 8x10

 

[Marley's Ghost]

Good score , I did offer the buyer less for that Symmar was eyeing up the shutter as 4 out of 5 compounds seem to be perfectly fine just need to be patient and set them properly, also understand how the slow speeds need time to settle after each activation.
Pesky rise gears , have still not worked out the gear code for them , scalectrix motor gears are similar.
Great that the lens will let you realise the 8x10

Got it for £74 ... was chuffed as Thomas The Tank Engine on a downhill gradient!

 

[Soulstar89]

Got it for £74 ... was chuffed as Thomas The Tank Engine on a downhill gradient!

Lmao hahahaha how this description brings back memories of my childhood

Congratulations if you saw it on eBay I noticed it also. I’ve come to realise I like the rendering of Schneider glass. I’m after a 300mm either the xenar f4.5 or symmar-s f5.6.

 

[Ian Grant]

Lmao hahahaha how this description brings back memories of my childhood

Congratulations if you saw it on eBay I noticed it also. I’ve come to realise I like the rendering of Schneider glass. I’m after a 300mm either the xenar f4.5 or symmar-s f5.6.

There's also the later 300mm f5.6 Xenar, it's in a Copal #3, all the 300mm f5.6 Symmar lenses are also in a #3 shutter, Compund, then Compur, and later Copal.

I have a near mint 1963/4 300mm f4.5 Xenar, it's in a Compound #5 shutters. For a short spell there were #3 & #5 Compur Electronic shutters, very rare now mist failed quite rapidly.

Not a bad price for that Symmar @Marley's Ghost.

Ian

 

[Soulstar89]

There's also the later 300mm f5.6 Xenar, it's in a Copal #3, all the 300mm f5.6 Symmar lenses are also in a #3 shutter, Compund, then Compur, and later Copal.

I have a near mint 1963/4 300mm f4.5 Xenar, it's in a Compound #5 shutters. For a short spell there were #3 & #5 Compur Electronic shutters, very rare now mist failed quite rapidly.

Not a bad price for that Symmar @Marley's Ghost.

Ian

Oh I never knew this Ian. Thanks for the heads up. Looking to utilise. My sinar shutter so a shutterless would be preferred. I remember reading you saying some eBay sellers are to be avoided due to experience. I’ll drop you a pm

 

[Marley's Ghost]

There's also the later 300mm f5.6 Xenar, it's in a Copal #3, all the 300mm f5.6 Symmar lenses are also in a #3 shutter, Compund, then Compur, and later Copal.

I have a near mint 1963/4 300mm f4.5 Xenar, it's in a Compound #5 shutters. For a short spell there were #3 & #5 Compur Electronic shutters, very rare now mist failed quite rapidly.

Not a bad price for that Symmar @Marley's Ghost.

Ian

Latest on the 10x8 - essentially complete ... I have to finish the film back and make the interchangeable lens board 'turret' ... I decided having different lens boards for all my cameras was crap if I want to say use a lens on my 10x8 and my 7x5 ... so I devised an interchangeable system to allow the camera to take multiple mounts.
Next it needs stripped down, sanded, sealed and finished - a tripod mount installed - and we are in business.

 

[Dave_P]

Looks good! BTW what is the best type of glue to use to attach bellows to, say, the front standard of something like this? Asking for a friend.....

 

[Ian Grant]

Looks good! BTW what is the best type of glue to use to attach bellows to, say, the front standard of something like this? Asking for a friend.....

Evostick Contact Adhesive, as used by Custom Bellows, etc. I know that's what Camera Bellows used in 1976/7 when they made me bag bellows for a De Vere monorail camera. I have to make the Aluminium frames.

I've replaced many sets of bellows since then, it works perfectly. I'm about to use it to attach some Half plate bellows I finished restoring last night. They cost me 50p.


This was before restoration, I had to fix two corners, new fabric internally. they now look like new.

Ian

 

[Marley's Ghost]

What that man said
I used a bulk commercial contact adhesive I have in the workshop similar to Evostick to fix the bellows to the frames (laser cut from ply) the frames will then be screwed to the front and rear standards for easy maintenance.

 

[Dave_P]

Cheers guys.