Kodak Master View Repairs

[C. D. Keth]

I recently bought a kodak master 8x10 and while it is useable as is, I would love to have some work done to fix a little shakiness from the 60 years of wear it has seen.

The problem stems from the brass tracks the rear standard rides in. There has been enough wear to allow some wiggle that I would prefer were not there. Here is a photo showing the pieces in question. This is the right side, the left side is simply a mirror image.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8364/8433743931_5e53020fc3_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/79873735@N03/8433743931/)
KMV Parts (http://www.flickr.com/photos/79873735@N03/8433743931/) by CKeth (http://www.flickr.com/people/79873735@N03/), on Flickr


Does anybody know if there is a source for new old stock parts for these cameras or if I'm looking to sending it off to Richard Ritter to have the parts made from scratch?

[cowanw]

I don't know if this addresses the problem but one thing that can be done is to unscerw B and shim it out with a thickness of something, maybe just a thickness of thin card board. Rescrew and make the top of the card flush and the system will be tighter.

[N Dhananjay]

The Kodak Master 8x10 is reasonably straightforward to disassemble and clean, as long as you work methodically and keep the parts carefully. There is a parts manual for the camera floating around in the ether, but if you wanted to replace any stripped screws etc. I'd just take the old screws and camera to the hardware store and find the machine screws that fit. The problem you are describing is more often because there is accumulated dirt and grime in the slot (B in your picture) that the standard (A in your picture) rides in. That grimes pushes part A out and lets it flop around. I would disassemble, clean and oil everything and see if that helps. It is perhaps also possible (though less likely) that the part A has got bent or deformed away and some careful and judicious pressure might help you fix that. Cheers, DJ

[Ari]

As NDhananjay says, give it a good cleaning first.

I have seen the same kind of sloppiness in a similar metal camera, the Eastman Commercial View, and it looks like part A (both sides) got used so much, that it no longer sits tightly in the channel.
See if it looks true (straight) or not, and whether it seems safe if you were to bend it a little yourself.
Otherwise, find a good machinist, which is what I'm doing for my KMV.

[C. D. Keth]

I guess I wasn't 100% clear. You guys are talking about slop in a side to side direction having to do with the tip of A that fits into the groove of B, which I don't have. I have slop in a top to bottom direction because the flats of the part of A that sits in the groove are worn narrower and no longer fill the groove.

I considered a way to add replaceable shims to A that would take all the wear but there's just not enough material there to screw them on. I think Ari's right; I think I just need a machinist.

[dap]

I would try some aluminum tape as a shim on part A to fill the gap caused by the worn channel in part B and see if that helps.

[Ari]

Christopher, if you need a parts diagram, send me an email.
I have one on PDF, sent by another forum member.

[Henry Ambrose]

It is possible to peen the male part of the slide to tighten it up. The other method is to make a new male part oversize, then cut the old female part to fit. Its pretty tedious and I wonder if its worthwhile. My dearly departed KMV had a little slop but it never hurt the end result. I did use a spring clamp to hold it tighter.

[N Dhananjay]

I am surprised by your description. You do not need a piston fit in the up-and-down direction that you describe. In fact, a very tight fit would make focusing very tight and tedious. So if it is loose enough to bother you (i.e., standards moving after being locked down), it sounds like something more serious. I'm sort of at a loss to see how wear and tear would have loosened it so much - maybe there was some abrasive in there that acted as sandpaper to make the tongue on part A thinner . Anyway, I suppose you could find some really thin brass sheet and use that as a shim - you could possibly use cyanoacrylate glue or epoxy - you would need to work carefully to avoid an uneven thickness of a film of glue in there.

Cheers, DJ

[C. D. Keth]

I don't know what a piston fit is but a snug fit is what keeps rotational movement at bay. Without the snug fit, the rear standard is able to tip a little bit forward or back at the top. There isn't and never was grit in the slot. It's simply 60 years of brass on brass wear and the parts are designed with the track (what I've labeled B) in a slightly harder alloy so part A takes all the wear. It's lost .024" of thickness and that's enough to allow a couple millimeters of play in the top of the standard.


I am surprised by your description. You do not need a piston fit in the up-and-down direction that you describe. In fact, a very tight fit would make focusing very tight and tedious. So if it is loose enough to bother you (i.e., standards moving after being locked down), it sounds like something more serious. I'm sort of at a loss to see how wear and tear would have loosened it so much - maybe there was some abrasive in there that acted as sandpaper to make the tongue on part A thinner . Anyway, I suppose you could find some really thin brass sheet and use that as a shim - you could possibly use cyanoacrylate glue or epoxy - you would need to work carefully to avoid an uneven thickness of a film of glue in there.

Cheers, DJ

[coisasdavida]

Does the pinion in A riding the racks in B have a pressure spring? Or any adjustment of height? That could solve the problem by putting part A against the top of the track in part B.

But I also agree the warm water, soap and a tooth brush would help to see the full magnitude of the problem before doing anything.

If you find the lip in part A still to thin, maybe to could hammer it on a couple spots to make it thicker on these spots and leave the rest full length not the affect the sitting in track on part B. If you don't mind living on the edge.

[N Dhananjay]

I agree that a couple of mm of play is bad. I'd say the easiest way would be to use thin brass sheet to shim out the thickness. A hardware store should carry brass sheet in the thickness you describe (some art stores carry them as well) and it can be cut with tin snips. Use a file to remove any burrs and you should be able to glue it to the existing surface. You could also get a machinist to fabricate a new part for you though I have no idea how much that would cost.

Cheers, DJ

[C. D. Keth]

I decided to repair it myself. (http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?99871-Kodak-Master-View-Repairs&p=987908#post987908)

[noparking]

The L-Bracket for the rear standard in this photo appears to be made from metal. On my KMV it's made of a bakelite material. Does anyone know if this part was made of different materials during this camera model's production run?




I recently bought a kodak master 8x10 and while it is useable as is, I would love to have some work done to fix a little shakiness from the 60 years of wear it has seen.

The problem stems from the brass tracks the rear standard rides in. There has been enough wear to allow some wiggle that I would prefer were not there. Here is a photo showing the pieces in question. This is the right side, the left side is simply a mirror image.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8364/8433743931_5e53020fc3_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/79873735@N03/8433743931/)
KMV Parts (http://www.flickr.com/photos/79873735@N03/8433743931/) by CKeth (http://www.flickr.com/people/79873735@N03/), on Flickr


Does anybody know if there is a source for new old stock parts for these cameras or if I'm looking to sending it off to Richard Ritter to have the parts made from scratch?

[C. D. Keth]

Are you sure it's not just painted? Bakelite is a terrible structural material, especially in the context of an 8x10 camera that is not all that lightweight.

[noparking]

I retract my original claim. I think the bottom rear standard brackets are just painted to look like the front plasitc bracket.


Are you sure it's not just painted? Bakelite is a terrible structural material, especially in the context of an 8x10 camera that is not all that lightweight.