NEWBIE alert!: Shutter for TR Triple Convertible?

Hey! I just got my first two lenses for my new 8x10 rig--a Wollensak "Tasope" process lens in barrel and a TR triple convertible in shutter.

The problem is: the shutter it came in (an Optimo #4) doesn't work at all--I can't see either the shutter or aperture blades in the mechanism, and it's in several pieces... not to mention it's probably caked with grime on the inside.

So I'm wondering: Where could I find a replacement shutter that would work? I've heard that an Ilex 5 or Copal 3 could work..? Ebay, however, yields only lenses IN shutters, no lone shutters.

Help?!

Isaac

Mine is in a Betax #4 but I have another Betax #4 that doesn't fit it. Have you thought of calling SK Grimes to see if they have any ideas?

Or post a WTB ad in the FS forum. I've had good luck finding things I wasn't optimistic about finding, there.

I think that's what I'll do. Tomorrow I'll discuss the matter with my local tech and see if he think's it's worth a CLA, too.

Thanks, y'all.

Before I bought another shutter I'd be sure to at a minimum measure the diameter and thread pitch of the elements as a lot of shutters were made in slightly different versions to fit specific lenses. It would help to be as specific as you can about which lens and element thread diameter you want to fit. Wouldn't hurt to know the spacing of the elements as well.

Even Copal 3 shutters come in more than one cell diameter - there's a #3 and a #3S but I don't think they were always so good about marking which was which

Yeah--I just wish I could get the aperture working--I don't really need the shutter part for the stuff I'm doing...

For what it's worth, I have two TRTs, and they are my favorite lenses for 8x10. I didn't pay much for either them, and they're both in good working shutters. Might be cheaper/easier to find lenses in shutters than to buy a shutter and have one mounted.

Check with Carol at Flutot's Camera Repair. She has worked miracles for some of my antique shutters and is extremely reasonable on price.

Try Carol. No matter how many times I've tried I haven't been able to get her to fail yet. And her prices are the most reasonable I've found anywhere. Maybe you can be the first to get her to throw up her hands in despair.

Again, Carol.

And, if you give up on that shutter, she may be able to use the parts to fix the next guy's shutter.

Probably not worth it to try to fix it. TR's in working shutter are available sometimes at $100-125.

Jon

Thanks Jon--if that's the case, is there anything useful I could do with the elements short of returning them to the seller? Mounting them in the broken shutter will only let me use it wide open, so...

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Originally Posted by teleugeot

Thanks Jon--if that's the case, is there anything useful I could do with the elements short of returning them to the seller? Mounting them in the broken shutter will only let me use it wide open, so...

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Get a drawing compass and make some washer stops.

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Originally Posted by E. von Hoegh

Get a drawing compass and make some washer stops.

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That a good idea! How would you mount them? In front of the front element, or behind the rear one? Also, how would you calculate the correct radius for a given f number?

Try Carol. Or a used Betax shutter, carefully check measurements to make sure it will fit. I've seen a bunch of them in Betax shutters, which are actually very reliable and quite usable, like the Acmes.

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Originally Posted by teleugeot

That a good idea! How would you mount them? In front of the front element, or behind the rear one? Also, how would you calculate the correct radius for a given f number?

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Use arithmetic to get the size of the aperture, or maybe someone here has one and can measure their aperture for you. There may be some pupillary magnification that would skew the dimension. Mount them where the shutter's missing aperture was, not in front or behind the complete lens.

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Originally Posted by lenser

Check with Carol at Flutot's Camera Repair. She has worked miracles for some of my antique shutters and is extremely reasonable on price.

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I strongly concur. She does wonders at a very reasonable cost.