Gundlach/Korona Leather Handle

[Jac@stafford.net]

What do people here recommend to replace the original rivets?

I have gone through the same problem and solved it using 4 tiny three-barb T-Nuts. The nuts go under the top wood, with the barbs pressing up into the wood. Fastening the screws from the top seats the barbs securely. I did file the barbs and tube a bit shorter, even though it was not strictly necessary.

So, remove the original rivets (I clip them off with a wire cutter or Dremel wheel), remove handle and hold-downs. Drill the holes wide enough to fit the T-Nut's expression (tube), place T-nut, holding it in place with a finger, then insert the screw and screw it down gently, just enough to seat the nuts. Repeat for all four. Finally, remove the screws, install the leather strap in the hold-downs, place the screws back in (the T-nuts will not fall out), screw them all back down. Done almost as quickly as we can read this!

Best of luck!
Jac

[LabRat]

I have gone through the same problem and solved it using 4 tiny three-barb T-Nuts. The nuts go under the top wood, with the barbs pressing up into the wood. Fastening the screws from the top seats the barbs securely. I did file the barbs and tube a bit shorter, even though it was not strictly necessary.

So, remove the original rivets (I clip them off with a wire cutter or Dremel wheel), remove handle and hold-downs. Drill the holes wide enough to fit the T-Nut's expression (tube), place T-nut, holding it in place with a finger, then insert the screw and screw it down gently, just enough to seat the nuts. Repeat for all four. Finally, remove the screws, install the leather strap in the hold-downs, place the screws back in (the T-nuts will not fall out), screw them all back down. Done almost as quickly as we can read this!

Best of luck!
Jac

The T-nuts are an excellent replacement (thanks, Jac), if there were nuts inside previously, as we know there is limited space inside to get fingers and tools inside the body shell, but the T-nuts are a threaded, press in bolt hole that can even go inside a countersunk hole (if the smaller sizes are used) and fit flush (if the screw has been cut to fit flush)... A good source for these and other small parts are good hobby stores, as they usually have an entire rack with these and other small parts (esp suppliers for R/C air and train builders)... The smallest T-nut screw size I know of is SAE 2-56 which is strong enough to hold on handles to even heavy cameras if properly installed...

The retainers that hold the straps to the cameras are often in poor shape, rusted/rough metal with sharp edges or leather which has long dried up, but there is another solution... New replacement metal retainers will fit most all two hole mountings, as the standard has been around for over a hundred years, so a little searching will turn up replacements... (Luggage repair and guitar amp restoration suppliers will have many, but there's only a few standard sizes, but most mountings are to those standards...)

Most of the new retainers have a pin in the center going downwards, so a strap will also require a small slot on both ends, but easy to slot once the leather is wet and cut with a sharp blade, or with punched with a leather hole punch... Slotted is really a good thing as there is a little extra pivot action while using, and it's not just chewing on the end of the "dogbone", and there is an extra safety point to hold...

Again, I hate leather straps as good looking old straps have unexpectedly failed while right in my hand (or around my neck), but by dumb luck, I had the reflex to catch the falling item, but with weight bearing leather (that you didn't replace with a synthetic strap), they should replaced with a new/FRESH leather strap/handle every few to 10 years, to avoid that clean break without warning thing... ;-)

HNY

Steve K

[Jac@stafford.net]

Steve K. I think between the two of us we have a FAQ. It would help to have illustrations.
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[David Karp]

Thanks guys. Very helpful.

[Greg]

Might I suggest 1 inch flat webbing that rock climbers use. Breaking strength is 4,200 pounds. Last time I bought some was 20 cents per foot or yard (can't remember which). Take a measured length webbing to a seamstress and ask her to loop the ends of the webbing and sew them with the strongest thread she that she has. Then take the metal brackets, thread them through the looped ends of the webbing and attach them to your camera. Webbing comes in many colors, I chose dark purple. When I was regularly rock climbing, I trusted my life to webbing many, many hundreds of times. Needless to say, holding a camera with webbing is a huge overkill... heck the brackets would surely break before the webbing was even stressed. Personally think it looks better than leather.

[Jac@stafford.net]

Might I suggest 1 inch flat webbing that rock climbers use. Breaking strength is 4,200 pounds

That's great, Greg, but the point of failure for our case is the attachment to the camera body.
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[LabRat]

Might I suggest 1 inch flat webbing that rock climbers use. Breaking strength is 4,200 pounds. Last time I bought some was 20 cents per foot or yard (can't remember which). Take a measured length webbing to a seamstress and ask her to loop the ends of the webbing and sew them with the strongest thread she that she has. Then take the metal brackets, thread them through the looped ends of the webbing and attach them to your camera. Webbing comes in many colors, I chose dark purple. When I was regularly rock climbing, I trusted my life to webbing many, many hundreds of times. Needless to say, holding a camera with webbing is a huge overkill... heck the brackets would surely break before the webbing was even stressed. Personally think it looks better than leather.

Very good stuff!!! I used to get the narrow webbing material from a speed shop that was used for making harnesses/transport straps, and different ABS plastic slides/buckles from the Army/Navy store...

Cut with a hot knife, or quickly heat ends to prevent unraveling...

(Don't tell anyone, but I recently needed a short piece for a replacement SG leather user handle strap, couldn't find my roll of stock, but saw nice red webbing on the baby seat in shopping carts (at Costco), so out came the snipping pliers...) ;-0

I like it!!!

Steve K

[MichaelPRyan]

Thanks to everyone for the info! Thanks for the link Robert I had already ruled them out as the straps they sell, excellent at that, are just too long. I need 6-1/4" and their shortest is 7-1/2 or thereabouts. I have to be able to store mine flat to the top when not in use for storage. I'm not up to making one either, leather working isn't one of my specialties. So, I had a thought about a shoe repair person and theres a little Italian guy with a shop in town and I gave him the old handle and he said no problemo and I'll pick up the new one tomorrow. Funny when I handed him the handle not even telling him what it was for I asked him if he new how old it was. He looked for a second and said "about 100 years." I thought that was pretty cool. I'll post the final outcome.

[Greg]

That's great, Greg, but the point of failure for our case is the attachment to the camera body.
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I had a similar situation with small wood screws failing and pulling out of hardwood. My solution was to remove the small wooden screws, drill slightly larger holes, and then slightly force thread small stainless steel bolts into the holes with just the slightest bit of Gorilla glue applied inside the water dampened holes. I first tried this on a piece of hardwood and let it dry for a day. When I very forcefully removed the bolt, it came out with some wood still attached to it indicating to me that the wood failed and not the bolt's ability to fasten into the wood.

[Jac@stafford.net]

I had a similar situation with small wood screws failing and pulling out of hardwood. My solution was to remove the small wooden screws, drill slightly larger holes, and then slightly force thread small stainless steel bolts into the holes with just the slightest bit of Gorilla glue applied inside the water dampened holes. I first tried this on a piece of hardwood and let it dry for a day. When I very forcefully removed the bolt, it came out with some wood still attached to it indicating to me that the wood failed and not the bolt's ability to fasten into the wood.

Picture the pronged T-nut solution - it does not depend upon screws threaded into wood, and the bearing surface is the head of the T-nut which has about four times the area of the post & screw. It is better than the old rivet build.