Crown Graphic Restoration - anyone to wood?

[Mike Kovacs]

Has anyone here taken a post anniversary Graphic down to its wood? These were made of mahogany are they not?

I have a battered example here I only paid about $60 for. Leather is in pretty rough shape. I figure it will make a nice field camera if I strip it down and remove the RF. I'm no woodworker but I guess I could sand and refinish the wood quite nicely.

[David Karp]

I have not done it, but I have seen some pages on the web where people have done what you are talking about. Try googling it, I think you will find some examples.

[Mike Kovacs]

I have not done it, but I have seen some pages on the web where people have done what you are talking about. Try googling it, I think you will find some examples.

I have seen this too - but I cannot relocate it for the life of me! (anyone have it bookmarked?)

[Phil]

Here's a Speed Graphic:

http://www.cameraquest.com/nude.htm

[Mike Kovacs]

Doesn't look so good to me. I think a stain and varnish or perhaps a veneer would go a long way for that camera.

There is a nice restoration I found HERE.

[Ernest Purdum]

I have a never completed body shell. It looks like mahogany to me.

[Jim Rice]

I actually think it looks okay. Painting the bare aluminum bed black would help it out a lot.

[Donald Qualls]

Doesn't look so good to me. I think a stain and varnish or perhaps a veneer would go a long way for that camera.

There is a nice restoration I found HERE.

Mike, your Crown wouldn't be quite that ugly -- at least, you'd avoid the nasty metal parts on the right side covering the bottom end of the focal plane shutter, since your Crown doesn't have the FPS. I do rather like the teak overlay, though; I guess you could do the same on the bed, polish up the hardware, and have a nice camera. It'd be tempting to do the front standard mods to allow bidirectional tilt and front swings, too, especially if you anticipate more use with landscapes and architecture than hand-held press shooting.

[Frank Petronio]

I am a very lazy and incompentent woodworker but I did one a few years back. I removed the side rangefinder and added a 1/32-inch plywood patch along with a lot of wood patch and painted it with a dull red enamel and it looked great -- not too loud, but actually very classy. At least as classy as a Graphic can be. Another camera I wish I had kept. The resale value was less than a crappy original tho.

[Mike Kovacs]

Not so concerned about resale since I intend to keep it. The movement modifications are tempting too. I have a very easy to program (windows interface) CNC mill at work.

With 2-3 weeks of leftover holidays to burn between now and Dec 31, I should have some time to devote to restoring a few cameras.