Jimmy,Originally Posted by Jimmy Peguet
If you can catch Dick between retirement trips he can add a bail and levels. I have an 8x10 Advantage series from about 1993. I told him that I really liked the bail on my 7x17. He added a bail and an additional level to the Advantage. Of course shipping round trip from France can add to the price.
John
I thought that Dick was completely retired (I wrote to him some weeks ago, but I guess he and his wife were on the road). I'm afraid that shipping to the USA and back home will be in the 300$ range, too expensive for a desirable but minor modification. But I would like to get some spare parts : I can't use my Sinar/Toyo adapter, the upper part doesn't lock because of the board washers, so I need a second part to modify it : if Dick could provide one, it would be nice.
I also wonder about the reliability of the focusing knob U-joint. As it is a small and delicate part and that it should not be easy to find one here if necessary, maybe it would be careful to get a spare one. The camera is simple and very well built, it should be very reliable and last many years without any problem. Are there some parts more fragile over the time than another on this clever machine ?
Jimmy,
I would write Dick again and ask this specific question. When he added the bail to my 1993 Advantage he mentioned that there were some small parts for that model that wear out or get lost. I bought them and put them in a drawer safe for the day of need.
John
I talked to Dick a couple months ago, and he's not quite retired---he has enough 4x5 bellows in stock that he's planning another run of 4x5 cameras late this year. He's planning on shooting for the summer and building the cameras when it starts getting cold. Figure on December delivery for the last run of Phillips cameras before the shop closes up.
He is currently selling parts (lens boards and such), get your spares while you can! I expect you can add the missing levels with parts from Dick and a little silicon.
Until later,
Clyde Rogers
I recently wrote to (erased) is it his right address now ?
Last edited by Jimmy Peguet; 29-Apr-2008 at 08:16.
I don't remember whether that's his current address, but it doesn't matter - Dick isn't really big on email. Much better to call or snail-mail.
Jimmy,
That is the correct email address. IMHO it is better not to post email addresses as the spammers tend to pick them up and torment the recipient.
After a bit of thought about my own 7x17 Explorer I would ask Dick for the knob that tightens or locks the focus shaft and the tiny soft white balls that go in that knob's screw hole. One day I went to focus and discovered that the tightening knob had disappeared since I had last used it. The white ball also fell out when there was nothing to hold it in place.
The levels that Dick is selling now have little holes for wood screws. The advantage over silicon, I would think, is that they may be easier to replace if the levels ever dry up or get broken. If you use any camera hard things do break. I am working on a book and the editors want to look at a minimum of 100 images. With bracketing, an occasional poor selection and mistakes that is a lot of 7x17 film and perhaps hard use on the camera.
Having knocked over the 8x10 by accident once and broken the ground glass I have bought a spare gg in both sizes. On trips I store them in the car. You might want to buy the gg locally though as it may be too fragile to ship that far. Argus or Geert is a sponsor over on APUG http://www.sheetfilm.be/ . He makes and sells GG in Belgium. He has also made his own 7x17 camera. Maybe he can help.
John
Ooops, I forgot the spammers :-( If the moderator could quickly erase my post and Oren's answer...) Is the snail mail address the same than on old Michael's Explorer review ?
Edited : I erased Dick's address on my previous post, I had no access to the "Edit" button this morning.
Snail mail address sent to Jimmy by PM
John
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