Any Szabad 8x10 users?

[JackG]

I'm puzzled by how the tripod mount is supposed to work. The mount is composed of two flat aluminum rectangles. The upper piece rides in two grooves in the bed and lower contacts the tripod head. It can be slide from front to back to balance the camera. There is a large knob on the top plate that would appear to have the purpose of clamping the two plates together to hold the mount in position if the camera bed is tilted.

However, the tripod thread is in a brass stud that is mounted to the top plate and the knob screws into the same threaded opening. In this configuration there is no way to draw the two plates together. In fact the male threads on the knob interfere with the tripod screw.

This configuration makes no sense in what appears otherwise to be a well designed and finished camera. Perhaps I'm missing some parts or something is installed incorrectly..??

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

[jnantz]

hi jack

i have a szabad 8x10 ... ( not many of us! )

the screw for the QR just screws into the
baseplate. i use a long narrow screwdriver to tighten / loosen
the baseplate bolt-thingy, the one you describe that sandwiches the bottom
wood/rail. it is kind of a pain, but works well, once you get the hang of it ..

are you the same jack from south (washington) county ?

john

[JackG]

Hi John,

Yup the same south county Jack. I take it that you do not have the knob that I'm referring to..? This thing is the size of a large pocket watch. The former owner didn't know how if functioned either. The way you are using it sounds like you would have to remove the QR to slide the camera. Correct?
Jack

[jnantz]

hmm not sure ..

[Lee Hamiel]

Hi Jack:

Late coming into this post - do you have a pic of the plate?

I have a 9x12/4x5 Szabad I'm in the middle of restoring & my plate is a combination of a round plate mated to a rectangular plate that fits within the grooves on the rail. There is not a knob - wondering if someone may have added one?

[Carl Szabad]

The 4x5 camera does not have the same costruction as the larger ones. The weight of the smaller camera is obviously no problem for a tripod, so there is only one fixed aluminium rectange on that model.

I do not have an 8x10 model left, but on the 5x7 model there are the two rectangles with a threaded brass bushing that holds them together. The bushing is a bit lower than the aluminium rectangle, so if it is tightened just enough, the tripot screw will fix it when the camera is mounted on the tripod.

Hope you understand my bad English, as I never use these terms normally. I just recently noticed this thread.