I just finished a fairly major overhaul of the Speed Graphic that I bought this week. This one had been rode hard and put up wet.

In my complete overhaul of the focal plane shutter, I followed the procedure in the factory service manual (a link to which I found on Graflex.org) and did it all--rewound the curtain, diassembled and cleaned the retarding regulator, and so on.

During reassembly, I wound the spring 8 turns as suggested by the manual. When I tested shutter speeds, though, the slower speeds were over half a stop slow and the high speeds weren't. The curtain closed reliably from O, so I think the tension was what it was supposed to be. But I still had to add about another 8 turns to get the slow shutter speeds in range. From 125 down, the shutter is within a small fraction of a stop.

But I can't get the 250 and up even on the right planet. Given that the slit is narrower, the fast speeds should be fast if the slow speeds are correct, and they really aren't. On the unretarded side, the speeds are nominally 1000, 250, and 50. 50 is dead on, 250 is about 190. 1000 is maybe 400. On the retarded side, the speeds should be 500, 125, and 30. 30 and 125 are perfect, 500 is about 250.

Given the design of the shutter, I'm at a loss as to why the fast speeds are dragging. My ears are certainly not complaining about the sound of the shutter--it is now quite crisp. I can live with it the way it is--I have the same useful speeds as any given Copal 3 (long as I don't need slow speeds)--but I'm curious. Anyone have any ideas?

Rick "who was unable to make the camera square and has to be content with locking the front standard down with a slight swing" Denney