My Century 10A Restoration

[akfreak]

Well If you dont know no you do, I am restoring a Century 10A Graflex Master Studio. It is a Huge Turd. I got it fr the lens, ad a good lens was had indeed. I just could not see myself being so wasteful and letting this camera end up in a land fill or a fire place.

I, being handy with wood working and such decided to restore said turd to former glory.
It came to me with the sliding carriage and an awesome 5x7 back. Seems the 8x10 was costly back in the day so lots of studios down sized to 5x7.

On with the show. I am making some head way, plugging away a little each night. At this rate I should be ready to make a picture when film is no longer available.

Here is the turn in question.





Here is the sliding carriage getting ready for disassembly and stripping of the wonderful Grey paint.

I found some stripper that will eat to the bone, Have to be real careful this stuff is nasteee.

[akfreak]

Here we have the SC torn down, paint stripped and ready to refinished. From research the metal is all a crinkle brown, I will find it and refinish with the correct color. I dont see any brown, I see crinkle black under the grey.


The metal pieces with all the pins finished up real nice, everything is there on the camera. The stand is beat to heck. Need to source the table adjustment screw and handle as well as the pole.


Here is the front part I am going to do first.
Before

[akfreak]

The front lens board hold a Packard #8 and a beef-up board for the heavy lens. The Beefup sucks.



I plan to work piece by piece real slow. I masked off the bellows, The guy who painted it didn't take it it apart to pain it. I can get at all of the Grey with stripper. I plan to do a nice hand rub finish so I dont have to tear it all the way down.



Man that stripper is Mean.

[akfreak]

The great thing is the paint come off and leaves some of the old varnish in place. I wont have to try and re stain it. I will recondition it, the colors will be perfect, like new.


Look at that wonderful color under the Crappy paint



It is going to be Swheet!


I have all the lens boards, and back pieces done, I need to so the camera frame rear and center, Repair the bellows. In a few decades I will have it already to go. I know Eddie you have 20 in your basement, and others here give these away with a stand when you buy a lens, so they say. I am just the hard headed one saving an old junker. Main reason it is my old junker, and I love this stuff.

[eddie]

Nice work. Maybe I should send u some of mine to keep u busy.

[jp]

Good work! the bellow probably come off by unscrewing a small wooden frame inside, if that makes the stripping/refinishing easier.

[Jim Fitzgerald]

Nice to see this beauty getting refinished. Great work!!

[akfreak]

Good work! the bellow probably come off by unscrewing a small wooden frame inside, if that makes the stripping/refinishing easier.

The person that painted it only pained the portion he could reach. I thought of removing the bellows, I read somewhere that one side is screwed on and the other nailed and an glued. I didn't want to risk a tear, this would really set back the time in restoration. I will look again, I could not see the screws at the font of the camera holding the bellows.

[eddie]

The bellows are screwed in. BUT it is a bit of a PITA to reinstall. Much easier with two people.

[akfreak]

I will be leaving the bellows intact. The painted area is on the visible surfaces only, I think it will be easiest to refinish left intact. However If it needs to come off then I'll take it off. Thanks for the heads up eddie. When are you back home, I need some partts for my stand if you have them.