I would like to know if anybody has had any experience with the late Mr Grimes succesors. I recently asked them to price a modification for a LF camera,besides taking quite a while to reply the modification was so extraordinarily expensive that I could not believe it. I had used Mr grimes for years and his work was not inexpensive but this was too much.Just wandering if this is just a fluke or if prices have increased so much in general. Thank you
I think I got them before they updated their prices. They rebuilt a compur lens for me and CLA'd for $186. including shipping to Mexico. The price for the work was $130 or $140 I dont exactly recall, where I think I got gouged a little was on a retaining ring, I think they charged me something like $20 bucks....I have not gotten the lens yet, so I am not sure about the work, but I am pretty confident that at least has not changed, as it seems they are the same guys that worked for him for many years.
i went to their shop a few days ago ( friday ) to have a custom lensboard and lens mounting done. before mr grimes passed on, he had done the exact same job for me, and now 6 months later i needed to have it done again for another lens. it was done while i waited in the shop, and was $50 LESS than i had paid 6 months earlier ...
$20 for a retaining ring/flange isn't gouging, try just about anywhere and you'll be fleeced for $30 minimum, thats how much the standard rate seems to be.
$20 for a retaining ring/flange isn't gouging, try just about anywhere and you'll be fleeced for $30 minimum, thats how much the standard rate seems to be.
Since it is the first time I get one, as well as a shutter CLA'd and rebuilt I thought the overall price was ok. Perhaps I should have gotten it from you, I am sure you must have one lying around...:-)....
I had cause to actually buy something from S.K. Grimes earlier this summer instead of my usual habit of just pestering them for information for the projects I was about to get around to doing. I dealt with Adam and can only say I wish all suppliers were as helpful and professional.
I needed a largeish flange to mount a process lens on a Technika lensboard. First, it was great to deal with people who knew what a Technika lensboard was - I could short circuit a lot of 'will if fit?' questions by just telling them what I wanted to do. Second, I gave them the wrong thread size (too many lenses, too little brain :-) which I found out at the last minute. They let me return first flange from Sweden, and shipped a new correct one to Scotland before they got the first one back.
If you find a cheaper workshop, even one that doesn't know about photographic parts and conventions, let me know. SRB in the UK also do custom work, but their minimum price for a simple flange was double Grimes' and they keep no stock. Both places were cheaper than the generic metal shops I have used in Sweden and the UK before now. Making a one-off simply is expensive once you've figured in time, emails and trotting down to the post office.
Executive summary: it's good to look elsewhere, but you can shop at Grimes with confidence.
You can't do any better than SK Grimes. They are the best I've ever dealt with.
I agree with the general sentiment of the thread. Adam is both courteous and professional and has responded to all of my emails within 24 hours.
Considering that all of their work is custom machining and they take the trouble to take your own pieces to custom fit them (lens-board adapters) I think their prices are very good.
If your price out their dollar per hour value I think it's a good value service.
I just purchased a lensboard with a Copal#1 hole cut into it. Price was OK. When it arrived in the mail there was a msg stating that "when we took your credit card number we didn't realize it was Discover, which we don't accept. Please send payment at your first convenience." I like that they didn't hold up my order, and trust their customers. Very impressive!
I recently got a quote from them for a CLA on a Compur 00 shutter. It was slightly cheaper than a local UK based repairer was asking and I thought very reasonable.
Colin
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