Ripping the top off a Crown Graphic

[Otto Seaman]

I've stripped the side-mounted Kalhart rangefinder off old Crown Graphics - no big deal - but how should I attack a top rangefinder model? What's underneath that brittle old plastic?

[Teodor Oprean]

You just have to remove the two large screws from the top with a regular screwdriver and gently lift up the bakelite cover. You will see everything that is underneath. All the parts internal to the rangefinder are held in place to the wooden frame by various sizes of small screws. Unless the top rangefinder was so damaged as to be unrepairable, I would just keep it as it is. It's very lightweight compared to the Kalart side-mounted rangefinder.

[AtlantaTerry]

Are they really not two different things? The Kalart side-mounted rangefinder was an add-on while the top-mounted one as an integral part of the design of the camera body.