Brassai
23-Apr-2014, 18:46
I have an early 1890s Watson & Sons half plate tailboard, but I just never really "clicked" with it. So, it has to go. I've been looking for a nice ~100 yr. old 4x5 for some time now, mostly looking for something like a Korona or Ansco wooden view camera. I wanted something correct for 1900-1920 to use my growing lens collection on. I was dismissive of the "cycle" cameras because they didn't take interchangeable lenses and the self-casing design just didn't get me excited. All that changed when I saw a nearly mint Century Camera Model 46 for sale on ebay. I went after it, and ended up getting it. I paid about $400, which is probably completely nuts, but it is so clean! It finally came a week later and I was bracing a little bit for it to not live up to expectations, but that changed when I saw it for the first time. It is a beauty!
I took it out and shot with it last Saturday, mostly at an abandoned prairie school in a tiny South Dakota town. I was amazed at what a nice little camera this is! It's very well made and has a lot of cool little extras. It has double extension, gear driven focus, gear driven rise/fall, revolving back, and much more. It was a very fun camera to use and I now have a lot of respect for it.
It came with a 6 inch RR lens in a CCC automatic shutter, a double pumper. Lens & shutter look immaculate and the shutter works well at speeds 1/50s and 1/100s, and T. It sticks at the slower speeds, but I think I can fix it. Here's where I need your help. I'd like to take the lens off and give it a good going over. I'm pretty sure I can get the shutter going again if I clean it. I was also thinking of replacing it with a 6 in. Velostigmat in a very snazzy Volute I picked up for about a hundred bucks. I cleaned the cylinders on the Volute and it seems to work perfectly! I got to looking at it though, and the Volute might be too big to fit into the CC 46 though. I might have to buy a Korona view camera after all. Anyway, how can I take the lens off the CC 46 without damaging it? The bellows are tight and I don't know if I can reach in from the rear and get at the retaining nut. Not much space up in there. Dang, this is a sweet little camera!
114209114210
I took it out and shot with it last Saturday, mostly at an abandoned prairie school in a tiny South Dakota town. I was amazed at what a nice little camera this is! It's very well made and has a lot of cool little extras. It has double extension, gear driven focus, gear driven rise/fall, revolving back, and much more. It was a very fun camera to use and I now have a lot of respect for it.
It came with a 6 inch RR lens in a CCC automatic shutter, a double pumper. Lens & shutter look immaculate and the shutter works well at speeds 1/50s and 1/100s, and T. It sticks at the slower speeds, but I think I can fix it. Here's where I need your help. I'd like to take the lens off and give it a good going over. I'm pretty sure I can get the shutter going again if I clean it. I was also thinking of replacing it with a 6 in. Velostigmat in a very snazzy Volute I picked up for about a hundred bucks. I cleaned the cylinders on the Volute and it seems to work perfectly! I got to looking at it though, and the Volute might be too big to fit into the CC 46 though. I might have to buy a Korona view camera after all. Anyway, how can I take the lens off the CC 46 without damaging it? The bellows are tight and I don't know if I can reach in from the rear and get at the retaining nut. Not much space up in there. Dang, this is a sweet little camera!
114209114210