Lubricant for Deardorff wood.

[ruilourosa]

Hello

Does someone have an idea for lubricating the wood of the deardorff, i´m having some difficulties in moving the rear bed of the camera, it´s a v8

Thanks


Rui Lourosa

[Alan9940]

I have used a block of wax for lubricating wood joinery.

[John Kasaian]

Bee's wax works for me.

[Louis Pacilla]

Hey Rui
Make sure your "rear focus rack" is not damaged & out of square or that you have bad "bed splits" as more often this is the reason for the focus issue your asking about. If either of the things I mentioned is noticeable on your V8 most times waxing or lubing the track will be of little to no help with a binding focus rack.

That said there is a proper way and product to lube a few spots on the Deardorff cameras. Check out the "care" section of Ken Hough web site. Found here,,,,http://www.deardorffcameras.0catch.com/

[John Kasaian]

DO NOT USE BUTCHERS WAX I used to and after time it did not treat my 'dorff well.
In fact it made a royal mess of things requiring a partial refinishing.

[Peter Collins]

I'm NOT for beeswax on any parts where the purpose is to reduce friction/binding--I used to keep bees--beeswax is actually quite sticky, even surprisingly so. And stupid me learned all this when I applied beeswax to a sticking drawer in a night table. Paraffin wax is better. And a high-quality (e.g., castile) soap might be tried on a small surface. On my night table project, I removed all the beeswax and applied soap from a bar in the bathroom.

Again, this post is about treating surfaces which are binding or not sliding smoothly.

[John Kasaian]

I'm NOT for beeswax on any parts where the purpose is to reduce friction/binding--I used to keep bees--beeswax is actually quite sticky, even surprisingly so. And stupid me learned all this when I applied beeswax to a sticking drawer in a night table. Paraffin wax is better. And a high-quality (e.g., castile) soap might be tried on a small surface. On my night table project, I removed all the beeswax and applied soap from a bar in the bathroom.

Again, this post is about treating surfaces which are binding or not sliding smoothly.
Roger that!

[cowanw]

Bone wax, a sterile mixture of beeswax, isopropyl palmitate, and +/- paraffin, on the other hand, is excellent. Company literature says the mixture of isopropyl palmitate is softening but I find the mix is much harder and has a higher melting point than bees wax; it has to be sweated on with a hair dryer.

[Dustyman]

for the wood on wood parts, I use a touch of Howard's Feed n' Wax which is locally available most places. Home Depot has it. It has always worked great for me. Been using it for well over 15 years.

[Drew Wiley]

Beeswax can sure collect abrasive dirt and grime over time. But so do deer (as in Deerdorff).

[mdarnton]

I use Renaissance wax on things like that. It goes on thin but adequate, and is proven OK on a lot of fancy materials. It's not like other waxes in that respect.

If you have ever held a block of pure bee's wax, you know that it's actually quite sticky! Paraffin is a little better, but still not impressive as a lube.

[aaronnate]

I would check for something off kilter first. If it is binding because of that, lubrication could cause further damage or be of no help at all.

The woodworking side of me agrees with Renaissance Wax. But boat repair side of me says a dry lube would be best as it won't pick up grit. All waxes will pick up grit.

I've used Molybdenum disulfide on items, including my Kodak 2D and it is amazing stuff. Expensive though, if you don't use it a lot. I used it in the shop quite a bit. I have also used a #4B pencil lead to good effect. Both will darken the channel but neither will collect grit.

[mdarnton]

Another idea in the same direction, I have some teflon powder used in lubricating piano actions. I've been using it for all sorts of things--on locks and some places I shouldn't where it has been working fine. And if you don't want it there, it wipes right off. Very slippery, doesn't migrate much, so far.

[Drew Wiley]

Teflon is avail in spray form. I use it on my Phillips 8x10. It doesn't decompose into dust, but does leave a bit of whitish stain which could be obvious on a mahogany Dorff if not masked off first. Don't confuse this with ordinary hardware store teflon spray, however, which might contain other things that aren't so good. A sales site like McMaster would be a better place to start because they give good specs.

[John Kasaian]

Hello

Does someone have an idea for lubricating the wood of the deardorff, i´m having some difficulties in moving the rear bed of the camera, it´s a v8

Thanks


Rui Lourosa

As others mentioned, check the alignment. This is easy to do by eyeballing the teeth----they should be equal on both sides of the bed. These might mis-align when the bellows are either compressed or extended to their maximum travel, and can often be easily reset. As for metal to metal or wood to wood surface lubrication, the Deardorff Historical Website has suggestions on what to use. Ken Hough worked at Deardorff and should know.