Wooden Field Camera Disassembly - How's THIS come apart?!

[Scott --]

Hi, all -

Well, I'm fixin' to send off the bellows from my Seneca Competitor for replacing. Figured it'd be a good time to strip the hardware off, remove the cracking nitrocellulose lacquer, and renew the finish. There're some small wood repairs to do, some screws to replace, some holes to fill and redrill.

So, I get the bellows out, and decide I'll start dismantling the main body of the camera. First thing to remove - the pivots from the rear tilt mechanism. Hmm - wonder how this comes apart?

Here 'tis, from the outside:
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j185/bliorg/IMG_1876.jpg

And, from the inside:
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j185/bliorg/IMG_1875.jpg

Now, I know there's got to be a way to pull this thing apart without destroying it. But I can't figure it out.

I know some of you are full-blown camera restorers. Anyone want to elucidate?

Thanks,
Scott

[Jack Flesher]

Its a rivet. You drill out the peened over head in the second picture, then pull it apart. Then get yourself the right size replacement rivet to put back (with a new washer), or use alternative hardware like a stainless or brass screw rivet (screw post binding)...

[Scott --]

So I'd need something like this (http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/page.aspx?c=2&p=40386&cat=3,41306,41327), right? Ok, stupid question: how do these things go together?!

I was really hoping I'd be able to avoid using the pin vise on this... :eek:

[Jack Flesher]

So I'd need something like this (http://www.leevalley.com/hardware/page.aspx?c=2&p=40386&cat=3,41306,41327), right? Ok, stupid question: how do these things go together?!

I was really hoping I'd be able to avoid using the pin vise on this... :eek:

You hammer rivets. On split rivets like you linked to above, you tap until they stop. With a conventional rivet like what is on the camera now, you peen the end out so it locks the washer. But the screw rivets will be a MUCH better solution, especially the next time you want to disassemble :)

Screw rivets are available at most home supply stores: http://www.screwpost.com/?gclid=CKbXxKi3t4wCFSnKggodImi4SA

[Ash]

*ahem* ......work around it??? :D

That's what I've done on mine. I daren't remove anything that looks permanent :D

[Randy H]

The screw posts, or "sex screws" Jack mentioned are the best way. On both my Century and the Conley, that is "about" the way I did them. I drilled out the center from the inside, then when apart, drilled a little deeper and slightly bigger, and tapped the original post for #6-32 screw.

Frank. Thanks for the link to Screwpost.

[Scott --]

So something like this (http://cgi.ebay.com/Screw-Post-BRASS-5-8-inch_W0QQitemZ7359089181QQihZ016QQcategoryZ66637QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem) should work? And I can trim the barrel length on the nut to whatever I need?

Looks like a good way to go. Makes the camera more serviceable later. Thanks for the help. Now to break out the pin vise. :rolleyes:

[Donald Qualls]

Yes, very much like that. However, don't pay $1 each plus shipping for the eBay ones; find the nearest Lowe's home improvement store (or an Ace Hardware, if there's one handy) and get 'em for about 2/3 that without paying shipping (not to mention being able to buy 'em in various lengths).

[Turner Reich]

You take a big hammer and chizzle point and hit it a few times really hard and it pops right out.

My God this is a case where technology education failed again, no shop classes, no shops, no mentors, nothing. In a generation no one will know what wood or metal is.


Grind off the "peen", as in ball peen hammer, remove the rivet, drill the shaft of the rivit and with a tap, tap the shaft for a brass screw with a round head for replacement. Othewise you will have destroyed the basic construction of the camera.

Or you could braze an extension onto the shaft of the rivet which is threaded and put a lock nut on it.

Unless you want a crappy looking fake screw put in its place.

[Turner Reich]

It's not your fault, they were never designed to last long enough to be taken apart and repaired. The better approach would have been to have used a nut and bolt in stead of the cheap rivet. I it was a chrome model you could have used a stainless steel bolt and buffed it to a chrome shine.

[Scott --]

My God this is a case where technology education failed again, no shop classes, no shops, no mentors, nothing. In a generation no one will know what wood or metal is.

Grind off the "peen", as in ball peen hammer, remove the rivet, drill the shaft of the rivit and with a tap, tap the shaft for a brass screw with a round head for replacement. Othewise you will have destroyed the basic construction of the camera.


Well, in defense of my younger days, I had a couple years of metal shop in Jr high. In high school, I was put into college prep courses, much to my own dismay. But even then, the metal shop was welding, bending, and casting. Never used any rivets.

That said, I do own a ball peen hammer. :D

I think I like this idea - grind off the peened over end, drill out the rivet and tap it for a bolt. Makes it removable later, but keeps the look it was designed with.


It's not your fault, they were never designed to last long enough to be taken apart and repaired. The better approach would have been to have used a nut and bolt in stead of the cheap rivet. I it was a chrome model you could have used a stainless steel bolt and buffed it to a chrome shine.

Actually, turns out it is one of the polished nickel finish models. But I still think I'll be Dremeling the inside and heading to the hobby store for a little tap later.

Here's the finished front standard, next to the as-yet undone rear:
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j185/bliorg/IMG_1881.jpg

[russyoung]

Hi Scott-

How did you remove the old finish?

Looking great!

Russ

[Scott --]

Thanks, Russ. The old finish is nitrocellulose lacquer, so I'm essentially scrubbing the wood with lacquer thinner, using a really soft brass brush, 0000 steel wool, and paper towels. When it's clean, I'm using gloss spray lacquer on it. The metalwork is just getting a soak in Tarn-X. It's coming along nicely.

Scott

[Turner Reich]

Thanks, Russ. The old finish is nitrocellulose lacquer, so I'm essentially scrubbing the wood with lacquer thinner, using a really soft brass brush, 0000 steel wool, and paper towels. When it's clean, I'm using gloss spray lacquer on it. The metalwork is just getting a soak in Tarn-X. It's coming along nicely

You have done a great job on it, they are very fine lined, light and worth the effort. Think of it as an instrument when you are restoring it and you can't go wrong. Your approach to to the cleaning if perfect, the brass brush and 0000 steel wool is very good. Make sure that all of the fine hairs of the steel wool are off before finishing. They can rust under the finish and be a problem. Looks like a fine example of a classic camera. Do you have a new bellows already or are you making one. That will be the final touch which will determine the look and value of the camera.

Good Luck

[Scott --]

Turner, I haven't got the new bellows yet, and I know my limitations. Mark Kapono is going to build them for me. I'm hoping to send the old ones off to him next week - I have a trip back home to Lake Michigan in July, and would love to take this baby with me.

Thanks for your encouragement. The Seneca's coming along really nicely. This weekend I hope to tackle the rails; there's a good chunk of wood missing on one, which will require a router and handplanes to patch in a Dutchman. But that'll be it.

Pictures forthcoming, fer sure. :D

Scott

[Mark Kapono]

Aloha Scott--Have you considered a tung oil finish? BTW, what wood was used in is construction?--A hui hou!--Mark

[Scott --]

Hi, Mark -

I think it's stained birch, a very common wood in the area at the time. Having said that, there's a lot of color inside the wood, which looks frightfully like mahogany. But it's not mahogany. :rolleyes:

I generally use tung oil finishes. When I make my first 4x5 I'll go straight through with tung oil. But I'm sure I'm not removing absolutely all of the lacquer on this, and I didn't want to strip it down past the color, so I'm going back with spray lacquer to ensure compatibility.

Hopefully the old bellows and frames will be on their way to you next week!

Scott

[Scott --]

I might as well post this here, to this thread, to keep things somewhat together...

I ended up using 1/2" binder posts and screws, cut down to about 1/4" each. Can't tell them from the originals, which didn't agree to the drilling out. But that's not what this post is about.

The last major repair was on the rail:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/192/493056796_bbec15f63f_o.jpg

I glued the split with poly glue, but wanted to patch in a piece of mahogany to replace the missing wood. (Ok, the existing wood isn't mahogany, and it'll never match exactly, but it'll look reasonable enough when the mahogany ages, and mahogany's so easy to work with...)

I clamped a guide block on top of the rail so I could use a pattern making bit in the router to create a uniform cavity for the patch:
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j185/bliorg/IMG_1892.jpg

After routing:
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j185/bliorg/IMG_1894.jpg

End of the rabbet required a little chiseling to square. I planed a piece of mahogany to roughly fit, and glued it in. Trimmed it after the glue dried with a handplane, and the patch is done!
http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j185/bliorg/IMG_1897.jpg

I have some alkanet root powder (http://www.naturalpigments.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=455-12S) coming which I'll use to color the wood to roughly blend in. The alkanet is fugitive; as it ages, it'll fade a bit while the wood darkens naturally. Should look nice.

Now I just need to box up the bellows and send them on their way. Will strip the old lacquer off the rail later and get it ready for new finish. The rail's the roughest part of the camera; as the old joints loosened (read: the original glue failed), the weight of the camera spread the mortises out until they finaly failed and split the wood. The fix from some previous owner was to tack nails into all the joints, which just caused more splits. The correct fix would be a new rail, but I think it'll hold together for a good long time now. Fingers crossed...