PDA

View Full Version : What steel wool can accomplish



Captain_joe6
6-Sep-2007, 22:24
I've mentioned it a bit in another thread, but I want to show it off properly: my newly refinished Calumet C-1 8x10!

I bought it off the APUG classifieds, though it was posted here as well, from a great guy named Eddie on the east coast. What a swell fellow.

I spent about a week and a half taking the whole thing apart and sanding it down with a couple different coarsenesses of steel wool, then masking and painting it with Rustoleum Hammer Finish paint, which turned out to be eerily close to the original green paint in color.

So here she is, all dressed up and ready to go. I even machined a new lens shade mounting block and made a new focusing cloth support from a bit of stainless steel rod. I stuck my Turner-Reich on it and it just works amazing! Focus is smooth, movements are smooth, nothing squeeks or binds.

See what a few hours (actually about 40 hours all together) and some steel wool and spray paint can accomplish?

Frank Petronio
6-Sep-2007, 22:43
Great job, it will make the camera that much more special to you and that should show when you use it.

Joseph O'Neil
7-Sep-2007, 04:54
The camera looks great - but we of course assume you refrained from using the steel wool on the lens too.

:)

Captain_joe6
7-Sep-2007, 10:23
Yes indeed, the lens was a later addition. I also discovered a great product in the process: Goo-Off. Amazing stuff, especially for wiping everything down before painting to ensure an oil- and dust-free surface.

I was actually surprised when I got the lens because it looked a lot nicer than in the auction pictures. I'm also stumped by this strange occurance: I've noticed no focus shift with the single elements or the combination. None. The focus looks exactly the same at f/64 as it does wide open with all three lengths.

Lucky me, I guess.

Glenn Thoreson
7-Sep-2007, 11:26
Good job! I'm addicted to steel wool and various other tools of the trade. When I get something with potential, I won't be happy with it until I've gone over the whole thing, just as you did. It's in the blood, methinks. :D

eddie
7-Sep-2007, 13:16
great work captain! looks awesome. so i am going to send my C1 to the same address for the captain tune up, okay?! :)

can you show us the lens shade mounting block you machined. it looks great. i need one.

that is one beautiful camera. enjoy it and please post some pictures when you make them. i can not wait. your craftsmanship is excellent and i would like to see some prints.

eddie

Captain_joe6
7-Sep-2007, 19:02
I'd be happy to do anyone else's C1's in any color I can get at the hardware store. Really though, this is something anyone can do. The masking is what takes the longest. Painting takes hardly any time because you spray and walk away until the next morning. Plus, there are a couple of points in the disassembly and reassembly that had me thinkking "this really worries me, but I can't really go backwards, so it had better not break." Mainly this applied to the small plates that are right above the focusing friction wheels. You have to bend them very carefully to get them off, and once was enough for me. I don't want to have someone else's camera in front of me and break something.

As far as the lens shade holder, its a very simple object that I made in a very complicated way. First, I made the main bar that goes acrosss and cradles the hood. I cut it, ground it smooth and square, then drilled each end to let a 10-24 screw pass through, and machined 2 grooves in the center to hold the lens shade bale (the u-shaped wire). Next, I cut 2 small blocks and ground them square, followed by drilling and tapping at one end to accomodate those same 10-24 screws. Then I cut a deep slot into the other end of each one to fit over the top side of the front standard, then drilled and tapped a hole in each for a short screw to act as a clamp. Cut another small bar, ground it, and cut grooves to be the clamping plate for the bale. Used a threaded knob I had around for that, just happened to 1/4-20, so I drilled and tapped the main bar for that. Works pretty well, but I'll probably make another one out of aluminum to conserve weight (stupid idea for a C1). When I do that I'll let this one go for the cost of shipping.

-Patrick