Is it possible to transplant one Speed Graphic shutter / assembly into another?

[Corran]

Okay so I've got two Speed Graphics sitting here. One is in pretty nice shape except the internal shutter is trashed. The other is a parts camera but has a beautifully working shutter. Does anyone know if it's possible to just transplant this shutter into the other, and how? Or alternatively, if there is a repair person of adequate skill without a 6-month backlog that could do it for a reasonable amount??

[TheDeardorffGuy]

Are they the exact same cameras?

[Corran]

Yes, sorry should have stated that. Same model.

*They both have the shutter with only a high and low speed with shutter speeds of 30 60 125 250 500 1000. I don't remember if that is Anniversary or Pre-Anni, but they have the smaller metal lensboards.

[Dan Fromm]

Pacemaker Graphics.

[BrianShaw]

Or alternatively, if there is a repair person of adequate skill without a 6-month backlog that could do it for a reasonable amount??

Call Steve Choi of Steve's Camera Repair in Culver City, CA. He can give you some good advise and tell you his price. His backlogs are generally very short for anything I have ever needed done, but I've never needed a transplant before.

www.stevecamera.com/

[BrianShaw]

p.s. A transplant should be completely possible, provided that between the two cameras there are enough working parts. The magic isn't so much in the remove-and-replace of parts as it is in the knowing a good part from a not so good part.

[E. von Hoegh]

p.s. A transplant should be completely possible, provided that between the two cameras there are enough working parts. The magic isn't so much in the remove-and-replace of parts as it is in the knowing a good part from a not so good part.


Yes. And, the usual caveats re cleanliness and lubrication.

[Corran]

Call Steve Choi of Steve's Camera Repair in Culver City, CA. He can give you some good advise and tell you his price. His backlogs are generally very short for anything I have ever needed done, but I've never needed a transplant before.

www.stevecamera.com/

Thanks for the tip, sounds like a plan!

I tried taking the shutter assembly apart but it looked like more than I want to screw with. I'm a good tech and repair band instruments but I just don't feel like doing something this complex. At least I have the parts to send with the broken cam!

[SpeedGraphicMan]

Why not just leave the back and bed intact on the "for parts" camera and just transfer the bellows front standard etc?

[Corran]

Mostly because it is already completely disassembled save the shutter :)

Also has the wrong rangefinder.

[fecaleagle]

I'd say with some confidence that you'll be able to do it with only a little bit of patience.

Don't know if you've seen jo lommen's technical pages, but I used the following to completely disassemble and reinstall the FP shutter on an Anniversary Speed Graphic: http://lommen9.home.xs4all.nl/anniversary/page%201.html

He also has a slightly less detailed page on Pacemaker FP shutters here: http://lommen9.home.xs4all.nl/speed%20up/index.html

Those pages totally saved my ass during the reassembly. Good luck!

[fecaleagle]

Oh, the only caveat is that the screws that hold the shutter plate into the camera body are #1 size brass wood screws. Mine came out fine, but the wood was completely stripped and they wouldn't hold when I tried to screw them back in. I actually had to drill out the holes and plug them with hardwood dowels, and then screw in slightly larger screws to get the plate to hold firmly. So depending on the condition of the wooden body, you may not want to pull that plate off at all. It was a huge pain to get mine back in working order. The shutter ended up being the easy part for me, unfortunately.